I've lost two good old friends in the past few weeks. They were both 95 years old, so I guess that can't be too much of a shock. We are coming up on December. This means that it's been almost a year since meningitis took the earthly life of my cousin, Tony. That was a shock! He was only 35! Sometimes I have to wonder why.

Why is it that some people last well into their 90th birthday while others go so young? Why did Tony leave behind a wife and three kids that needed him? Why couldn't someone as totally worthless as I go in his place and get planted 6 feet under? Why? I don't know! And I've been pondering the answer to that question as I read my Answer Book (the Bible) ever since Tony left us.

Grandad lived about as long as anyone could care to, but even he wondered how he lasted that long. Time was not exactly on his side, or was it. His first 99 years were well spent. Those last few afterward were not his best. Many times I heard him say that he wished he was dead. I once responded, "I wish I was dead too! But it's not up to us, it's up to God!" He shook his head, and admitted I was right. At that time, I couldn't bear the thought of him being gone. When the time came, he was ready. In a way, I was ready to let him go.

I still struggle with Tony's loss. The odd thing is I wasn't that close to Tony, at least not at the time he died. I know he's better off. He even donated organs to 3 different people after his spirit left his body.

Sometimes I wonder if anything I've done really matters, but then I remember the old saying "God isn't finished with me yet". God still has work for me to do, the trouble is finding it. My dad told me the other day that since I graduated from DWU, I should be working at a job that makes 60K/year. I'm not sure that's true, but if it is, that's not part of the plan, at least not yet.

Lately, going on a mission trip to Haiti has been on my mind. The prospect of catching cholera has a lot of appeal for some reason. I need $3000 to do that though. Not sure if I can swing that. I've been leaving it all up to God. He is in control! I may not know what he is doing now, but when the time comes, I will. I'll be ready for it, when it happens

My job is not the best in the world, but the job of being Mr. Jessica Simpson is not available. Washing dishes at the Hut is not always easy. The people I work with are all top notch. They have to be, otherwise they'd be gone! I don't write much about my job, because to me the Hut is like Vegas; without the slot machines, prostitution and murder, of course.

8. The Mitchell Community

When this old country boy from Holabird left his comfort zone for the big city, he was not to sure he was going to like what he found. But this big city of over 14,000 people has some of the same small town charm that I left behind. I call this place "Kornfield County" but I do so out of love. I love this place, and the people in it. It is my home, and they are my neighbors!

9. KMIT/KOOL 98

My Local Radio station of choice is the best! I enjoy KOOL in the morning. In fact my alarm clock is set to KOOL. I listen to Big J in the afternoon after my daily dose of Earl Pitts on KXRB in Sioux Falls.

10 The Upper Room

Last, but most important of all, I'm bound to say that the Upper Room daily Bible lesson has really made breakfast the most important meal of the day for me, not just this year, but every year. They are celebrating 75 years of bringing God's word to those who need that shot of faith, hope, and love to get the day off right. Some folks use it at night, which is OK for some, but I need it in the daytime.

Yesterday was a legal holiday, which meant the library was closed. I celebrated Veteran's Day at work. I thank God, and our armed forces, for making it possible for me to do that. Freedom to be able to work when we choose is precious, and it come with a price. To me, every day should be Veterans Day. They are the defenders of our freedom! The signers of the Declaration of Independence bought our freedom, but the Minutemen paid the bill. You, the Reader, are free to look at this website because of those noble men, and the men and women that followed. Freedom like that is hard to come by, and should be cherished.

On my Facebook page, I wondered if Fred Phelps celebrated our Veterans, and if so how he did it! For those who may not know, Mr. Phelps is the pastor of a Baptist Church in Kansas, and the man who is at least partly responsible for the picketing that goes on at military funerals. The signs that declare "God hates fags" and other things of a particularly disturbing nature. Earlier this year, Phelps and his group's First Amendment rights were upheld after a fallen soldiers family brought a suit against them. It is, to me, ironic that their First Amendment rights were purchased by a group that they are protesting. It is almost enough to make one laugh, if it wasn't so sad and pathetic.

As for me, I pray for all of our Veterans who are in harms way. I hope they come home when their job is done. I wish there was a way that we could all live in peace with one another. That day will come, and it may be coming sooner than we know, Until then, I'm glad we have our Veterans. From the Minuteman, to the Peacekeeper, they do great job. Let's hope they keep up the good work!

When I was Publisher of the Holabird Advocate, I was putting a courageous dynamic facade on a very shy and humble person. I likened it to the Wizard of Oz, who was for all appearances to be all powerful, but behind the curtain, a very different sort of person operated it all from behind a curtain. There were times I had to dial it back a notch when I pushed things too far. then I moved to Mitchell.

Once I left the shelter of the Ponderosa, I felt something was missing. I gave into collegiate peer pressure and got a Facebook account. I started out as a shy, insecure loner, and now have over 300 friends. Funny thing is, I've don't really know half of them. I doubt I'll ever meet some of them. We as a human race are so busy making friends on the computer that we could very well miss out on making friends in the real world.

So what does a shy person like me do on Facebook? I play games mostly! Mafia Wars, Mob Wars, Farmville, Frontierville, and a few others that I dabble into. Is this productive? Doubtful! Is it fun? Well it kills time! That's why I decided it was time to get back into blogging. It is fun to think up things to write and edit.

When I put out some feelers about getting back into the blogging world on Facebook, a lot of my friends were very supportive. In fact not one of them were against it. To be honest most of them didn't care to respond, which makes me wonder who my real friends are. Truth be told, I'll still spend time on Facebook. You never know where the idea for my next big article will come from.

My dad used to say that you can never have too many friends. Tom T. Hall once sang "I wish I had a Million Friends" I must say that I like all of my old friends, but am not against making new ones. I may have only a few hundred friends, but they are of high quality, because they chose to be my friend, for whatever reason, so if any of you readers are so inclined, look me up, I've never refused a request, because as a quasi celebrity, I owe it to the public to have access to me whenever possible. Let me know how much you love (or hate) "The Program". Be careful about asking me what I think though! I just might tell you! But I'll listen to what you think, so that makes us even.

Yesterday was the 79th Anniversary of my grandparents wedding. I was unable to get online then, but I wanted to give a little testimony as to why this day is important, not to everyone in the world, but certainly to those who were touched by their union.

I have often wondered what made those two get married given the sorry shape that their little corner of the world was in at the time. There was an economic depression, and dust storms so severe that they hung wet curtains at the windows to catch it. They had a plague of locusts, which we call grasshoppers. That was a blessing though, because it was cheaper than chicken feed. Still, that doesn't sound like the best time to get married and start a family.

The decision was not made lightly Grandad would have never gone through with it on his own. He claimed, in fact that Grandma proposed to him. He was taking her home from a barn dance, and told her that he wasn't sure that he could take her to another one because he was not sure he could leave her. At that point, he claims that she grabbed him, pulled him close and said, "Maybe I don't want you to."

Grandma told me a different story. She claimed that she felt sorry for Grandad because he thought rather highly of himself in those days, to the point of being a pain in the butt. She didn't want to be an old maid, she was almost 19 at the time,and she had her choice between him and some other man. She chose Grandad because he needed her more. Never did she say she didn't love him though. She had to love him, because Grandad wasn't always the the kind loving husband who read "The Upper Room" and helped with the dishes after breakfast. That took some time for him to learn that, but it happened.

Love is important in the success of any marriage, but it takes more than that. It takes faith, hope, and the knowledge that neither the bride nor the groom would be any good without the other one. Divorce was never mentioned, never even thought about. Their love story may not be unique, it may not even be exciting enough to write a book about or make a movie. But to their family, friends, and neighbors they showed a real good example of what marriage should look like. Were they perfect? Not at all! But they did the best they could, because God was with them. Those who get married in these times could learn a lot from Bergit and E.E. Hinkle. I know I sure did!

Jones may have formed in Canada, but they became a real American institution when they moved to Seattle. Jones calls themselves, "The little guy". With at least $38 Million in capitalization, it may look big, until we realize that Coke and Pepsi are both well into the $100 Billion. Jones thinks outside the box. They are always coming up with new, and let's face it, bizarre flavors, for the drinking world to try out.

The latest flavor seems to be Bacon. While some turn their nose up at that, there are people like myself who would like to try it, just to say we did. I can hardly wait! This might start a trend that Coke and Pepsi may want to play catch up on