This past Saturday my air conditioner went out at my house. I had no idea what to do on a Saturday night of a holiday weekend. So I started flipping through coupons. I find one that has 24-hour emergency service, so I make the call. The next day comes and goes; I get my air conditioner fixed by a co-worker and I forget about that coupon.

Fast forward to Tuesday afternoon. My cell phone rings. I answer. He says "My name is Shawn, I understand you ordered a male escort for this evening." I say "Huh? Who is this?" I hang up on him twice. He calls a third time. I tell him I have no idea what he is talking about. He says "Oh, I have two businesses. Do you need your air conditioner fixed?"

Needless to say, I threw away the coupon.

I am sitting at the state hurricane conference in Galveston peddling travel maps. They are free so it's not hard to sell them.

I stood in line for 45 minutes to vote today. I'm not that excited about my options, I almost wimped out. But after it all, I'm glad I stayed in line. The woman in front of me took three buses to get there. Two young people in front of her were voting for the first time. There was confusion with some who weren't sure if they were in the right place. A couple came out of the room... He said "Why would we have to go all the way there?" She said "I asked you earlier to make sure this was the right place!" I smiled. Thinking the whole time how great this country is that we can stand in line to vote freely. I'm thankful for the men and women who gave their lives and made other sacrifices so that I could stand in line with the rest of them and cast my vote.

I went to a memorial service Friday night for a man who was a member at Northwest. It was a lovely service, very uplifting, a true celebration. Ernie lived 80+ years, and through some very historic events. He lived a full amazing life. Helped bury victims of a school explosion as a child, was a Marine during WWII, was a reporter through the integration crisis in Arkansas, helped establish radio in Liberia, helped get the first Republican Governor elected to Arkansas since the Reconstruction... Raised four kids, loved the Lord and his wife of 60 years through it all.

I've lived half of that time and haven't accomplished much of anything. I need to get busy!!!

Intro to this random comment: I work for the state. We get paid once a month. It hit me today that I only get two more paychecks before Christmas. I'm in BIG trouble! Time flies when your pushing 40...