I woke up this morning with things on my mind.  That’s not that unusual.  And some of the things on my mind weren’t that unusual either…you know, work I need to get done, people I need to check on … and the weirdest thing … Dinty Moore Beef Stew.

That’s an OLD picture.  There are no thumb prints on top of the cans any more.  But, I remember being woke up at about 0300 hrs to pee, which is pretty normal for us old guys, to the thought of “Dinty Moore Beef Stew” in my head.  I didn’t think anything of it, went right back to bed and right back to sleep.  But when I got up  this morning, the thought was still there and it’s been sitting in the back of my head all morning long.  I even pulled a can out of the pantry this morning when I was feeding the dogs.  I set it on the counter, and then put it back.

I guess we’ll see.  Anyway, I’ve got a couple of things I want to catch up on this morning.  I think I may have already sent them out to you and I may not have, so I’d rather double up then miss out, so I’m going to do them first out.  Also I’ve got a couple of days off so I’m going to try to put out a couple of extra issues for you guys.  

That sounds generous, right?

A great deal of it has to do with the fact that right now, I’m uncomfortable in my own head and want to keep occupied.  

Not my favorite time of year.

So, let’s jump in to the fun stuff and see what we can do…

Okay, this first video is WAY cool and the perfect response to someone trying to play a prank on someone else.  like I said at the beginning, I’m relatively sure I sent this already, but maybe not.  Maybe I’ve just shown it so many other times that it just SEEMS like I sent it out to you guys.  Anyway, here goes…

And this next one is another video.  It rightfully belongs in the political section, but it’s just frustrating more than anything and this lady is just weird!

And this next one I know I haven’t sent, but it’s so beautiful and so Christmasy … sent by Woeter from South Africa.  It is awesome.  Lord of the Dance!

The key here is are you listening hard enough to KNOW what it is that God has called you to do?

I really LOVE that shirt!!!

This one is about ten minutes long, but if you are interested in UFOs, it’s worth the watch.

My grandfather was a professional organist.

Up until the monkey died.

‘Extremely toxic’ creature scientist ‘has never seen before’ found by boy on Aussie beach

Well, and since it was brought up … and I didn’t want to get into it … somebody’s birthday is tomorrow.  Christmas Eve.  No.  Not baby Jesus.  We CELEBRATE His birthday on Christmas Day, but we’ve figured out His ACTUAL birthday was sometime closer to tax day … in April.  

Go back to Luke, chapter 2, starting at verse 8:  And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manager.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Okay, go back to the first line (I really didn’t need to include all of that, I just love that part).  “Shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.”  From what I understand, that only happens in the spring.  It definitely does NOT happen in December.  I don’t know HOW they figured it was April (I actually heard once April 4th or the 6th) but they’ve definitely said April.

So, who is they?  Bible scholars who know a LOT more than I do.

So then whose birthday am I talking about?

Well, I’m sorry to say … mine.  Tomorrow is my birthday.  December 24th.  Christmas Eve.  It’s a crappy birthday and it always gets forgotten in the Christmas crush.  Not that it matters to me anymore, but as a kid, it bothered me a great deal.  Just because I know someone will ask, I will be 66 years young.  I still feel 16 in my head…and 116 in my body.  

So … moving on …

You guys have made this all worth while!  Thank you!

If everyone would just realize that there is One place to run to.

This next one is crazy weird.  So who do we have to thank?  Why, Stephanie, of course!

50 Cursed Randoms for a Terror-Filled Night’s Sleep

At first glance, it seems like someone’s reading in the water, but when you zoom in, you realize there’s no person, no book, no study—just an illusion.

Life is much the same; it appears one way, but beneath the surface, it’s entirely different.

Maybe Aussie Pete could answer that one for us…

You have to click on this one and watch.  It’s a Facebook Reel.  Click HERE.

I wanna be a Lector!

If you were a parent with a really great … or warped … sense of humor, you could do something wicked with the elf on a shelf, like the last couple of Christmas pictures every single night and have your kids find him every morning doing something strange or diabolic!  That would be 

Massachusetts Laws 

State legislation forbids dueling with water pistols. 

At his request, each morning three-year-old Ray’s mother pinned a bath towel to the back shoulders of his size two T-shirt. 

Immediately in his young imaginative mind the towel became a brilliant magic blue and red cape. 

And he became Superman. 

Outfitted each day in his “cape,” Ray’s days were packed with adventure and daring escapades.  He was Superman. 

This fact was clearly pointed out last fall when his mother enrolled him in kindergarten class. During the course of the interview, the teacher asked Ray his name. 

“Superman,” he answered politely and without pause. 

The teacher smiled, cast an appreciative glance at his mother, and asked again, “Your real name, please.” 

Again, Ray answered, “Superman.” 

Realizing the situation demanded more authority, or maybe to hide amusement, the teacher closed her eyes for a moment, then in a voice quite stern, said, “I will have to have your real name for the records.” 

Sensing he’d have to play straight with the teacher, Ray slid his eyes around the room, hunched closer to her, and patting a corner of frayed towel at his shoulder, answered in a voice hushed with conspiracy, “Clark Kent.” 

Stephen B. sent us a special message …

Regardless of your race, religion, sex, political beliefs (or lack of any of the aforementioned), a holiday season is upon us.

As Bill and Ted once said in “Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure” …………….”Be excellent to each other.”

Yup!  Survival.  That’s my goal, baby!

Timmy was a little five-year old boy that his Mom loved very much and being a worrier, she was concerned about him walking to school when he started Kindergarten.  She walked him to school for a couple of days but when he came home one day, he told his mother that he did not want her walking him to school everyday.  He wanted to be like the “big boys.” 

He protested loudly, so she had an idea of how to handle it. 

She asked a neighbor, Mrs. Goodnest, if she would surreptitiously follow her son to school, at a distance behind him that he would not likely notice, but close enough to keep a watch on him. 

Mrs. Goodnest said that since she was up early with her toddler anyway, it Would be a good way for them to get some exercise as well so she agreed. 

The next school day, Mrs. Goodnest and her little girl, Marcy, set out following behind Timmy as he walked to school with Another neighbor boy he knew.  She did this for the whole week. 

As the boys walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs, the little Friend of Timmy noticed that this same lady was following them as she seemed to do every day all week. 

Finally, he said to Timmy, “Have you noticed that lady following us all week?  Do you know her?” 

Timmy nonchalantly replied, “Yea, I know who she is.” 

The little friend said, “Well who is she?” 

“That’s just Shirley Goodnest” Timmy said. 

“Shirley Goodnest?  Who the heck is she and why is she following us?” 

“Well,” Timmy explained, “every night my Mom makes me say the 23rd Psalm with my prayers ‘cuz she worries about me so much.

And it says, “Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life.” So I guess I’ll just have to get used to it!” 

Drunk guy: “Here’s hoping you’re in Heaven ten minutes before the devil knows you’re dead!” 

Drunk girl: “What’s that mean?” 

Drunk guy: “It’s an Irish toast.” 

Drunk girl: “Oh. Well, here’s to bread, eggs and cinnamon.”

Drunk guy: “Huh?” 

Drunk girl: “That’s French toast.” 

I’m gonna have to try and find that one, it looks like fun!

Why doesn’t that surprise me one single bit?

So very, very true…

Me neither! 

Nevada, Eureka Law 

Men who wear moustaches are forbidden from kissing women. 

And that, my dear friends and family, is the perfect place to stop.  

May our kind and loving Father in Heaven Bless you all with Peace, Comfort, and Joy today and all your days through.  And until we meet again, I remain, in love…

Only two more episodes before Christmas.  There is no way that I can get all my Christmas pictures and memes in before than.  Looking at my folders, I have used 399 so far (or passed them by) and that was in the last 5 issues.  Which averages out to about 80 per issue.

I have 436 left in my folder.

That means I have to put in almost 3 times in the last two issues what I normally put in.  That would be no other pictures at all….and that’s no fun.

Or, which is more likely, and since I’m taking some time off starting this Thursday, I throw a couple of extra episodes in between now and Christmas, if I can find the time, and I use them that way.  I think we’re going to need to try to go that way, because it seems like everyone knows I have “use or lose” leave for the first time in my life and they are trying to either keep me from using it by overwhelming me with work before I go … or just outright kill me.

What’s “use or lose” leave?  Just what it sounds like.  You are only allowed to carry over 240 hours of regular leave from one pay year to the next.  Your leave accumulates until you reach that magic number.  Now you can go over that, you just can’t carry more than that to the next year.  So on the last day of the pay year, which this year I think is like Jan 11 (extra late this year) however much leave you have over 240 hours disappears.

Nobody wants to lose their regular leave.  But your supervisor can claim that he/she can’t do without you and deny your leave.  He better have a darn good reason.

Now sick leave, there is no cap on that.  You can accumulate as much of that as you want because when you leave, they don’t really have to pay you for that. (There is some fancy formula for retirement, but I’m not sure what it is…moot point for this conversation).

I have never, ever, in my 34 years of government service, had “use or lose” leave at the end of the year.  And I’ve got over 40 hours.  Over a weeks worth.  Between that and the two holidays and my additional award leave … Long story short, I’m taking from Thursday … today for you guys until January 2nd off.  This will be one of the longest breaks I’ve ever had.  And I will go into the new year with almost exactly 240 hours of leave on the books.  Which means if I don’t use ANY leave at all this year (EXTREMELY unlikely … but a dragon can dream) at the end of the year I’ll have 448 hours of leave and have to take 208 hours!  That’s 26 days of vacation which, with weekends and holidays and such, I could probably take most of November and all of December off!!!!

Nah!

It’ll never happen.

So, instead of dreaming of something so silly, let’s get on with this episode, shall we?  I hope you guys have been enjoying these extra large issues…they sure have been wearing this dragon OUT!!!!

Yeah, there are a LOT of theories on the drone situation that’s going on right now.  All I can say is that I don’t know anything definitive.  They aren’t breaking any laws that I have heard of, they are staying in the free airspace that regular light aircraft are allowed to use (which just goes to show you that we need to update our laws) and no, we can’t shoot them down.  They are the size of SUVs not the little store bought ones you might be thinking of.  If they get shot down, the down will be somewhere.  And people tend to live somewhere.  It’s also tough to shoot something down that can move like a drone can move without hitting what’s BEHIND the drone.  Now, why they haven’t been followed, or if they have, why we haven’t heard about it, well … that’s a completely DIFFERENT story about our government, now isn’t it?

I have to say, this dragon agrees.

A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan, in which a man was beaten, robbed and left for dead. She described the situation in vivid detail so her students would catch the drama. 

Then she asked the class, “If you saw a person lying on the roadside all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?” 

A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence with, “I think I’d throw up!”

Actually, that’s not an uncommon response.  Especially with kids.

The orthopaedic surgeon I work for was moving to a new office, and his staff was helping transport many of the items. 

I sat the display skeleton in the front of my car, and had fastened the seatbelt around it to stop it falling over. I hadn’t considered the drive across town. 

At one traffic light, the stares of the people in the car beside me became obvious, and I looked across and explained, “I’m delivering him to my doctor’s office.” 

The other driver leaned out of his window. “I hate to tell you, man,” he said, “but I think it’s too late!”

The mother of a large family was explaining why she dresses her children alike, right down to the youngest baby. 

“When we had just four children, I dressed them alike so we wouldn’t lose any of them. Now,” she added, looking around at her brood of nine, “I dress them alike so we won’t pick up any that don’t belong to us.”

And because most of them are sorely under paid for the crap they put up with.

See, I feel like this has been run already, but I’m not really sure because there are just SO MANY!

Yeah, I don’t know…

Nah, I think most will get that one!

Visit those in prison (jail)

South Dakota Law 

If there are more than 5 Native Americans on your property you may shoot them.

There really wasn’t anything mysterious about it, just nobody was going to push Mrs. Frank for an alibi. 

I’ve got a bad feeling about this…

A commercial traveller was passing through a small town when he came upon a huge funeral procession. 

“Who died?” he asked a nearby local. 

“I’m not sure,” replied the local, ” but I think it’s the one in the coffin.”

If you’ve got OCD, that door alone will ruin your day, every single time you see it!

Joe says … They tried:

 

Two geeks are sitting on a beach on a warm summer day watching a water skiier when suddenly the skiier falls and is under the water for quite some time.

“Hey we have to get that guy out before he drowns” one of them says. So the geeks both jump in the water and start frantically searching. Finally they find a limp body and swim it to shore.

“This guy has swallowed water. We have to give him CPR”. So one of the geeks starts giving him CPR. After a couple of minutes he looks up to the second geek and says “wow, this guy has bad breath! I can’t continue this.”

So the other geek says “well get out of the way then. I can’t let him die.” So the second geek starts CPR. A couple of minutes later he also stops and says “you are right, he sure does have bad breath”.

The first geek says “something is funny here. Wasn’t the guy that we were watching water skiing”? “Ya” responds the other geek, “so how come this guy is wearing ice skates?”

10 Things Men Know

1. Men know that Mother Nature’s best aphrodisiac is still a naked woman.

2. Men know that PMS is Mother Nature’s way of telling you to get out of the house.

3. Men know never to run away from a fight that you know you can win.

4. Men know that cats are evil and cannot be trusted.

5. Men know how to change the toilet paper, but to do so would ruin the game.

6. Men know exactly how much gas is left in the tank and how far that gas will get them.

7. Men know that from time to time, it is absolutely necessary to adjust oneself.

8. Men know that a woman will wear a low-cut dress and expect the man to stare at her cleavage. Men also know that the woman will get pissed off when they do, for reasons not totally clear to them.

9. Men know that it’s never a good idea to tell your father-in-law how good his daughter is in bed.

10. Men know that men are from here, and women are from way the hell over there.

And THESE puns and one-liners are from Chris…

I took my 8 year old daughter to the office on “Take Your Kids to Work Day”, but when we walked in the office she started crying. As several concerned co-workers gather around, I asked her what was wrong and she said: “Daddy, where are all the clowns you said you worked with?”

So I said to the doctor: “I think these pills you gave me are the wrong ones.” The doctor peered over his glasses and asked: “Why do you think that?” “Because I keep veering to the left and then veering to the right!” “Oh” he says…”they’re just side effects.”

A detective showed up at my house and asked me where I was between 5 & 6. I told him kindergarten.

Having a history degree is useless. There is no future in it.

During their long-term relationship, the pirates girlfriend loved him, wooden leg and all. Then one day she suddenly broke it off.

 I’ve got an interview tomorrow for a job as an underwater diver. I hope I’m successful, but I’m not holding my breath.

To the person who invented infinity: “Thanks for everything.”

I went to a shoe store this morning and asked to see a pair of loafers. The salesperson brought out the general manager and their accountant.

I don’t mean to brag, but cashiers are always checking me out.

 Told my wife I wanted to be cremated. She made an appointment for me on Tuesday.

You have $400. Your daughter texts she needs $200 and your son text he needs $150. How much do you have left? Me: $400 and 2 unread messages.

Some people can’t distinguish between etymology and entomology. They bug me in ways I can’t put into words.

 When I moved into my new igloo my friends threw me a surprise house warming party. Now I’m homeless.

 Whoever said nothing is impossible is a liar. I’ve been doing nothing for years.

I was arrested at the airport while I was greeting my cousin. All that I said was “Hi Jack!”

13 Famous Cases Where Someone Promptly Destroyed Their Whole Life With One Wrong Decision

Wild Phil Hershorn, the roughest, toughest, meanest Jewish cowboy in the old west, rides his horse Shlomo into a mining town, tethers his horse and goes into a saloon.

He orders two drinks which he downs slowly. When he is done with his drinks, he pays the bartender and walks out to find that his horse Shlomo and all his gear is missing.

He turns around, walks back in the saloon, pulls his two guns from their holsters and shoots both guns in the air.

“Which ever one of you goniffs stole my horse better have it back by the time I finish my next drink, otherwise I am going to have to do what I did in Texas after somebody stole my horse. And trust me, I don’t ever want to do that again”.

He walks back to the bar, gets another drink, and slowly drinks it.

The people in the bar start murmuring, talking amongst themselves and looking at Wild Phil with fear in their eyes.They knew not to underestimate the word of a Texan. What could he have done in Texas?

Wild Phil finishes his drink, walks out and finds his horse and gear are back where he first left them. He starts to get up on his horse to ride away when the bartender runs out after him.

The bartender says “Mister, we are sorry for what happened. But please tell me what happened in Texas after somebody stole your horse?”

Wild Phil looks at him and says, “I had to walk home.”

Our dear nursie friend brings up a very good point about the drones in New Jersey …

They say they are not a concern, who would start an attack in NJ??? HG Wells 1898 War of the Worlds…Lake Hurst NJ…

but I guess the only aliens invasion there is from boarder…

That is SO COOL!  I want to do this!!

The young doctor was taking his wife out one evening, when a pretty girl smiled and spoke to him. 

The wife scenting an earlier love affair, inquired: “Who is the lady, dear?” 

“Oh, just a girl I have met professionally.” 

“No doubt,” meowed the wife, “but whose profession? Yours or hers?”

And in all that time … in ALL THAT TIME AND LONGER … it has gone up 0.05% to a TOTAL of  0.2% from 0.15%.  Which allows them to claim a 33% increase.  Sure it is.  I can make numbers do whatever I want them to do, also.  But the total carbon is still LESS THAN one-quarter of one percent of the total atmospheric gases!!!!!  It’s a CREATED PROBLEM!!!!!  I’m so tired of this crap.  One good volcano puts more carbon in the air than we have since the industrial revolution.

As a passenger ship passed a small island, a bearded man could be seen shouting and furiously waving his arms. 

“Who is that?” a passenger asked the captain. 

“I have no idea,” the captain replied, “But every year when we pass he goes nuts.”

“Mummy, tomorrow I have an oral exam. One question the teacher will ask me is “who made you?” What shall I say?” asked Little Johnny. 

“Say God made you.” replied his mother. 

The next day, when the question came up, poor Little Johnny forgot what his mother had said, so he explained, “Teacher, until yesterday I was sure it was my father who made me. 

But then mother said it was someone else – and I can’t remember the guy’s name.”

At 85 years of age, Morris marries Lou Anne. A lovely 25 year old. 

Since her new husband is so old, Lou Anne decides that after their wedding she and Morris should have separate bedrooms, because she is concerned that her new, but aged husband may overexert himself if they spend the entire night together.

After the wedding festivities Lou Anne prepares herself for bed, and the expected “knock” on the door. 

Sure enough, the knock comes; the door opens and there is Morris, her 85 year old groom, ready for “action.” They “unite as one.” All goes well; Morris takes leave of his bride, and she prepares to go to sleep. 

After a few minutes, Lou Anne hears another knock on her bedroom door, and it’s Morris. Again, he is ready for “action.” Somewhat surprised, but nonetheless willing, Lou Anne consents to more “conjugal bliss.” When the love-birds are done, Morris kisses his bride, bids her a fond goodnight and leaves. She is set to go to sleep again, but Morris is back again, rapping on the door, as fresh as a 25-year old. ready for more passion. 

Once again, they enjoy one another. But as Morris prepares to leave again, his young bride says to him: “I am thoroughly impressed that at your age you can perform so well and so often. I have been with guys less than a third of your age who were only good once. You are truly a great lover, Morris.” 

Morris, somewhat embarrassed, turns to Lou Anne and says: “You mean I was here already?”

And there is not a single solitary veteran who just watched that who is at all surprised.

And that my dear friends, brings us to the close of another episode of your favorite ezine.  Until next we meet again, may you be blessed with love, happiness, comfort, strength, good health, and plenty of Christmas joy!

Only two Christmas issues left after this one!  And I know the header above isn’t very Christmasy, but it is SO adorable, I just had to use it.  It is from none other than our dear friend from downunder, Aussie Pete!  Thanks Pete!  I deeply appreciate all your contributions.

For that matter, now is a good time to tell you that I appreciate EVERYONE’s contributions throughout the year!  This whole endeavor would not be possible without them.  This is usually just me and my opinion on things and your contributions and how I put them together.  That’s it.

And that’s one of the reasons this is so much fun for me, too.  Because I get to look at all the fun things that you guys send to me AND I have a place to rant and rave and edit out the stuff that I think is inappropriate for our gentle audience and boy oh boy, you should see some of the stuff that I edit out!!!!  

Nah!  I’m kidding.  You guys see about 93% of what is sent to me.

So, I finished up FBI for the semester last night.  Next semester, semester #1 won’t start until sometime in January.  I’ve already taken my final on Theology (94%) and the New Testament (98%) and all I have left is the Old Testament test and I have until December 30th to finish that on time.

Anyway, what do you say we jump right into the fun stuff?  I’ve got a bunch of stuff to do today, so I’ll not have much time to work on this today, but I at least want to get started, so let’s go and …

There is so much truth in that!  Why should I give you my best, when you’re letting Joe get away with phoning it in every day?  Especially since that’s why you keep giving me all the tough jobs because you know they’ll  get done and you don’t give Joe anything!

It may take you a second…

Just another service I provide.

Some puns and one-liners from Chris.  Some old, some new, but they’re all funny!

Nurse: What happened to your fingers? 
Me: You know those chefs on TV who can cut up vegetables really fast? 
Nurse: Yes. 
Me: I can’t do that.

For my age I have a lot going for me…my eyes are going, my knees are going, my back is going.

 Humpty Dumpty is having a terrible winter. Which is a shame, because he had a great fall.

Sorry about my earlier joke about oil, it was a bit crude. I’ll make sure they’re more refined in the future.

Got a job working in a hayfield. After one day I bailed.

Q: How did the farmer find his lost cow? 
A: He tractor down.

Lawyers have feelings too — allegedly.

 I hate it when I can’t figure out how to operate the iPad and my tech guy is asleep. He’s 5 and it’s past his bedtime.

My ex-wife still misses me…but her aim is getting better.

My job at the concrete factory gets harder and harder.

A very philosophical friend asked me, “What is Earth without art?” I just looked at him and said, “Eh?

I saw a book at the store today called “How to end 50% of your problems” I bought two copies

My co-worker says she buys a new pair of shoes whenever she’s down in the dumps…I said I always wondered where you got them.

I opened up a store selling uncaged birds. They just flew off the shelves.

So I went to a hardware store and I said: “Can I have a bag of nails please?” 
Assistant: “Yes sir – how long do you need them?” 
Me: “I want to keep them.”

This guy is really quite good!  Thanks Stephanie!

The only problem with that … they are talking about all that summer fun (which is probably fine for Aussie Pete) but I just checked, and it’s the warmest part of the day right now and it’s 24 degrees outside!!!

And then have them really wonder in a couple of days when you have to return the rental!

I don’t remember if I got this last year, the year before or how long ago it’s been, but I love it so much it’s become part of my regular rotation!  Thanks brother!

Pharmaceutical Industry, Medical Community, Politicians… we could go on and on!

103 year old Grandma?!  Not Great or even Great-Great Grandma?  That would mean that both mom and Grandma were about 51 years-old when they had each other!  Legitimately, it could be his great, great, great, great, grandma.

The young couple invited their aged parson for Sunday dinner.

While they were in the kitchen preparing the meal, the minister asked their son what they were having.

“Goat,” the little boy replied.

“Goat?” replied the startled man of the cloth, “Are you sure about that?”

“Yep,” said the youngster. “I heard Pa say to Ma, ‘Might as well have the old goat for dinner today as any other day.'”

A young boy came to Sunday School late. His teacher knew that he was usually very prompt so she asked, “Johnny, is there anything wrong”? 

The boy replied, “No, I was going fishing but my dad told me that I needed to go to church”. 

The teacher was very impressed and asked Johnny if his dad had explained to him why it was more important to go to church than to go fishing.

Johnny replied, “Yes teacher, Dad said he didn’t have enough bait for both of us”.

The greatest Christmas speech of all time…

Luke 2

⁸ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Unto you is born this day … Unto you… who were the angels talking to?  The shepherds in the field.  The men at work.  Not just any men, the lowest of the low.  The smelly old shepherds, out in the fields, most of them probably laying with their sheep.  So they stank pretty good.  The angels came to these guys to announce the birth of the Savior of the world!  Not to the kings.  Not to the princes.  Not to the Pharisees or Sadducees who were the “religious” leaders of the time.  Not to the rich or the powerful.

No.

The angels came to the common man.  To one of us.

Have you ever wondered why, if God can do anything, He didn’t supply a room at the Inn for His Son?  Or a room at someone’s house, somewhere?  Jesus HAD to be born in a manger.  Do you honestly think that a smelly old shepherd would be welcome at a respectable Inn?  And what would they do with their sheep?

No, it all had to work out, just like it did.  Unto us.

Thank you God for allowing me to be one of us it was unto.

 

Tina Turner worked on a farm for a while before becoming famous. She was in charge of chickens and chicken-feed and egg gathering. 

Being an intelligent, efficient woman, it wasn’t long before she was bored with her daily routine, and decided to play mental games to keep things interesting. One of these games involved ranking the hens in order of egg productivity. 

The number one hen laid two eggs a day, one in the morning and one at night, without fail. The second hen laid at least one a day, sometimes two, and the third rarely laid a second egg. 

One morning, Tina noticed that one of the hens seemed to be infatuated with her. The hen followed Tina around the barnyard making moon-eyes and ignoring her feed. Being off her feed, the hen didn’t lay. 

This caused her to drop from number 2 to number 3 in the rankings. Years later, Tina Turner had the opportunity to ask, in a song, “What’s love got to do with it? What’s love but a second hen demotion?”

What do Winnie the Pooh and John the Baptist have in common?

They both have the same middle name.

New Hampshire Law

You may not tap your feet, nod your head, or in any way keep time to the music in a tavern, restaurant, or cafe 

A Sunday school teacher was teaching her class about the difference between right and wrong. 

“All right children, let’s take another example,” she said. “If I were to get into a man’s pocket and take his billfold with all his money, what would I be?” 

Little Johnny raises his hand, and with a confident smile, he blurts out, “you’d be his wife!”

On vacation a nine-year-old boy and his father were at the pool, where two attractive women wearing 
skimpy bikinis were sunning themselves.  

The father noticed that his son kept staring at the girls and would occasionally glance back at him.  

He was bracing himself for questions his son might have when they got up to leave. 

His son watched the girls very closely as they left, then he turned to his father and said, 

“Dad, can I take that candy bar those girls left behind?”

And the worst one of the bunch, that I would have thought I’d have never seen.  I hope it’s a prank, but was afraid to search to find out because I didn’t want that crap on my history…

That’s got to be a joke, right?  RIGHT!?!?

The Pentagon recently unveiled its new super computer to the top brass. 

This fantastic device, capable of making bazillions of decisions in split nanoseconds, is designed to solve all military problems with the greatest of ease. 

To test its capabilities, the brass poses a tactical problem to it and then asks for a decision, “Attack or Retreat?” 

The computer hums a bit, blinks a myriad of lights and answers, “Yes.” 

The brass, somewhat confused by this answer, replies, “Yes what?” 

The computer instantly replies, “Yes, sir!” 

Some Tips for the Clueless (learned the hard way) 

If you’re bidding on a job for UPS, don’t send your bid by FedEx.

If your computer says, “Printer out of Paper,” this problem cannot be resolved by continuously clicking the “OK” button.

If you want your refrigerator’s ice maker to work, you need to hook it to a water source. Air doesn’t make good ice unless it is mixed with water.

No matter how much data you add to your laptop, it will not get heavier.

It’s okay to use the Polaroid Land Camera on a boat. 

When your PC says “You have mail,” don’t go to the company mailroom and look for a package. 

If you’re in the armed services and it’s April 1st and you get an e-mail message to call Colonel Sanders for new orders, don’t. 

If you go to the computer store to buy a mousepad, you don’t have to specify whether it’s for a Windows or a Mac. 

New Jersey, Ocean City law

It is against the law to slurp your soup at a  restaurant.

And THAT’S a GREAT dad!

I had a bit of a rough day yesterday (Saturday).  I’m not sure if I was just overly tired because I got really lousy sleep the night before or whether depression just overtook me because of the holidays.  But today is Sunday, and I’m on my way to Church shortly.  I went to bed last night around 9 and woke up at 7 this morning, waking only once to use the bathroom, so ten hours of sleep.  My only complaint is a slight dizziness in walking and I think that is from a head cold I’m trying to get.

My point to all this is that we should give a bit of grace to the people we run into over the next two weeks…through the end of the year.  This is not a good time for many of us.  You guys know me.  I’m really quite comfortable by myself and even I am having a tough time this year, especially with loneliness.  Think of all the people who aren’t comfortable being alone.

I have a dear friend who is away from home for 4 months right now.  He gets to come home for two weeks over Christmas and then has to go back and finish up his schooling.  4 months!  And it’s almost killing him.  But he’s never been in the military or anything.  To us military guys 4 months is nothing.  We could do that standing on our heads.  But, I have to have sympathy for him because everyone is different and to someone who is not used to it, 4 months is a LONG time.

The people who work in retail are going crazy right now.  It’s the worst time of year for them.  Oh, not the owners of the stores!  They are loving it.  But, the workers.  If you’ve ever worked retail, you know what I mean.  Everyone’s on edge and it’s supposed to be the happiest time of year.  Give them some grace, too.

Why is it the happiest time of year? 

Because unto us …

God gave us the greatest Christmas gift anyone could ever imagine!  The best.

May you be Blessed with comfort and strength, joy and happiness until we can speak again my friends.  With love.

Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire inside, delightful… that looks like a delightful fire, doesn’t it?  Can’t you see yourself lounging in the living room, basking in the warmth of the dragon fire?

As long as the fireplace didn’t come to life and eat everyone!

Yeah … there is always that…

I’m going to try to get a really fast episode done for Thursday.  I hope it works out.  Put it this way, whatever is done by the time it is done, that’s what’s going to be sent out.

So…without any further ado, let’s get to the stuff that you all came to see anyway, right!

No thanks…I’m moving!

People Are Sharing Stupid Things Men Did To “Prove” Their “Masculinity” And I Can’t Stop Rolling My Eyes

It cracks me up as the other vehicles flee in terror!

Too Funny!

And these are from Chris…

Remember when plastic surgery was a taboo subject…now you mention Botox and nobody raises an eyebrow.

My wife is scared of thunderstorms. The constant rattling of the windows is pretty frightening, but if I let her in now, she’ll just get everything wet.

My new stair lift is driving me up the wall!

I didn’t like my beard at first. Then it grew on me.

If towels could tell jokes they would probably have a dry sense of humor.

Two sociologists are sitting by the pool. One turns to the other and asks, “Have you read Marx?” to which he replies, “Yes, it’s these darn wicker chairs.”

A tennis ball walks into a bar. The barman says, “Have you been served?”

Did you hear about the mathematician who’s afraid of negative numbers? He will stop at nothing to avoid them.

The CEO of Ikea was appointed Prime Minister of Sweden. He’s currently assembling his cabinet.

Why did the invisible man turn down a job offer? He said, he couldn’t see himself doing it.

My friend Tony asked me not to say his name backwards. I said, “Y not?”

NASA is launching a new mission to say sorry to the aliens. They are calling it — Apollo G.

Which two words have the most letters in them? Post office.

Saying ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I apologize’ mean the same thing–except when at a funeral.

What did the right eye say to the left eye? Between you and me, something smells.

I want to take a moment to thank the couple of people that I know donated to my daughter’s friend’s go fund me page.  If you remember, I talked about her and her husband and four kids who lost everything except the clothes on their back when their home burned down on 05 December.  I put the Go Fund Me site down and said that it was a tough time of year for everyone right now, but I couldn’t imagine going through this time of year right now like that…having lost everything with four little ones at home.  Some of you stepped up (some of you big time) and I can’t possibly be a Christian man and not say thank you and God Bless you.  I’m no longer asking, but only if you’re interested here is the site:  https://gofund.me/3e33a2eb   You can go there and see for yourself.  Today is Tuesday and when I checked it, there was only $510 raised from 9 donations.  5 of those donations, over 70% came from Dragon Laffs.  My heart soars!  But her other friends…any one of them would be in the exact same position if this happened to them, so I guess I can’t say too much.  I’m sure they are gathering clothes and toys and stuff and Izzy says they are doing other things and not contributing to the site.  I sure hope so.  Anyway, back to it.  I just wanted to say how proud I am of you guys.  Thank you.

Many a man’s reputation would not know his character if they met on the street. 

– Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915)

Speaking at a staff meeting, a very pert and pretty female engineer told the male manager of the division, “I’d like to get something off my chest.” 

“What’s that?” 

“Your eyes.” 

The base was quite far from “civilization” with the obvious result that the troops were forced to entertain themselves. 

One of the more popular pastimes was card playing. A large number of groups met regularly to indulge themselves. 

Bridge, poker, and gin rummy were played, but the most popular game by far was hearts. 

It happened that a few of the NCOs were not well liked by the troops.  One in particular was unanimously hated. 

As a result, he was never invited to any of the card sessions. When he complained to the Commanding Officer it was decided to put a stop to the whole business with the following command: 

Sgt. Pepper’s lonely. Hearts club banned

It’s always Bob!

An atheist was spending a quiet day fishing, when suddenly his boat was attacked by the Loch Ness Monster. In one easy flip, the beast tossed him and his boat high into the air. Then it opened its mouth to swallow both. 

As the man sailed head over heels, he cried out, “Oh, my God! Help me!” 

At once, the ferocious attack scene froze in place, and as the atheist hung in mid air, a booming voice came down from the clouds, “I thought you didn’t believe in Me?” 

“Come on, God, give me a break!” the man pleaded. “Two minutes ago, I didn’t believe in the Loch Ness Monster either!”

Oh my God, that’s so true.  Lord, thank you for keeping me in one, rather tattered, piece!

Three young neighborhood women, having coffee, were discussing their husbands. 

One said, “My husband is cheating on me, I just know it. I found a pair of stockings in his jacket pocket, and they weren’t mine!”

The second says, ” Well, your not alone cuz I’m sure my husband is cheating on me also. Last month I found a condom in his wallet, so I poked it full of tiny holes with my sewing needle and put it back in his wallet !” 

The third woman fainted ! 

All the time!

A little boy walked to and from school daily. 

On one particular morning, the weather was questionable as clouds were forming and the sky was gray, but the little boy made his daily trek to the elementary school anyway. 

As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up and the thunder and lightning began to roll. The mother of the little boy was concerned that her son would be frightened as he walked home from school and feared that the electrical storm might harm her child. 

Following a roar of thunder, lightning would cut through the sky like a flaming sword! 

Worried, the mother got into her car and drove along the route to her child’s school. 

Upon finding her son, she noticed her little boy was walking along just fine, but at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up and smile. 

More lightning followed and with each one the little boy would look at the streak of light and smile. 

The mother approached him in her car, lowered the window and asked him, “What are you doing?” 

The child answered, “I am trying to look nice, God keeps taking my picture.” 

Joe sent this to me … and I have to say, that he probably got injured again when he got home to his wife.

A recent study found that 35% of men have been injured while undoing a woman’s bra. 

That’s correct.  While unfastening a woman’s stabilizing device, men have received strained tendons, scratches, and other similar injuries. 

Actually, I can vouch for that. 

I got injured today while trying to undo a woman’s bra. 

When I undid the woman in front of me in the checkout line, she turned and hit me with a can of peas. 

I truly love this next story!

And with that PERFECT one I’m going to end it here.  I have to head to the jail and it will be too late when I get home to work any longer.  Until Monday then my friends, may God Bless you all with love and joy of the real reason for the season.

I’m bringing a horrible request to you my friends.  This time of year is tough enough. (Personally, I HATE it, but I am trying to bear through for the love of my daughter, but that is NOT the point here and if I get going down THAT path, I will close this laptop and climb into bed until the third week of January!!!!!!  Maybe I’ll explain my hatred for you new people later on.)  Anyway, where was I….

Izzy Dragon just now got notified about a dear friend at work who had her house burn down and they lost EVERYTHING.  They are devastated.  Izzy is crushed because the two of us just went out and did the last of our Christmas shopping today and she bought all the girls at work frivolous gifts (her words) and pretty much spent herself broke because it’s her first Christmas working at a place she really likes with people she really likes and now “I could have spent that money on the Go Fund Me and made a difference in Kassie’s life instead of something so stupid!”  (again, her words).  She’s pretty broke up about it and now wants to go back and return everything but got most of it on a special sale that she can’t return things for.

So my point.  I’m just putting this out there.  You guys have been so generous in the past for good causes, here’s the link for the Go Fund Me page

https://gofund.me/3e33a2eb

I know that every little bit will help.  I don’t know what he does for a living, but she does what my daughter does, which means she works hard and doesn’t get paid much for it.  So, if you can throw them a couple of bucks, I’m sure it will be appreciated.  I was the third person to donate.  I KNOW it’s a tough time of year for EVERYONE.  Like I said, I’m just putting it out there.  If you could pass the link on, I’d appreciate that, also.

Okay, so on to the fun stuff.  Let’s see if we can’t get things moving in the right direction here.  If you feel like it, I’d appreciate hearing from any of you who contribute…you know …. just so I know.

Thanks my friends.  God Bless you all.

A little bit of seriousness next…

Most people have NO IDEA how unbelievably HARD this time of year is for a LOT of us.  PTSD is yet one more way…

Yeah, I had that duty one year.  I got in trouble for eating all the cookies.

Yeah….Calvin, I’ve been there brother.  I feel ya!

Boy, ain’t that the truth!

This next video is absolutely amazing!

What a cool story!  Here’s a really good website that tells the origins and the whole story if you’re interested.  It’s really a neat tradition.  Here

10 Unexplained Historical Mysteries That Still Give Chills

No Kidding!  I agree 100%!!!

What a GREAT analogy!!!!

Here’s an article from Stephanie that you guys might find interesting…I did.

Murdered Insurance CEO Had Deployed an AI to Automatically Deny Benefits for Sick People

Anger at the insurance industry is reached a boiling point.

One liners and puns from Chris…some old, some new, some funny, some … meh!

I just read a book entitled “How to survive falling down a staircase”. It’s a step by step guide published last fall.

Every morning I walk my cow through the vineyard. Yes, I herd it through the grapevine.

If you boil a funny bone, it becomes a laughing stock. That’s humerus.

My husband called me from his job at the Velcro factory and said he was stuck at work.

I’ve been busy writing a pun about the wind. I can’t post it yet, it’s just a draft.

Head lice are now resistant to all the usual medical treatments, which has scientists scratching their heads.

People who confuse the metaphorical and the factual make my head literally explode.

I’m currently reading a book called: ‘There’s a hole in my bucket!’ by Lee King.

Husband: I think you’re right. 
Wife: I didn’t say anything yet.
Husband: I’m just trying to save time.

My email password has been hacked again. That’s the 3rd time I’ve had to rename the cat.

I saw a sign at a restaurant that said: “Shoes must be worn.” I was upset because my shoes were brand new.

I am writing a book about beer. I’m on my 4th draft.

Ever wonder about those people who spend all that money on those little bottles of Evian brand water? Try spelling Evian backwards.

Why do I tell jokes in elevators? Because they’re funny on many levels.

A man was admitted to hospital after swallowing 6 plastic horses. His condition has been described as stable.

This one is from Lynn and it is a cool story!  Thanks Lynn.

The 45 meters long Roman Road that was discovered during construction work for a new Mcdonald’s in Marino, Italy.

 Three skeletons were found on the sides of the road. McDonald’s incorporated a glass floor in the restaurant after excavations were complete. McDonald’s financed the restoration that was managed by Rome’s Superintendency for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape.

There’s a lot more people out here who hate this time of year than you would think.

The very meek pastor wasn’t known for exciting sermons.  One Sunday his wife was not feeling
well and had to stay home.

As he was ready to leave their house and walk to the church, his wife asked what he was going to speak about.

He replied that he was going to talk about their recent vacation and going horseback riding.

As he was walking he paused and thought it would be just another less than exciting talk. It was time to shake things up, so he decided to talk about sex!

The next day as his wife was doing her weekly food shopping she met a few ladies from their church.  “Oh my, one lady said. Your husband gave quite a talk yesterday!  He sounded like a real expert and you must be proud of him”.

Mrs. Pastor replied: “I’m quite surprised. He only tried it twice and both times he was bounced off!”

Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. Second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience. 

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

The supervisor for the Road Construction Workers called the meeting to order.

“Men — we’ve agreed on a new deal with the state. We’ll no longer have to work FOUR days a week!” 

“HOOORAY!!!” the crowd cheered. 

“We’ll quit work at 4 PM and not 5 PM!” 

“HOORAY!!!” the crowd roared. 

“We don’t have to be in until 11 AM instead of 10 AM!”

“HOORAY!!!” the crowd thundered. 

“And now, even though 99% of the roads in the country are blocked by traffic cones, we’ll only have to work on Wednesdays!!” 

Silence. 

A voice from the back of the room asks, “You mean, EVERY Wednesday?” 

Marriage is the only war where one sleeps with the enemy. 

– Anonymous

I was reading how a female spider will eat the male spider after mating.

I guess female spiders know that life insurance is easier to collect than child support.

A boy had reached the age of four without giving up the habit of sucking his thumb, though his mother had tried everything from bribery to reasoning to painting it with lemon juice to discourage the habit.

Finally she tried threats, warning her son that, “If you don’t stop sucking your thumb, your stomach is going to blow up like a balloon.” 

Later that day, walking in the park, the mother and son saw a pregnant woman sitting on a bench. 

The four-year-old looked at her for a minute, then said, “Uh-oh . . I know what YOU’VE been doing!”

A dedicated Teamsters union worker was attending a convention in Las Vegas and, as you would expect, decided to check out the brothels nearby.

When he got to the first one, he asked the Madam, “Is this a union house?” 

“No,” she replied. “I’m sorry, it isn’t.” 

“Well, if I pay you $100.00, what cut do the girls get?”

“The house gets $80.00 and the girls get $20.00.” 

Mightily offended at such unfair dealings, the man stomped off down the street in search of a more equitable, hopefully unionized shop.

His search continued until finally he reached a brothel where the Madam responded, “Why, yes, sir, this IS a Union House.” 

The man asked, “And if I pay you $100.00, what cut do the girls get?” 

“The girls get $80.00 and the house gets $20.00.” 

“That’s more like it!” the union man said. So he handed the Madam $100.00, looked around the room and pointed to a stunningly attractive blonde. “I’d like her for the night.” 

“I’m sure you would, sir,” said the Madam, then gesturing to an 85-year old woman in the corner, “but according to union rules, Esther here has seniority.” 

All so very true!!!!

Confourn It!

I want to share something with you that really pissed me off.  Izzy told me about this and then shared the link with me and when I read it, I got madder and madder.  I’ll let you read the article and then I’ll talk about it.

Bullies sneak into ICU to snap photos of 12-year-old girl they drove to hang herself: lawsuit

So, have you already heard about this crap?  First, I want two three sets of people lined up: 
#1 I want the kids that were bullying this girl. 
#2 I want the teachers and administrators in the school that were allowing this to go on…and from the sounds of it, participating in it. 
#3 I want the parents of the bullies.

Izzy thinks the kids deserve the death penalty.  That they are unsaveable.  I told her that I thought that was a bit over the top, but she was bullied in school and has a real hard spot in her heart for bullies.  What is wrong with you???!!!  How can you possibly behave that way?  And how do you, as parents, not know that your kids are that rotten?  Maybe you don’t know exactly what they are doing all the time when they are at school and what not, but you HAVE to know what kind of scum-sucking dirt bags they are if they are THIS bad.  And you teachers who knew what was going on and not only did nothing but threw in?   Gave tacit approval?  You will NEVER … EVER teach again!!!!  You will be charged criminally with any and all crimes that I can come up with.  And corporal punishment for ALL OF YOU IS 100% in line because it’s obvious that NONE OF YOU got your butts beaten enough when you were kids to give you the discipline and respect that you need to be a functioning human being.

How could you do that to one of God’s children!  How could you do that and call YOURSELF one of God’s children!

Okay…..moving on…

And that’s all I have time for my friends.  I have to end it here. 

Just a quick word for those of you who haven’t been here that long.  The explanation for why I’m not crazy about the holidays… December 26, 2021 my dear wife, Mary went in the hospital.  Two days after my birthday and one day after Christmas.  She came home and went back in twice.  Each time we were told she would be fine.  I don’t remember whether she was home or in the hospital for New Year’s Eve and all that, but on January 8, 2022, I gave the nurse permission to shut off the IV that was keeping her alive because by then all of her family that wanted to be there was there.  It was really just keeping her heart beating, she wasn’t there any longer.  She died on the anniversary of my daughter taking her own life two years earlier.  

I really, really thought it would be easier by now.  I can’t help but associate the holiday season with the loss of my best friend, and partner.  I’m trying so hard not to show it for Izzy’s sake, she seems to have gotten past it so much better than I have.

So, that’s enough about that.  

May God bless you all with love and happiness until we meet again.