Well, I say I bought it. It's actually titled to my wife, and my son has exclusive posession of it... away at college.

It's a '92, Navajo Blue, big shiny wheels. A plaything every boy (young and old) would have fun with.

I bought it for him as his old car was dying. But I will get to see it... on occassion.

And maybe, just maybe, if he has a free Saturday, he'll condescend to take me to the mountains for an early breakfast and maybe a devotional.

Someday.

Ah, well.

I was worng about the oil shortage, but the rest was not exactly hard to predict for an ex-political junkie:

"This will not be a pleasant post. 01-29-08 12:15pm EST

It is partly political, partly a personal warning to plan now for the economic future. If you don't like thinking about such things, don't read further.

I waste less and less time worrying about the temporary politics in this temporary country in this temporary world. It is a blessing to remember I am a just pilgrim and a sojourner here. Still, I have a family to support and others to help.

Here is my feeling about what is about to happen to our economy. It is teetering on the edge of--- something. Most people in Corporate America are sensing it. Wall Street doesn't quite know what to make of it. But there does seem to be a certain general anxiety. Some people believe that if the Democrats win this election, and control both houses of Congress and the White House, they will tax us into a severe recession, and then tax us more to try to remedy the situation with govenrment programs. Couple that with the limited supply of oil, rising Chinese and Indian demand which is driving up the price of crude, and the Democrat/environmentalist special interest groups' opposition to more building American refineries to ease the flow of what oil we can get, and American industry and consumers will be hit hard. Jobs will vanish.

You may disagree with me, but I believe America is tired of both mainstream parties, and is looking for any change. Some will be drawn to the idea of just supporting an "underdog" such as an ethnic minority candidate like Barak Obama. For that simple reason, I think he will win the general election going away. Once again, the GOP establishment will have failed to back a candidate with a strong enough distinction between his record and beliefs and those of his Democratic opponent. Now we're just arguing about the degree of big government and how much to increase taxes on the country's producers. Reagan is indeed gone.

The American voter will see only a small shade of philosphical difference between the GOP candidate and Obama. No GOP candidate has the charisma or credibility to counteract the mainstream media, sway the swing voters, and convince America that he will take us in a new direction from the GOP moderates that were voted out in '06 or the Democrats currently in power. Moreover, conservatives will not turn out and work for Romney/McCain/Huckabee, especially since the much-feared Hillary Clinton will not be nominated if the media/entertainment establishment has anything to say about it (and it appears they do at this point).


I see this election as all but over. Obama and a tax-and-spend congress would have to teach this country another lesson in economic misery, and then another Reagan would have to emerge, before we can begin to crawl out of the economic hole I think we're about to fall into.

To the extent that personal planning has any importance, now would be the best time for us to plan for our economic future. If you're in a commodity industry and were thinking about a change, as I am, now would be a good time to move. If you were thinking about downsizing your lifestyle and and saving more for the future, we should begin.

Of course, the Lord's people will not starve, and economic hardship can teach trust. But I remember the mid-late 70's, and I'm not looking forward to going through that again. I hope I'm completely wrong about what's happening. But to the extent I can plan to make my family secure and assist others, I believe I should."

Those of us who work in the corporate world know how true this is. There are spiritual applicaitons as well:

"Dakota tribal wisdom says that when you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.

However, in business we often try other strategies with dead horses, including the following:


1. Buying a stronger whip.
2. Changing riders.
3. Say things like, "This is the way we have always ridden this horse."
4. Appointing a committee to study the horse.
5. Arranging to visit other sites to see how they ride dead horses.
6. Increasing the standards to ride dead horses.
7. Appointing a tiger team to revive the dead horse.
8. Creating a training session to increase our riding ability.
9. Comparing the state of dead horses in today’s environment.
10. Change the requirements declaring that "This horse is not dead."
11. Hire contractors to ride the dead horse.
12. Harnessing several dead horses together for increased speed.
13. Declaring that "No horse is too dead to beat."
14. Providing additional funding to increase the horse's performance.
15. Do a Cost Analysis study to see if contractors can ride it cheaper.
16. Purchase a product to make dead horses run faster.
17. Declare the horse is "better, faster and cheaper" dead.
18. Form a quality circle to find uses for dead horses.
19. Revisit the performance requirements for horses.
20. Say this horse was procured with cost as an independent variable.
21. Promote the dead horse to a supervisory position." :)

Here is a slightly edited version of a football primer you may have seen. (Note: I was born in Columbus Ohio. Both of my parents went to Ohio State. I grew up thinking Woody Hayes was a great coach and no football was better than Big 10 football. I still like OSU. But we moved south, and that's where my real education began).

Planning for the fall football season in the South is radically different than up North. For those who are planning a football trip South, here are some helpful hints.

Game Day:
NORTH: A few students watch ESPN on TV.
SOUTH: Every student wakes up and rushes over to where ESPN is broadcasting "Game Day Live" to get on camera and wave to the idiots up north who wonder why "Game Day Live" is never broadcast from their campus.


Tailgating:
NORTH: Raw meat on a grill, listening to local radio station with truck tailgate down.
SOUTH: 30-foot custom pig-shaped smoker fires up at dawn. Cooking accompanied by live performance from the Dave Matthews Band,... who come over during breaks and ask for a bite off the smoked whole pig and/or ½ cow.


Getting to the Stadium:
NORTH: You ask "Where's the stadium?" When you find it, you walk right in.
SOUTH: When you're near it, you'll hear it. On game day it is the state's third largest city.


Commentary (Male):
NORTH: "Nice play."
SOUTH: "Tackle him and break his legs!"


Commentary (Female):
NORTH: "My, this certainly is a violent sport."
SOUTH: "Tackle him and break his legs!"

Women's Accessories:
NORTH: Chap Stick in back pocket and a $20 bill in the front pocket.
SOUTH: Louis Vuitton duffel with two lipsticks and waterproof mascara. Money not necessary - that's what dates are for.


Stadium Size:
NORTH: College football stadiums hold 20,000 people.
SOUTH: High school football stadiums hold 20,000 people.

Fathers:
NORTH: Expect their daughters to understand Sylvia Plath.
SOUTH: Expect their daughters to understand pass interference.

Campus Decor:
NORTH: Statues of founding fathers.
SOUTH: Statues of Heisman trophy winners.

Homecoming Queen:
NORTH: Also a physics major.
SOUTH: Also Miss America.

Heroes:
NORTH: Rudy Giuliani
SOUTH: Archie & Peyton Manning

Getting Tickets:
NORTH: 5 days before the game you walk into the ticket office on campus.
SOUTH: 5 months before the game you walk into the ticket office on campus, make a large financial contribution and put name on a waiting list for tickets.

Parking:
NORTH: An hour before game time, the University opens the campus for game parking.
SOUTH: RVs sporting their school flags begin arriving on Wednesday for the weekend festivities. The really faithful arrive on Tuesday.

When National Anthem is Played:
NORTH : Stands are less than half full, and less than half of them stand up.
SOUTH: 100,000 fans, all standing, sing along in perfect four-part harmony.

Announcers:
NORTH: Neutral and paid.
SOUTH: Announcer harmonizes with the crowd in the fight song, with a tear in his eye because he is so proud of “our boys”.

After the Game:
NORTH: The stadium is empty way before the game ends.
SOUTH: Another rack of ribs goes on the smoker and planning begins for next week's game.

As a young minister in Kentucky, I was asked by a funeral director to hold a grave-side service for a homeless man, who had no family or friends. The funeral was to be held at a new cemetery way back in the country, and this man would be the first to be buried there.

I was not familiar with the backwoods area, and I soon became lost. Being a typical man, I did not stop to ask for directions. I finally arrived an hour late. I saw the backhoe and the open grave, but the hearse was nowhere in sight. The digging crew was eating lunch. I apologized to the workers for my tardiness, and I stepped to the side of the open grave. There I saw the vault lid already in place. I assured the workers I would not hold them up for long, as I told them that this was the proper thing to do.

The workers gathered around the grave and stood silently, as I began to pour out my heart and soul.

As I preached about 'looking forward to a brighter tomorrow' and 'the glory that is to come,' the workers began to say 'Amen!' and 'Praise the Lord!' The fervor of these men truly inspired me. So, I preached and I preached like I had never preached before, all the way from Genesis to Revelation.

I finally closed the lengthy service with a prayer, thanked the men, and walked to my car. As I was opening the door and taking off my coat,

I heard one of the workers say to another, 'I ain't NEVER seen nothin' like that before, and I've been puttin' in septic tanks for thirty years!'