A heavy blanket of fog hung over the City of Mitchell last night, and the fog didn't lift until 10 am this morning. A freezing rain is expected to turn into sleet and then at about 6pm Winter storm Georgina will begin, bringing with it about 3 inches of estimated snow. Our Publisher walked to the home office, because he didn't have anywhere else to go, but he did wear his good winter coat. Y'all be careful out there!

     There is a House bill coming up for consideration in the South Dakota Legislature on Friday that allows school boards to have people such as teachers, administrators, or other staff armed in the school. So far, it appears that both of the District 20 representatives have indicated they are not likely to vote for this measure. As for all of us here at the Holabird Advocate, we are on the fence on this issue.

     When I logged on to Facebook a few days ago, I had a notification informing me that my cousin Anne was getting married. As it happens, her parents are away in Tanzania, so the timing was suspicious. Of course Anne is way over 21, so if she wants to get married, that's all on her. I do have to wonder if she knows what marriage is all about. It's been said  "love is blind, but marriage is one heck of an eye opener".

     Then I remembered watching a video with one of my Wesleyan. He was in Las Vegas with his lady-friend, and they went to the Stratosphere, a place where you jump something like 884 feet to the ground and land safely , without bones breaking and all of that. He did all right, but it took his young lady a while to get talked into it. She was afraid, but she took the plunge, which is what Vegas is all about. Life is a gamble in Vegas! Interstingly enough, He took that gal to Vegas and didn't even marry her. Oh well!
As for me my Facebook marriage to the chick I never met was as close as I care to get married. I remember when I was growing, Grandad was trying to get me out of bed because we had work to do. but it was 7am and still dark. Didn't matter to Grandad. He kept on me, saying "Someday you'll met a sweet little gal, get married and have 3 kids and you'll have to get out of bed!" Turns out he was wrong about that, because I never did find anyone that I wanted to wake up at 7am so I could go to work. But as I look back on it, He did, and so did my dad. I sure am glad that they did!
     Yesterday at Fusion, the Pastor said that despite what we see on TV, married men are happier than single men. I suppose that's possible. Still I have no problem believing Al Bundy can't wait to get out of bed and away from Peg. But there was more. Pastor Vetter talked of friendship. I recall, how it was said "It is not good for man to be alone", and I'll be it is not fun for a woman either. Jesus said to love God, and love your neighbor. Since the beginning of time we as humans were built to be social, which makes me wonder why I prefer solitude.
     Truth is friendship is slightly easier for me. There's no pressure to impress anyone. Love takes a little more work than that. I asked my mother how to I could impress the ladies, and she told me "Be yourself". Yeah, I should have known she was lying-then again she IS a lady, and I can't blame her for not giving away the state secrets of her gender. But I have noticed that quite a few of the ladies that I tried to impress back when I was young, and even some when I got old have become friends of mine on Facebook, Some of whom actually sent me the request. Boy was I shocked. So I suppose there is some merit into being yourself. The best part is, when I get tired of seeing them, I can turn of my computer. Try doing that with a wife. Actually I did that too, and she divorced me 3 days later. Having old flames cool into warm friendships may not seem like a good thing, but it's better than having a cold ememyship! God be with you and do the best you can!