People and Their Government

If you have followed all of my postings, you know that in my past I was an elected official, serving as a school board member in the small town where I grew up. Because of that small amount of experience and a lot of reading since then, I’ve learned even more.

It is the nature of a legislative body within a representative republic such as America that elected officials don’t always do the right thing. Sometimes their motives are to do things that their constituents would not appreciate. Other times, they have the best of intentions, but do not have the insight and knowledge to write legislation that is logical and effective.

Such is going on in Oklahoma. Elected official, including the Governor, want to consolidate and make government smaller, so they have written legislation to consolidate several agencies into one larger one. They also want to consolidate the Information Technology functions of all the state agencies into one and put those functions under one person.

What they don’t understand is the different relationships that law enforcement agencies have that are different from other state agencies. Agencies such as the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation have computer network systems that must work in conjunction with local police departments, sheriff’s offices, and federal agencies such as the FBI and Homeland Security. They do not realize that their ideas of consolidating services into a limited number or even a single network will be difficult to accomplish and still keep the confidentiality of the information that flows between law enforcement entities.

That is what Jo and I have been writing letters about. While we recognize that some consolidation would be a good thing, each agency’s missions and needs must be recognized and studied to insure that everything works smoothly. We have had an extensive letter writing campaign to legislators and to the Governor. The bill to consolidate has passed the House, so now we are directing our attentions to the Senate and the Governor.

It doesn’t help that there are “outsourcing” companies out there that will make their money by setting up these consolidations and thus have skewed their reports to convince the legislators and other officials that their ideas are sound and logical. This one particular company has written reports for two other states and those states found fault with their findings and are NOT consolidating according to the company’s plan.

While others have approached the elected officials with different strategies, I have undertaken the task of pointing out discrepancies within that company’s report to the legislature. Tonight, I sent a document that was more than two pages long to all 48 of our state Senators and to the Governor. Only time will tell if we are successful.

But, it is a wonderful thing to be able to address one’s governing bodies with their ideas and concerns. That is not necessarily something that is inherently beneficial in any other form of government. Even a democracy can be considered to be governing with tyranny over the minority. So long as one party can get more votes than their rivals, they can write legislation that will do what they want at the expense of the minority.

So, while it is work to write the letters, it is a privilege to be able to participate in ways other than voting alone. Our country is so unique and so special and we should never forget those privileges.

Some time back, I heard a rendition of our national anthem that was absolutely stunning. While we get to hear professional singers totally butcher our anthem, these young ladies did it right. I still get goose bumps when I hear their singing. Since I stumbled upon being able to imbed a video into yesterday’s post, I’m going to attempt it again. I really think it is just another advantage of using LiveWriter.

So, let me introduce the Cactus Cuties from the Cactus Theater in Lubbock, Texas. This was their anthem sang at a basketball game.

Follow Up on Chapter 5

I now have to apologize for forgetting something. I meant to put some internet links in the body of the last posting, the one about Why We Did What We Did Chapter 5.

This first one was meant to go after the picture of the SportsChassis truck, which is the converted Freightliner M2 and takes you to their website:

http://www.sportchassis.com/

The other one I meant to put in was a link to that 150,000 mile test with the Ford F450. It is a YouTube presentation, so I apologize if it has to do its start, pause, start, pause, buffer, start, etc. Also, it is about a nine minute video:

Ford F450 150,000 mile test drive.

OK.  I don’t have ANY IDEA how I managed to get the video imbedded.  I thought I had just attached a link.

Oh, well.  Live and learn.  Now, if I could only remember what I did…..

Why We Did What We Did Chapter 5

This month has been challenging with things going on in the state legislature that we are trying to have some input with, so I haven’t been able to do much writing for the blog. Most of my writing has been letters to legislators and the Governor’s office.

Anyway, in the process of choosing an RV with which to live full time, one consideration that was important to me was the RV’s abilities on mountain passes. (Have I mentioned that I LOVE the mountains?) As such, while it is important to have enough power to climb UP mountain passes, it is even more important to have the ability to safely go DOWN the mountain passes. (I’m just not real big about sudden steep descents with even more sudden stops at the bottom.)

So, I wanted to make sure that what we had would have some form of additional “braking” other than using only the brakes on the wheels. Since I was formerly an 18-wheeler operator, I was familiar with what are referred to as “Jake Brakes”, also known as “engine compression brakes.” Any additional assistance in slowing a heavy vehicle down a pass is very comforting.

The Phaeton motorhomes, as with most motorhomes, were equipped with those types of engine braking. But, I really wasn’t sold on motorhomes yet and continued to look into the options of fifth wheels with different tow vehicles. Knowing the weight of the Mobile Suites (our first choice in a fifth wheel), we wanted to make sure what we bought was big enough to handle a heavy fiver both up and over those mountain passes.

I was impressed with the information about the Ford F450, including a video about a 150,000 mile test of that truck. I felt that for me to feel comfortable, I needed at least the F450 for our tow vehicle. One thing of concern to me was going to be the cost of one. I felt that a used F450 in Oklahoma would be from the “oil patch” and that it would be HEAVILY used, thus not a good choice for our tow vehicle.

In my research, I also discovered that the newer Ford engines weren’t readily capable of installing aftermarket “engine brakes.” Aftermarket primarily being the “exhaust” style engine brakes that use back pressure of the exhaust with a “butterfly” valve to create that for slowing the vehicle. Plus, my research had found that unless I was willing to go up into 550/5500 series trucks, Chevrolet/GMC and Dodge trucks just weren’t rated high enough for a Mobile Suites fifth wheel. My opinion of those bigger series trucks is that they are like lumber wagons unless they are loaded down.

Jo mentioned that she had seen some mini-Freightliners at a dealership for horse trailers in Oklahoma City. This dealership was usually closed when we were out and about on weekends, so it took taking some time on a work day afternoon to drive down by there. What we found were some impressive models called SportChassis that are mini-Freightliners that are converted somewhere in Clinton, Oklahoma. They had some new and used models, but we chose to limit ourselves to the used ones.

As well we should. The used one that we looked at was selling for around $90,000. It might very well be that there are less expensive models built on the same mini-Freightliner frame and cab, but this was what we had available that we could actually test drive and get our lusting little hands upon. You know, something like this one:

While the SportChassis was a VERY nice unit to drive and was well equipped for a full time towing vehicle, the cost was very prohibitive to us even though it was equipped with the engine compression brake that I wanted. So, we continued to look around, with all options still on the table.

We were becoming depressed with what we were finding, and we were down to the point of looking for a fifth wheel that didn’t weigh as much, just so that I could possibly match it to a Ford F350 dually instead of the F450’s and mini-Freightliners. (We had decided that the cost of trading for the Phaeton motorhomes was just way too much to spend, unless we wanted to work until we were in our late 70’s just to pay for them.)

We had looked at a number of fifth wheels such as Cedar Creek, Carriage, and Open Range that would give us the amenities that we wanted. In looking at the idea of a smaller truck and RV, I was voicing my frustration with our salesman at the dealership where we had traded in the past. When I explained about the lack of aftermarket “engine brakes” for the Fords, he asked me about the transmissions. When I expressed an ignorance of what he mentioned he told me that he had a relative with a truck that had a transmission that served as a means of slowing the truck instead of an engine brake.

Well, that sent me back to the Ford brochures. Sure enough, there it was all along. The “Tow/Haul” feature on many transmissions does serve as an additional braking mechanism. So, now I was back looking at the regular dual wheeled pickups instead of the higher MDT’s. But, I was still looking at the F350 because I had always found nice looking F350’s at our vehicle dealership that were reasonably priced USED vehicles. No need to pay “new” price.

But, in searching for a good used F350 on Diffee Ford’s website, there were absolutely NONE. I had NEVER seen that. So, I widened the “search” parameters of their website and up popped a 2008 Ford F450. Whoa!!! That one looked nice, so I looked further. 46,000 miles, KING RANCH all decked out and only $36,000.

Needless to say, I grabbed my phone and called our salesman at Diffee’s. I asked him to verify four things: the price, the mileage, whether it had the Tow/Haul feature in the transmission, and whether it had the 4:88 ratio rear axle. He called me back after about half an hour (just long enough for me to tell Jo about what I had just found), and then told me that the answers, in order, were “Yes”, “Yes”, “Yes”, and “Yes.” So, I told him we would be by that evening after work to look it over.

After work, we stopped at the house and got the F250 we owned (plus the title) and drove over to El Reno. After driving it, we sat down to talking and ended up trading for about $30,000. So, we were back to looking at the Mobile Suites because we had just saved enough on the truck to afford the better fifth wheel.

All I all, we have now gone from this:

To this:

And, the truck color pretty much matches the Mobile Suites:

In Praise of Smugglers (Now Gone Legitimate)

Considering that I am conservative, firmly believe in law and order, and even work for a law enforcement agency, this one story about smugglers is really one to brag about. In the end, you may consider the whole story as ironic, especially considering the countries involved.

Back in 1961 (yet, 50 years ago this year), a church of Christ congregation in Texas undertook a new mission. You see, in August of that year, the East German government began to build the Berlin Wall, as most will know was more to keep East Germans in that keeping West Germans out. Anyway, the Texas church decided to do something about that barrier.

From 1961 to 1989 (nearly 30 years), various people worked at smuggling Bibles into East Germany and Russia. While I don’t know the particulars of how they actually got those early Bibles into the Communist bloc, I would imagine that the participants of those operations weren’t able to sneak in very many at a time.

The Communist bloc merely tolerated the Russian Orthodox religion as the government was atheistic, so the introduction of yet more religion may very well have been met with strong resistance. Yet, those brave souls continued their work of providing the Word to some in the Eastern European area. This was referred to by those associated with it as their “smuggling ministry.”

A few years ago, our church was issued a challenge by a man who has become a very welcome friend in our congregation. He first brought us the story that since 1989, with the fall of the Berlin Wall and more free interchange of people and goods, what is known as the Eastern European Mission was now able to openly ship Bibles into those regions.

At the time that they came to us, Ben Mereness of Amarillo, Texas helped explain that the EEM was conducting a “Million Dollar Sunday” where numerous church congregations could donate towards their mission to print and distribute Bibles to Russia and the Ukraine. I don’t recall exactly, but I think that the year we first participated was their second “Million Dollar Sunday.”

What really inspired us was that the EEM was shipping those Bibles to public schools in those countries. Entire regions, made up of numerous school districts, were clamoring for the Bibles to be used in their education programs. With such demand, EEM was reaching out to additional congregations for help. And HELP they got. That year and again this year, the Million Dollar Sunday netted more than a million; this year over $1.5 Million.

EEM’s efforts continue to pay off. This last year, more school district officials are requesting Bibles and other materials for their educational programs. Plus, there were requests this year from schools in the Crimea, some of those in areas where there is a higher percentage of Muslim presence

Ben was our guest minister today and he brought us some updates, including the reference to the area of the Crimea with the Muslim presence. He told us about a district (or region) that had requested Bibles and other materials but wanted them in a really short period of time, due to the scheduled start of their school year. They were told that the materials were available but transportation needed to be found. The school district (or region) said that they would come get them in their school busses and even provide for the drivers. Ben was able to show us pictures of these busses with boxes of Bibles filling the seats and the center aisles.

416 churches participated this year from 38 states in the U.S. and the Bibles provided will go to areas in the Ukraine, including the Crimea. And more keep being requested, not only by the schools, but also from individuals. See this e-mail message that EEM received and is posted on their website:

“15 Years After – The Lasting Impact of the Children Bible

A couple of months ago, our Dallas office received the following email:

I know English so so!! I have your children Bible, which I get in a hospital 15 years ago in Chernigov (Ukraine), now I am 25 years. This Bible very wonderful for me. Now I serve children in Oster city (Ukraine). I want more children Bibles for serve children. How can I do it? Sorry for my English.

The email was forwarded to our European office to follow up on the request and supply the needed literature.  Messages as this one are a strong source of encouragement to our staff as they help us to see the broad impact of our ministry.
We don’t always know how our materials are used but it is always a blessing to know that they have a lasting impact on people!”

If you should be interested, you can check out EEM’s website at:

http://www.eem.org/

First of all, it is wonderful to see the spreading of God’s word to areas of the world where it was lacking for such a long period of time. And, it is ironic that they are sent from churches in a country where the Bible can’t be taught in public schools to schools in a former Communist bloc to be used for teaching in public schools. I should also mention that Bibles for the adults of those countries are also provided.

The Bibles are provided free of charge to these schools. All the proceeds of Million Dollar Sunday events and other donations are used to print and ship the Bibles. While I am quick to brag on the Eastern European Mission, I’d also like to point out that our congregation of roughly 300 people (men, women and children) have contributed roughly $15,000 in our first “Million Dollar Sunday” event and this year we contributed over $18,000.

Even if all the above weren’t enough, EEM also helps to establish churches in that part of the world.

We are blessed and are proud to help others be blessed.

An image of one of those children’s Bibles:

More Variances of Religions

Before I delve too much into this topic, please allow me to go back into my post history and retrieve a posting which, if you read it, will give you an idea of where my beliefs come from and what is the core of my belief. This link will take you to the post entitled, “Religious Beliefs.”

http://ignoringthebarkingdogs.blogspot.com/2011/01/religious-beliefs.html

On the RV Dreams forum, one of the members, a friend of mine with whom I’ve shared Chocolate Chip ice cream, made a comment on his beliefs in Christianity. It should come as no surprise to many that I differ from him and many others. Let me explain.

Over the years, I have taken at least a serious passing interest in the different religions, and thus have given some study and thought to them. Just as there are significant differences between Judaism, Christianity and Islam, there are also significant differences within each religion.

There are numerous “sects,” if you will, within Judaism that I won’t even begin to try to list. Instead, allow me to provide a link to a Wikipedia posting about Judaism:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism

Within Islam, there are at least three major sects, being Shia, Sunni, and Sufi. For more on Islamic sects, see this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam

Within both Judaism and Islam, there are differences in beliefs between the various sects of each religion. They tend to differ on interpretations of each of their “holy” books. Those differences can lead to violent confrontations as we have seen within Islam in Iraq.

But, this posting is going to focus only on Christianity. Based on my beliefs and those of the church of Christ, the early 1^st century church was the model that we follow, and the tenets of those beliefs are solely within the Bible, but not just certain portions of the Bible. Beyond the 1^st century church, there was the development of the Catholic Church and then the reformation movement brought about the Protestant churches. Both the Catholic Church and the Protestant churches have seen their own splits, based on various beliefs.

Therefore, it is not surprising that in the early 1800’s there was what we refer to as the Restoration movement within America and beyond. That movement was to get back to the Biblical idea of the church of the 1^st century. Since the churches of Christ consider themselves “restoration” churches, they don’t consider themselves as denominations. That is not to say there aren’t differences within the churches of Christ because there are. Each congregation is autonomous and none have any kind of hierarchy above the local congregation.

Thus, we have some congregations that don’t believe in children’s Bible study classes. I’m sure that there are more, but at the moment, I can’t think of any. But look around at the various churches. There are differences even within the Baptist church that makes each seem to have different beliefs than their counterparts.

Now, knowing of the differences between “sects,” if you will, of the Christian churches, my comment comes from the forum comment by my friend. In that comment, he referred to what the Christians believe, but I have to differ with him. He mentions that the belief is that in the end of times, there will be the “Rapture,” then a 1000 year reign of Christ upon the earth, and then a new Heaven and new Earth.

I contend that there will be neither Rapture nor 1000 year reign on earth. Let me quote 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17.

“¹⁶ For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first;

¹⁷ then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Verse 17 is a key to my beliefs as it states we will be “caught up in the clouds” and then “and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” This passage seems to contradict the book of Revelation, at least based on what many read into that book of the Bible. To me, “so shall we ever be with the Lord” says nothing about returning to earth.

Now, for the most controversial part of my statements, one which may either cause discord or a search for discovery. Suppose I were to tell you that the book of Revelation is NOT a book foretelling future events? But that it is a revealing of Jesus Christ?

For many years, because I had never sat in an adult Bible class studying the book of Revelation, I had no desire to read that book because I considered it a book of doom and gloom. Then a few years ago, our Bible study class undertook the book using the Bible and a commentary written by a long time church of Christ preacher. That book is entitled, “As A Lamb Slain” and was written by one Floyd I. Stanley of Rogers, Arkansas.

His father had advised him to NOT publish the book until after he had reached at least the age of 50. That way, he would be forced to obtain more maturity, especially within the study of the Word, and thus have a more valid commentary of Revelation. Mr. Stanley’s daughter told us that her dad was tempted to publish earlier, but adhered to his father’s wishes. As well he did, because his book later did need some minor revisions.

That book is no longer sold in bookstores. However, his family does still occasionally have an additional printing done. Over the last several years, we have bought several copies from them to give to friends and family members, as well as Bible study participants.

The study of Revelation is a difficult one because there is so much of its dialogue that is figurative language, difficult for most people to understand. Let me give an example. Did you know that the beast with 7 heads and 10 horns is the nation of Israel? The 7 heads refers to the 7 Herods of Israel and the 10 horns refer to the 10 kings (Caesars) which were over Israel.

There is far too much for me to relate here as to the study of Revelation, but as I read through “As a Lamb Slain” again, perhaps I can comment more on what it says and perhaps on what it means to Christians. Until the coming of Christ, let us not take offense with each other, but study the Word as best we can so we can obtain more understanding.

Kind of a Downer Week

Last Friday, we got an e-mail from the young lady who put a contingency contract on our house.  She told us that she had a “medical emergency” and was scheduled for an appointment with an oncologist on the 9th (yesterday) and that she had another appointment with someone else on the 29th.  Anyway, she wanted to let us know that she may have to put a lot of stuff in her life on hold, including buying our house.

There is earnest money involved with this contingency contract, so that would come to us if she does cancel.  However, if she truly has a serious medical condition like cancer, there isn’t anyway that Jo and I would feel right with keeping that money.  Besides, her health is more important to us than money, or for that matter, getting our house sold.  Those of you that pray, please say a few for her and her daughter.  They have to be miserable.

Life has a way of turning out in ways that one doesn’t expect.  Things are going along pretty well and then you hit a snag.  The first two homes that Jo and I bought brought us a profit when we sold.  This one may end up costing us money.  But, getting out from under the payment would still be a relief for us.  That would help us get debt free and pay off the pickup and Mobile Suites.

In spite of our ages, we are in good health.  One of Jo’s sisters has had bypass surgery and her other sister just had a hip replaced.  Shoot!!!  We want to get on the road and get away from these unhealthy people.  (Seriously, we love them all dearly.)  Her oldest sister (the heart one) and her husband will be down this weekend to visit.  And last weekend, we went to see the “hip” sister.  We were glad for that since she had disassociated herself from us at one time.

Anyway, while some things are down, others are really up.  Trying to find humor (which really isn’t that hard for me), I’ve got another funny to share.  Or, is it?  (Read each line carefully.  Oh, and I had to remove one…..wasn’t’ really appropriate for “mixed company”.  Now, you’ll be wondering.)

Times Are Getting Tough

Times are getting tough. The recession is hitting everybody!!!

I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.

CEO's are now playing miniature golf.

Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen.

A stripper was killed when her audience showered her with rolls of pennies while she danced.

I saw a Mormon polygamist with only one wife.

If the bank returns your check marked "Insufficient Funds," you call them and ask if they meant you or them.

McDonald's is selling the 1/4 ouncer.

Angelina Jolie adopted a child from America.

Parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children's names.

My cousin had an exorcism, but couldn't afford to pay for it, and they re-possessed her!

A picture is now only worth 200 words.

When Bill and Hillary travel together, they now have to share a room.

The Treasure Island casino in Las Vegas is now managed by Somali pirates.

Congress says they are looking into this Bernard Madoff scandal. Oh Great! The guy who made $50 Billion disappear is being investigated by the people who made $1.5 Trillion disappear!

And, finally...

I was so depressed last night thinking about the economy, wars, jobs, my savings, Social Security, retirement funds, etc., I called the Suicide Hotline. I got a call center in Pakistan, and when I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited, and asked if I could drive a truck.

 

(That last one isn’t too funny.  I was stationed in Pakistan back in the ‘60’s.  That place is depressing enough they shouldn’t need any “imported” suicidal folks.  There should be an unending supply of locals for that one.)

Yeah, I know that I’m hopeless.

Awesome: It’s the End of the World

This one is “sort-of” RV related in that the people in the story are using RV’s in their “journey.”  Be sure and read all the way through as I will have some comments at the end.  This is a news story from the UK Daily Mail.

‘Awesome: It’s the End of the World’

Doomsday campers travel the country preaching the Apocalypse...on May 21

By Daily Mail Reporter
8th March 2011

Most people like to push thoughts about the end of the world to the back of their minds, hoping that the apocalypse, if it ever comes, will be a long way off.

But for one group of not-so happy campers, doomsday is a lot sooner...May 21 to be precise.

According to the predictions of the Family Radio ministry, on that date a massive earthquake will shake the world apart, littering the ground with 'many dead bodies'.

The end: members of the Family radio group are sure the end of the world is coming on May 21. They point to complex numerical codes to demonstrate the accuracy of their predictions

Message: Ambassador Sheila Jonas (right) stands in front of her caravan emblazoned with the end of the world message

Those who believe in Jesus will be carried into heaven, while the rest of humanity will endure 153 days of 'death and horror' before the world ends on October 21.

The group of 10 Christians from Oakland have set out across the country in a convoy of caravans to bring the 'awesome' message of impending doom to as many people as possible.

'Project Caravan', as it has become known, is made up of members of the Family Radio network all of who have given up jobs, families and all their possessions to join this final mission.

Calling themselves 'ambassadors', the church members point to baffling biblical codes to demonstrate their reasoning.

Speaking to CNN the group's leader, 89-year-old Harold Camping, is adamant that the date is accurate.

He said: 'I know it's absolutely true, because the Bible is always absolutely true.

'If I were not faithful that would mean that I'm a hypocrite.'

Despite his conviction, Camping has predicted the world would end before - on September 4 1994.

That, he says, was a mistake, a misreading of the biblical codes used to decipher the exact date of the 'rapture'.

In order to get the warning out in time he fudged his calculations, a mistake he maintains he did not make this time.

Visits: A look at where the dooms day caravan tour has been so far. The group now have three separate caravans of around 15 vehicles touring the country

According to the Church's website, there are two 'proofs' that May 21 2011 is the judgement day.

According to them, Noah's great flood occurred in the year 4990 B.C., 'exactly' 7000 years ago.

At the time, God said to Noah he had seven days before the flood would begin.

Taking a passage from 2 Peter 3:8, in which it is said a day for God is like a thousand human years, the church reasoned that seven 'days' equals 7000 human years from the time of the flood, making 2011 the year of the apocalypse.

In its second 'proof' the exact date is revealed by working forward from the exact date of the crucifixion - April 1, 33 AD.

According to their reasoning, there are exactly 722,500 days from April 1, 33 A.D. until May 21, 2011 - the alleged day of judgement.

This number can be represented as follows: 5 x 10 x 17 x 5 x 10 x 17 = 722,500.

The church then argues that numbers in the bible have special meanings, with the number 5 signifying atonement or redemption, the number 10 signifying 'completeness' and the number 17 equalling heaven.

'Ambassador' Sheila Jonas, another of the Family Radio faithful, spoke of her joy at joining the not-so merry band of travellers.

She said: 'I'm in it until the end. This is so serious, I can't believe I'm here.

She will not however talk about her past because: 'There is no other story. ... we are to warn the people. Nothing else matters.'

Collection: The family radio faithful pose in front of their convoy of caravans.

Travelling in a convoy of five caravans, the doom-mongers are adamant that Jesus is coming in three months.

And for anyone harbouring doubts over the accuracy of the prediction, the group has a cast iron answer - 'the Bible guarantees it'.

With T-shirts and banners declaring the 'Awesome News' that Judgement Day is coming, the first convoy of five caravans set off in October last year.

They have now been joined by two other convoys, all travelling to different parts of the country spreading their message.

The oldest believer on the convoy, 75-year-old Gallegos from Utah, is similar to the rest of the church members.

In order to join the trip he had to leave behind a wife of 53 years and be away from his10 children and their families.

Others have left empty houses, sold antiques, disposed of art collections or given up cars and other expensive items to join the road trip of doom.

And as if the end of the world is not bad enough, there is one final bitter pill as we approach the apocalypse.

Apparently no one from Family Radio is sure what to do to guarantee a place in heaven.

God, they say, has already predetermined the roughly two to three percent of those who will be saved come May 21.

Sadly for the rest of us all we can do is wait until the end comes. Again.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1363837/Doomsday-campers-Project-Caravan-say-world-end-May-21.html

OK, so Mr. Camping says his first calculations in 1994 were calculated wrong and that this time he “guarantees” it as being correct.  We can now prepare ourselves for the end.

But, we’ve got a few months to go….

….perhaps we ought to go borrow some money and use that to do some more traveling before the end.  I mean, after all, after May 21 or so, we won’t have to repay the loans.

Oh….wait…..

…..in his calculations this time he said that the number “10” was the biblical number “signifying completeness.”

OH, NO!!!!  He is going to be wrong again…..

…..you see, everyone that I know that is anything of a biblical scholar or serious student knows that the biblical number signifying completeness is the number “7.”

Man, I was really worried there.  May 21 is two days before my 65th birthday and I would have missed Medicare.

On another note, I think we have found a “long-lost relative” of Charlie Sheen.

Well.  Forget about borrowing the money to do more traveling.  And, I guess I’ll just have to keep working for now.

Man….what a bummer.