And How was your Weekend?

Went to Dillard's to buy some shoes last night (Saturday). They have a big selection of men's shoes, and I needed some new dress types, so as to assure people that, yes, I am a lawyer. (Chacos, to which Mary recently introduced me and which I have been wearing ever since, won't do.) Dillard's had a big Johnston and Murphy display - all made in China! As we looked inside other shoes on display, we saw India, Vietnam, and Slovakia. I finally bought some Eccos, made in Portugal.

I have had a particular interest in shoes since high school, during which I had my first "real" job (not counting delivering newspapers) at Sears selling shoes. Got to know shoes pretty well. Sears sold good shoes, all made in the US, mostly by the Brown Shoe Company (remember "Buster Brown"? No? Hmmm), based in Massachusetts but with factories around the country, the nearest somewhere in Georgia. Now and then we saw English shoes, but rarely. As the years went by, English shoes became more popular, then Italian. So now, China. I read where the Italians are mad at the Chinese for "dumping" its shoes all over the world and hurting the Italian shoe industry.

We had a covered dish luncheon after church today, to welcome the pastor and his family back from their vacation, a vacation that took them to two mission sites, one in Albania and the other in Scotland. (The pastor had worked in Scotland for two years as an associate pastor and had done short term mission work in Albania.) We were glad to have them back.

During that luncheon we sat with Bill and Mary Reed. Bill's elderly father has had some neurological problems. Bill said a speech therapist was sent to work with him, that the therapist was a Latin and had one of the worst accents Bill said he had ever heard. (That's saying something, because in Miami one hears a lot of interesting accents.) The speech therapist asked Bill's father a question. Bill's father just looked at him blankly. The speech therapist said, "Yust tell me jess or no!"

Spent some time on the roof this weekend. Several months ago my friend Joe sold me a used "beam". A beam is a type of antenna that is "directional" (that is, it will direct the RF one is sending in the direction at which one "points" it and it will tend not to receive signals except from the direction to which it is pointed) and has "gain" (that is, the signal strength will be increased simply by the fact that the power is radiated in a direction that is somewhat confined rather than 360 degrees.) I didn't finish putting the thing up. This is at least a two weekend project. But the tinker/enjoyment ratio was quite favorable.

Observed several copies of the new Harry Potter book in the congregation during the worship service this morning, mostly up in the balcony where the teens sit. It was quiet up there. Heard you could get the book at Wal-Mart for $15.

Oh, and it was my birthday yesterday. 59 years old. Nita gave me a big check when we went to Denny's yesterday morning for our weekly dose of cholesteral. It pays to be nice to your mother, folks.

Macon got his broadband up and working, so Aidan and I teleconferenced until his dad put him to bed.

The whole weekend we had Walter and Morgan in our prayers, more than usual.