I received this as an email from one of my nieces. The deal was to fill it out on yourself and send it back and send it to a bunch of other folks.

I usually don’t forward emails, and I usually don’t spend much time filling out surveys like this, but this seemed like fun. I emailed a copy back to my niece and am posting it here…in case you’re interested. Read the rest of this entry »

© 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

Here are the tag rules:Link to the person that tagged you: Tasty (my sweet Dau)!Post the rules for the me-it’s-all-me on your blog. And here they are:Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I usually ignore tags. But since Tasty was completely out of people to tag, I’ll play along.
2. It’s been about two hours since I started listing these seven things. Maybe I’ll quit trying to make this interesting…which is why I’ve not posted here since November. Nothing interesting to say.
3. We just returned from a cruise on Carnival Cruise Lines. If you’ve never cruised before, Carnival would be a wonderful experience. It’s just a notch below RCCL, Norwegian, Celebrity, and Holland America in service. Lots more activities, though.
4. I’ve done our own tax returns all but one year…sometime in the mid 70s. I paid H&R Block $35 to do something I thought was complex but turned out to be easy. It helps to use Turbo Tax.
5. I get really annoyed when someone tells me how to do something that I already know how to do.
6. I am really enjoying retirement. My wife recently said she’s surprised that I didn’t get a part time job or volunteered for Habitat for Humanity or something. I guess leading the youth band (Everfall) at church doesn’t count. Besides, I don’t want another job.
7. I just got up to pee for the fourth time since starting this exercise. Not only have I always had a “tiny bladder”, but also I now have an enlarged prostate contributing to the problem. I doesn’t help that my wife and I started a diet today during which we have to drink eight, count em’ eight, glasses of water a day. That and the coffee are running through me like an eight-year-old through Christmas packages.

So there, I’ve killed two birds with one post. The following folks are tagged: Mandy, Scoop, Vicki, and BLB. (I know it’s only four. I don’t have that many friends.)OK. I’m done with these tagington thingys.

© 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

It’s not that I don’t like going places with my wife. I love to. I even like shopping with her…as long as there’s an electronics, hardware, or bookstore nearby in case I get tired of looking at women’s clothing or cookware or home decor items.See, my wife shops sales. And each Sunday, the Walgreens add appears in The Daily Sun. Read the rest of this entry »

© 2007 – 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

Thursday is golfing day with the golf group. Except today. It’s been raining all day. All day rain is unusual for central Florida. Central Florida rain comes in short downpours usually in the late afternoon. We have gullywashers, usually accompanied by lightning and thunder, where citizens run for cover to avoid becoming sopping wet or being hit by lightning. Read the rest of this entry »

© 2007 – 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

Charlene With Stockings

My wife Charlene is a servant. Not only has she served our family for over forty years, but also she helps others. She serves as a youth coach at our church, volunteers at a food pantry, and sews for Operation Shoebox.

Operation Shoebox is an organization started in central Florida by a woman who has five sons serving in the military. A few years ago (2003), she got the idea to fill shoe boxes with goodies and a personal letter to send them to military personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

They no longer send shoe boxes because the postage was prohibitive. Now they send bags. Charlene is one of the volunteers who manufacture the bags.

At Christmastime, instead of bags, they make Christmas stockings. The photo depicts the stack of stockings Charlene made for the 2006 Christmas shipment. As you can see, she didn’t just settle for slapping together a couple of pieces of material. Each one was made with the special care and love that only Charlene can give.

Operation Shoebox recently sent their 200,000^th package to military folks in Iraq and Afghanistan. Congratulations, Operation Shoebox!

© 2007 – 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

Yes, we’re back from vacation. Weird calling a trip to the beach with friends a vacation when we’re already on an extended vacation in The Villages. The trip was a huge success. We relaxed, caught up with our friends, and I got to play with my friend Hannah, their 8 year old daughter.

This afternoon we went to see an orthopaedic surgeon for Mrs. Major’s knee. We were pretty much expecting that they would recommend knee replacement. But she was offered cortisone therapy. So she took it. We’re praying it works.

I encourage you to take a trip over to The Daily Detour. He’s a minister at a church in Indianapolis and has a great Christian perspective in timely issues. The above link is to an article titled “The Tragic Necessity of Violence,” and is required reading for anyone in the military, for anyone with a relative or friend in the military, and for Christians. It’s recommended reading for all others. Check out some of his other articles.

© 2007 – 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

I’ll be off the air for about a week. We’re heading to the beach to be with some friends.

© 2007 – 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

This is an update on a previous article about Warrior Custom Golf. They finally credited my account for the “test” irons they sent and I returned. Thank you, Warrior.

© 2007 – 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

Just got off the phone with Ashley at Warrior Custom Golf. She said they received the driver on March 5th so I’ll get my refund as a credit to my credit card. She said it takes 5 to 10 days for that to occur (I reminded her that 6 days have already passed).

So we’ll see. If I don’t get it within 10 days, I’m contacting my credit card company and the BBB of Southland.

This is a follow up on this article.

© 2007 – 2009, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

After the saga of my previous post, I received the above card in the mail yesterday. Apparently, in spite of all the acrimony, I’m a good enough customer to “share in the financial rewards and other benefits” their new program.

Just thinking… I wonder if I should be posting this stuff before I get my money back. Hmm

© 2007 – 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.