A high school friend of mine, George Areson, recently attended the graduation of his son, Daniel, from medical school.  This is a great accomplishment not only for Daniel, but for George, who managed to put Daniel through medical school.  I never forget the parents, who not only had to do everything right in raising the young doctor, but had to sacrifice hard earned money and say the right things to educate him.

Doctors perform a great service to humankind, and while it was a means to earn a good living at one time, many now find it difficult to break even financially.  With the pandemic, the whole profession are heroes.  In some countries there was little if any help from the government, and doctors were the first line of defense.

This is a tribute not just to doctors, but to nurses and all medical workers, such as ambulance drivers.  Humans who sacrifice their lives for others have been recognized as heroes, especially since 33 AD.

I had breakfast at the IHop in Manhasset this morning.  I told my companion (my wife) that about 100 yards east of where we were sitting, on Northern Boulevard, my brothers and I erected a lemonade stand in the spring of 1944, and sold our drink to the passersby.  It was right at the entrance to South Strathmore, where Levitt & Sons had their headquarters (Abraham Levitt & Sons built all the Strathmores and Vanderbilt sections of Manhasset plus Levittown).

For me the breakfast was like old-home day, as I described the arching water fountain the Levitts had in front of their office.  There was not much traffic on Northern Boulevard in 1944 (World War II was coming to a close) and I have no idea how much money we made.  My mother helped us with the lemonade (God bless her, she was a Den Mother during those years) and then there was the brief hike from home to Northern Blvd.

Other people were not as blessed as we were during those years.  I ask God to even things out, as he does, in His heavenly Kingdom.

You’d think I’d have sense enough to use clear epoxy glue on a wooden blonde finish floor, but no, I had to use the black epoxy.  It was stronger!  Well, you guessed it, I smeared it and now have an irradicable stain on the kitchen floor.

Not to daunt my wife.  She took the owner of Trio Hardware aside, explained the situation, and he recommended acetone.  It’s a solvent and may work.  You never know whom the Holy Spirit uses to correct our blunders.

I go about my merry way and accept advice when it behooves me.  There was once a fictional happy boy, I forget his name, who was able to solve all his problems.  That’s me (I, to use correct English).  But only by the grace of God!

One of the remote influences on my life was the British Lord Baden Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.  As the famous Maria Montessori said, it is a good organization for growing children.  Unfortunately, the boys’ branch has fallen on hard times, largely due to sexual predators, unknown in my boys’ times.  Let’s hope, that like the Church, this organization recovers.

The Boy Scouts appeal to the basic instincts of boys as regards competency in the wilds and adherence to a moral and military code.  It brings out the best in young men, and teaches them to adjust to the demands of civilization.  And it does not mislead them into thinking this can be done without God.

In the merit badges, the boys (and girls have similar pursuits) learn about the adult world they’re going to enter.  As my youngest son said: the best things I ever learned were in Scouts.  (I was his scoutmaster.) He graduated with a B.A.

Trying to find time to do anything when you are living in the exhausting  years of your eighties is tough.  Ordinary tasks tire you out, and you need that afternoon nap.  But after it’s over, you don’t feel refreshed.  What are you going to do?

But I will say this: I do enjoy writing this.  If I could only find the money and the time to do good deeds, I wouldn’t mind.  Everybody likes to feel needed.  But we make do, as they say.  That’s my calling in life.  Family’s raised, and the challenge now is to keep the brain from shrinking into dementia.

There are still some things to do, like remind people to not give up, but to stay on the straight and narrow.  I don’t think that’s a myth.  I once wrote a book to keep a young lady from thinking the essentials are myths (Evolution and the Bible).  I don’t know if she read it.  The things we miss in life!