According to Ed

Don’t Spoil Your Child, Wait For Your Grandchild

“It takes a lot of candy to make trick and treaters happy on a Halloween night in Edmonton,” Ed said yesterday. This year Ed was in Edmonton at his family’s home for his favorite evening of the year. He was the doorman at his son’s house giving out candy to an endless flow of trick and treaters. Ed believes that they had more than 200 children seeking candy. He had a great time even if he knew few of the kids at the door collecting their loot.

I asked Ed if the kids were being spoiled by collecting so much candy? My old neighbor replied that you cannot spoil somebody else’s kids, too much. The only kids you should not spoil are your own kids because you live with them. According to Ed, you wait for grandchildren, and then you spoil them as you please.

Heavens Tto Mergatroyd, (Murgatroid) I Didn’t Remember That!

I told Ed, my old neighbor, in Saskatchewan that my memory is not ‘hunky dory’ anymore. I gave a wrong answer when leading Bible Study last Sunday and was ‘hung out to dry’ with a quick correction. It was obvious that I needed to ‘straighten up and fly right’ as the leader. I felt like superman with no phone booth, to change his identity in, and it was clear as a leader I was a ‘knucklehead.’

Ed, my old neighbor, was quick to tell me that I had found myself in ‘a fine kettle of fish.’ He concluded that it was time for me to wake up and smell the coffee not roses. He warned me that at my age I need to drink a great deal of coffee to stay awake and be sharper. He recommended that I take a huge, coffee with me into my Bible Study, so I would at least seem smarter.

Put Your Snow Tires On Before It Snows Steadily

“You fix your roof when it is not raining, and you put your snow tires on before the snow flies,” I told Ed last week.  I’m getting my snow tires put on next week, so I’m ready for the winter which will undoubtedly come our way when it wants.

I told Ed that I became acutely aware of tires last week because two males 14 and 15 went on a tire-slashing spree in the greater Vancouver area. A quiet Monday evening turned destructive when more than 100 cars parked on the streets around the 7500 block of 12 Avenue in Burnaby had tires senselessly ruined. The two slashers have been arrested and charged with mischief. That does not undo the inconvenience and expense to the car owners with destroyed tires.

Potential Heat Needs The Spark Of A Piolet Light

I was telling Ed that we are a little chilly because we have a dead piolet light for our fireplace. Of course, Ed instructed me to lite the piolet light and get a fire in the fireplace. The problem is that the fireplace has a knob for the piolet light that needs to be pushed in, but it is stuck like cement refusing to move. I need to call for a serviceman of greater experience and ability than my own.

Right now, a burning candle can provide more heat and light than our gas fireplace. Ed, my old neighbor, said, “Your fireplace is like a car with a dead battery. It is just a temporary glitch so put your coat and mitts on until it is fixed.” For sure we are at the time of year when the heat in our homes is more often needed. Heat is a great necessity in our country during winter and often in the fall and the spring as well.

“There is no accounting for taste when it comes to music, what is a golden oldie for me, may be a song that should have died years ago for you,” I told Ed last week. I had been listening to the Broadway musical show by Fats Waller, “Ain’t Misbehavin.” It showcased some songs from the 1920s and 30s. It was a walk in the past for me. Ed was sure there would be no songs that he had ever heard of in that musical.

I grew up listening to the radio instead of watching television, which meant I tended to absorb what I heard especially in songs that were popular over the years. I told Ed that there are others also who could quote many words of four of the songs I named from the musical:

“Ain’t misbehavin’ saving my love for you.”
“I’m gonna sit right down and write myself a letter.”
“I can’t give you anything but love.”
“Be sure, it’s true when you say, I love you. It’s a sin to tell a lie.” 

Eat Your Food With Joy And Be Glad You Are Alive

“Some days you just need to be in a bad mood at harvest time,” Ed told me yesterday. My old neighbor in Saskatchewan was feeling more negative than positive at his progress with his combining. I tried to point out that a change for the better may be only a day or so away. Working long hours at combining can also result in bad moods. It is my opinion that every day we are alive is a reason to be positive and thankful. Ed was skeptical.

I tried to convince Ed that the fact that a person is alive is a very positive situation compared to being dead. I told Ed the Bible says: “Anyone who is among the living has hope – even a live dog is better off than a dead lion! Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart. Enjoy life with your wife whom you love.” The Bible also says that God has given you life under the sun, so you can labor with all your might before the grave where there is no working or planning.