Pizza and Flowers

I was standing in line at the check when a lady says “I am coming over your house! Pizza and flowers. It doesn’t get better than that.” Yes I had a frozen pizza and lying on top were flowers. “Is it her birthday?” “No” I replied. “A special occasion?” Again I answered “No.” She stood there for a moment or two then said “You’re buying flowers just because?” I shook my head yes. She took a deep breathe and said “My husband is in the car will you go out and talk to him?” I smiled.


It occurs to me that her husband buying her flowers just because was not her real issue. She was in the store alone, shopping for food, with a half full buggy, standing in line while her husband was in the car.

Yes the flowers were for Deb but the pizza was for me.

Microsoft is Evil

Microsoft is evil – planned obsolescence. At work we have already spent over $2,000 and 3 days replacing equipment and software from a lightning strike.


I went and purchased a computer and this is where the fun began. They only have 64 bit systems now and they are all Windows 7. So I decided to get another computer two replace the second damaged one (it only had a video card fried). Made things easier for workgroup setup but they had no Office software.

I got out the 2007 Office disks and was told they do not work because they were upgrade disks. Off I went and dug the 2003 Office disk – an upgrade; 2000 Office an upgrade and 98 Office yep an upgrade – all upgrade disks. So we had to buy a full Office disk and of course it is Office 2010!

Installed Office 2010 – oh did they forget to tell me that transferring old Outlook to Outlook 2010 took a miracle and a transfer program? And that anyone you send 2010 Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files need a conversion file from the Microsoft website?

And did they forget to tell you that 32 bit software does not always run on 64 bit machines? So I do not know if it is Windows 7 or 64 bit machines but we had to download new printer drivers for all the printers.

Hey! Don’t forget that QuickBooks will not work with Windows 7 unless you have the 2010 version!

So finally I get the new modem and routers all set up and the workgroups are now sharing files and printers.

I installed the Blackberry desktop manager and guess what! Blackberry’s will not sync with Outlook 2010 especially on a 64 bit machine! Blackberry says they will have the new software ready early 2011.

Of course we have no copier (which is also our scanner and fax). We have been given estimates for damage for this equipment that will push repairs to over $8,000. (Yes every thing was on a surge protector – it came in through the telephone system.)

When I called to report our copier was damaged they wanted me to scan our insurance forms and e-mail them to them. I almost cried. No - I have no scanner. Well then just fax it over. No - I have no fax. Well then just make a copy and bring it over. How about I bring it to you and you make a copy, scan it, and fax it to where ever yiou need to to go because the machine is toast!

I hope it all gets done soon. (Is it my imagination or is Office 2010 slow?)

Guyton Food Bank

Today our church delivered 711 pounds of food to the Guyton food bank - The Filling Station.
We had been discussing this project with the Effingham County United Way and they suggested delivering the food to Guyton instead of Rincon. It was a good suggestion.  We had 57 adults and children and worked for a bit shy of 3 hours total. 

Moral Courage

I recently read an article about how God provides us helps to have moral courage. The helps are: the Atonement, spiritual gifts, the Holy Ghost, and the holy priesthood. Knowing Jesus is the Christ, our Savior; knowing that God has given us gifts for our walk through life; understanding that the a Holy Ghost is with us in times we need him the most; and having the priesthood so we can provide service to others; all these things are extremely comforting when we must call upon our own moral courage.

As I thought about the message of the article I began to ask myself what are the morals that I should be courageous in? How do I define the morals that God has given us the tools to use?

I decided to start with defining the word moral. The word moral originates from the root word for custom; principles of right and wrong, the standard by which you measures things. Morals are not tangible, they are perceptual. Custom is also the root for the word mores (mawr-eyz).

The word mores is not in common use today but it should be. Mores are the traditional accepted customs of a group. It is the group’s attitude toward things. It is the manner or the proper way to do things.

So where do groups get their principles and customs? They usually express themselves as laws, commandments, rules, and regulations. They are codified, passed down through generations, honored revered, and held in extreme sacredness. They are the beliefs and the convictions of the group. It is what the group puts value on.

So what is a value? We see values frequently along with the corporate mission. Covey in his ‘Seven Habits’ or his ‘Principle Centered Leadership’ books suggests that we all should have values and some should be designated our core values; those principles that our life is based on; things that embody ourselves.

Value is based on the root word for valor. Values are those things we hold important; it is the vision of how we want to be; these are the things that guide our conduct. Valor is to be of worth and strong. In today’s English valor is also to have courage.

So we come full circle in this discussion of moral courage. Courage is that quality of mind and of spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, and such. Moral courage then is that inner strength to live our lives by the values we hold even when it is not popular, when it is hard to or places us in danger.

God provided to us through His prophets the laws and commandments. He provided us His Son who is our example of how to live. The word my call these customs but they are deeper than that. They are the word of God and since the first principle of heaven is obedience we should live by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

There is a word for this and the word is ethics. Ethics comes from the root word ethos, the character or disposition of the group and the individual. Ethics are values in action; it is what is right or wrong. You act in accordance with your values.

It takes time to develop our courage. It takes time to understand our values. God has supplied us with the tools we need here on Earth. We are not alone, even in the times when we are the lowest. Christ as an our example of how to live suffered all things. It is comforting to know that He understands our needs because He experienced them. Our courage when we need it the most comes from deity.

(The article Moral Courage, by Elder Henry B Eyring, can be found in the March 2010 edition of the Ensign.)

Men don’t know how to wear a dress.

Six nurses – one putting in an IV, one asking questions, one holding medications, and two untying my shoes. The sixth was taking my cell phone out of my hands. “It’s time go,” she said as she put my phone into the bag with my clothes.

I had yet another brush with the health care delivery system; this time it was the heart cath lab. On the way to work I was not feeling very good so I decided to go to see my primary care doctor, Dr. K. Her staff did an EKG and she looked up at me and said “You don’t belong here. You are going to the ER. NOW!” Okay my EKG was abnormal so I complied; sat in the wheelchair and let one of the nurses drive me in her car over to the ER (It’s about 500 feet away.)

They were waiting. It started out okay, just one nurse and then the X-ray Tech. Then it happened. I think I might have looked like a road kill deer with group of vultures all pecking at the poor creatures bones.

Then the lights are flashing over head, just like in the movies. The movies however do not let you experience the cold and wind as it rushs over your poor semi clothed body and the sheet is no protection.

The cath lab looked; well I really cannot tell you what it looked like. Some of the meds were kicking in and I was shivering. The betadine was so very cold. Then I felt warm blankets and Dr. S asking if I wanted something to relax me. “Yes, please.”

I opened my eyes in observation. Folk came in and out. I know Beth was there for a bit, Sarah got my keys to go get my stuff secured out of my truck; Brethren came by and gave me a blessing. Dr S came by. It is all groggy and barely in my memory.

I got a room a few hours later, complete with pressure cup, heart monitor, a second gown ( on backwards over the first). When they took me for a walk the nurse looked at me, shook her head, “Men don’t know how to wear a dress.”

My heart is great. Dr S said it is really good for a man my age. He found nothing, not even any blockages, my arteries are all clear. What ever cause the abnormal EKG was a mystery but it was not a heart attack. My heart monitor was clean and one nurse commented that at times my blood pressure was like a teenagers. But it does not stay that way, it fluxates. They changed my blood pressure medicine and I have some follow-up visits scheduled.

What is next?