Are you a miracle?

In response to last week’s imponderable question, “Are you a miracle?,” my organizational guru Marya acknowledged, “Considering I've made it to 45 with the dumb stuff I've done in this life, I'm a hell of a miracle!  The dumb stuff also makes for great stories!  ;-) ”   To this, my cycling friend Ted noted that, “My mother says yes-- it's a miracle she didn't kill me!”

My temple friend Richard declared, “No. Smokey Robinson was a Miracle.  If I could carry a tune, THAT would be a miracle!” 

My adjunct executive friend Lindy shared, “The good book says I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139) but doesn't mention miraculous.” However, my dad’s beach buddy Bob concluded, “I think we all are.  The miracle of life from conception to delivery is a miracle of immense proportion.”  And to this, my sailing friend Norm concurred, “When you realize how complex the human body is you know your life is a miracle.”

Please send me your thoughts about this week's "things that make you go 'Hmmm' ":

What is dark good for? (in honor of the Winter Solstice)

Live well...laugh often and heartily.... have a good week and never regret anything that made you smile!

Hal

Thu, Dec. 21 is the shortest day of the year.  That means on Fri, the days start getting longer!  December Solstice (Winter Solstice) is Dec. 21, 2016 at 11:28am in Atlanta. With just 9:54:31 of daylight, Dec. 21 is 4 hours, 30 minutes shorter than on June’s Summer Solstice.  So make the most of your night!

Thanks to Demetri Martin, Steven Wright and George Carlin for the inspiration for Hmmm.   I invite you to call or email me to catch up.

We rest in peace. Why don't we live in peace?

In response to last week’s imponderable question, “We rest in peace.  Why don't we live in peace?,” my cycling friend Ted concluded, “There is plenty of time in eternity for peace--We obviously need more excitement while we are here!”

My dad’s beach buddy Bob advised, “Somehow I think in life too many try to get satisfaction out of controlling others.  Once we give up the quest we are all at peace” to which my PR friend Stan observed, “We live our lives in many pieces.”

And to the prior week’s question, “What types of people don’t count?,” my videographer friend Ivan shared,

“There are 10 types of people.  Those that count in binary, and those that don’t.

People not related to royalty in any way don’t Count.  Neither do they Duke nor do they King.

Lap swimmers typically don’t count, they lose count.  I lost count once doing one lap, Ended up on the wrong side of the pool.

Unskilled Blackjack players don’t count.  The odds are not in their favor. If they get caught counting, the Pit boss will put and end to it.

People who drop of their diet quit counting calories.

This concludes my top Ten list of people who don’t count.”

Please send me your thoughts about this week's "things that make you go 'Hmmm' ":

Are you a miracle? (in celebration Chanukah this week)

Live well...laugh often and heartily.... have a good week and never regret anything that made you smile!

Hal

Another imponderable for the week is the correct spelling of Chanukah, Hanukkah, Hanukah, etc.  Thanks to Google, Joe Maller compiled this entertaining report about 16 ways to spell the holiday.  What we do know is that holiday starts on Tue night, 12/12, through sunset Wed, 12/20.

Healthcare coverage note if you’re in ATL and looking for individual or group healthcare.  There is a disruptive solution to replace Blue Cross, Kaiser and AmBetter that starts with unlimited primary healthcare with no co-pays for $100/month, and combines with catastrophic coverage with no deductible.  Connect with me or visit www.HIPnation.com for more info.

Thanks to Demetri Martin, Steven Wright and George Carlin for the inspiration for Hmmm.   I invite you to call or email me to catch up.

What types of people don’t count?

In response to last week’s imponderable question, “What types of people don’t count?,” my temple friend Richard listed,

• Members of the party not in power during a U.S. census.
• People who disagree with the party currently in power.
• People who suffer from arithmophobia.

And he added, “Please note that I used “bullets” in lieu of numbering the list, lest I further frighten the arithmophobes among us.

My adjunct executive friend Lindy replied, “I learned from my son, Tucker, ‘There are three kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand numbers and those who don’t.’   My thought is the people in line at the Fewer Than 10 Items checkout counter clearly with more than 10 items.”

My writing and sailing friend Rich observed, “Those that show up at the restaurant with eight people and a reservation for four” while my banking friend Tracey advised, “The ones with negative balances in their bank accounts.”

My sailing friend Norm declared, “Those that don't vote!”  And my social media friend Mark responded, “You know. If you don’t know, you don’t count.”

My cousin Greg noted, “Those of us who aren't mathematically inclined” to which my interfaith-activities friend Ann expounded, “Non-statisticians, non-accountants, most businessmen and, dare I say it, blondes.”

My leadership training friend Stuart went deeper, writing, “Innumerate people don't count, just as illiterate people don't read.”

My website performance friend Taz called out, “Babies, because they haven’t learned, and they only think about themselves.”

My friends Paul and Bob simply pointed out, “Ones with no fingers,” to which my sister-in-law Lorrie added, “those with no fingers or toes.  Fortunately, there are very few of them.”

Please send me your thoughts about this week's "things that make you go 'Hmmm' ":

We rest in peace.  Why don't we live in peace?

Live well...laugh often and heartily.... have a good week and never regret anything that made you smile!

Hal

Healthcare coverage note if you’re in ATL and looking for individual or group healthcare.  There is a disruptive solution to replace Blue Cross, Kaiser and AmBetter that starts with unlimited primary healthcare with no co-pays for $100/month, and combines with catastrophic coverage with no deductible.  Connect with me or visit www.HIPnation.com for more info.

Thanks to Demetri Martin, Steven Wright and George Carlin for the inspiration for Hmmm.   I invite you to call or email me to catch up.

What would the Pilgrims think of the Internet?

In response to last week’s imponderable question, “What would the Pilgrims think of the Internet?,” my birthday bud Jon knew that, “They would think it may flower someday.”

My writing and sailing friend Rich concluded, “The same thing Baptists think about dancing, tsk, tsk, tsk.”

In that same vein, my sister-in-law Lorrie called out, “Blasphemy!! All these blasphemous opinions coming not from G-d but from - out there, in the air” to which my sailing friend Norm added, “The Pilgrims, being very devout and religious, would have thought the internet was G-d.  After all, it is everywhere and it knows everything.”  

While my temple friend Bob replied, “They would have liked it if had helped them make progress,” my adjunct exec friend Lindy expounded, “They would probably be amused by what they learn, such as that they landed in Plymouth, when I believe  the Mayflower first landed at the tip of Cape Cod, which is now Provincetown.  And they weren’t all as puritanical as history leads some to believe.  They would probably have a good laugh at the errors on the internet, as we all should.

Please send me your thoughts about this week's "things that make you go 'Hmmm' ":

What types of people don’t count?  (from my conversation w/ my sailing friend Phil)

Live well...laugh often and heartily.... have a good week and never regret anything that made you smile!

Hal

Hope you had a chance to celebrate Arlo’s 50^th anniversary of Alice’s Restaurant this Thanksgiving. If you didn’t, here’s a link to an American treasure. 

Healthcare coverage note if you’re in ATL and looking for individual or group healthcare.  There is a disruptive solution to replace Blue Cross, Kaiser and AmBetter that starts with unlimited primary healthcare with no co-pays for $100/month, and combines with catastrophic coverage with no deductible.  Connect with me or visit www.HIPnation.com for more info.

Thanks to Demetri Martin, Steven Wright and George Carlin for the inspiration for Hmmm.   I invite you to call or email me to catch up.

How do we know if animals need glasses?

In response to last week’s question, “How do we know if animals need glasses?,” my writing and sailing friend Rich concluded, “They bite the hand that feeds them,” to which my dad’s beach buddy Bob agreed, adding, “I even know some people like that.”

My cycling friend Ted observed, “When the dog mistakes the cat for a fire hydrant.”

My temple friend Bob advised, “When we see them lapping water directly from a stream or trough.  Or, when Rover is humping your leg when there's a beautiful female collie nearby.”  Another temple friend, Lesley, shared, “If we could get an animal, other than a human, into one of these Autorefractors.”

My social media friend Mark replied, “If their face keeps falling INTO their drinking bowl, switch them to glasses.   As we age, drinking from a bowl is just too much, and a little undignified if you ask me.  (Or for glasses, did you mean spectacles)?”

And then my equestrian friend Royce called out the simplest reply, “If they are in the optician’s office.”

Please send me your thoughts about this week's "things that make you go 'Hmmm' ":

What would the Pilgrims think of the Internet?

Live well...laugh often and heartily.... have a good week and never regret anything that made you smile!

Hal

Thank you to the hundreds of people who attended our 13^th Annual Ecumenical Thanksgiving Celebration plus hundreds more who watched online.  After about 90 minutes of spoken reflections and music from people of many faiths, many colors and many origins, Rabbi Lebow offered a closing comment, “This is what America looks like.’

Best wishes for a moist, savory turkey this year.  We’ll be frying ours.

Healthcare coverage note if you’re in ATL and looking for individual or group healthcare.  There is a disruptive solution to replace Blue Cross, Kaiser and AmBetter that starts with unlimited primary healthcare with no co-pays for $100/month, and combines with catastrophic coverage with no deductible.  Connect with me or visit www.HIPnation.com for more info.

Thanks to Demetri Martin, Steven Wright and George Carlin for the inspiration for Hmmm.   I invite you to call or email me to catch up.