I've been saying for a while that insanity is running rampant, but boy has it sprouted wings and flown all over the place this week. I'm not just talking about the multiple incidents of pilots and flight attendants losing it, either. There's been plenty of examples of the world going mad right here at home, and you have to look no further than your local news. I don't know if it's a full moon or what, but tell me if you can explain things like:

A woman is killed by her own car in North Augusta, SC. She was attempting to park her vehicle to check her mail and it rolled down the driveway and hit her. Granted, she was 83 but still, she had sense enough to drive. So was the car a Transformer or what? Check out the story at http://www.wistv.com/story/17285560/woman-killed-by-own-car-as-she-checked-her-mail .

A pregnant woman robbed a Bi-Lo to steal 3 packs of cigarettes in Orangeburg, SC. with a knife. She was arrested but the cigarettes were never recovered. Check out the story at  http://orangeburg.wistv.com/news/crime/51916-pregnant-woman-robs-bi-lo-cigarettes .

Teen girl attacked at a soccar game in Chester County, SC - and it was caught on video! A girl falls, gets up, and proceeds to beat the crap out of the nearest player from the opposing team. And nobody knows why. Check out the story and the video at http://www.wistv.com/story/17265736/caught-on-tape-teen-girl-attacked-by-player-during-soccer-game .

Burglers use a truck as a battering ram to steal 8 guns from a gun shop in West Columbia, SC. Several other businesses in the complex were damaged when they used the truck to force open the back door. Check out the story and video at http://www.wistv.com/story/17295633/burglars-use-truck-as-battering-ram-steal-15-guns-from-business .

And finally, the big winner for strangest news now just this week, but in a while. Tell me if you've heard of anything as crazy as this:

A skull is stolen from a grave in Spartanburg, SC. It sounds like the stuff of fiction, but someone actually dug up a grave and stole the skull. A woman walking through the cemetery yesterday morning found the crime scene in all it's (ahem) glory. Folks, this is so strange that I couldn't possibly make it up. Check out the story athttp://www.wistv.com/story/17277826/remains-stolen-from-spartanburg-gravesite . 

And as an additional note on this story, Internet rumors claim the cemetery is haunted and warns people to stay away, especially after dark because of "satanic activity." Given this crime, I can see why, and the fact that real, living people are sick, disturbed, and crazy doesn't help. But folks around these parts do have a name for the "white mist" that's claimed to be there from time to time. We call it fog.

I tell you, this is the stuff of insanity or a doctoral thesis on degrading standards of sanity in modern society.

That's all for now. I hope things are more sane in your corner of the world. As is is, I think diligence, a CWP and perhaps a devil's trap are good things to have around these days!

Take care. Happy Friday to you and I hope you have a great weekend.

Bye!

Hi everybody; I hope you're having a good weekend. I apologize for not blogging sooner, but I had an unexpected surprise: My right wrist and hand started hurting terribly Thursday. Heavy computer use between work and the recently released book were no doubt to blame, and I'm sure the fact that I wrote 3 flash fiction pieces didn't help. I limited my computer use to what was necessary Thursday and Friday, and took yesterday off (thank goodness for my iPod touch, so I could check Facebook and Twitter without too much pain and suffering). It's better today, but still aching a bit - so this will probably be a short entry.

I know a lot of my entries and social media posts of late have revolved around my writing, so I thought I'd give you an update on what's going on in the rest of this corner of the world. Unfortunately, that would be not much. My work is in a (very) rare steady phase. I have a lot of meetings, it seems, but it's routine stuff and not major board meetings. I know exactly why this is: The legislature isn't in session, and with several items pending review in 2012 I'm sure we'll be off and running again when they reconvene in January. So I intended to enjoy this.

I've been lucky in that the church stuff has been pretty level. The evangelism committee is meeting tonight for the first time since May - summer is a slow time for them, and the chairwoman has been working out of state a lot lately, so she's petitioning to keep it simple. Rick has a church council meeting tonight. He was hoping it would be simple, but one of the Pastor's told him this morning that it will probably be a doozy. The July meeting was cancelled because of Bible School, so they have 2 months of work and updates to catch up on. So we both have to go back to church for meetings tonight. 

The birds are doing well. Healthy and happy. They all got a bath yesterday and none of them were happy about it. We learned to bathe them before we go out for the day on Saturday so we don't have to get the evil glares until they dry off. It works out pretty good, and by the time we get home they forget how mad they are and are happy to see us again.

It's rained a lot the past few days, which is good because I just fertilized the roses, probably for the last time this season. I hope the rain will result in good late summer and fall blooms. They've done well this summer, which is good. I was worried about how the extreme heat would affect them, but they've done alright and kept right on blooming.

Yes, I'm still loving the new laptop!

That's really all - things have been kind of slow, and I'm grateful for that. Everybody needs that from time to time. I hope all is well in your world. Enjoy what's left of your weekend.

Bye!

I was shocked when I woke up to the news that Osama bin Ladin is dead. Really? Can this be? After 10 years, did we really get him? Yes, we did! It's all over the Internet and the news! Ding, dong, bin Ladin's gone! And many in the world rejoice! The tyrant's dead! Hip hip hooray!

I understand their celebration. How  many people did he send to their deaths? Countless, no doubt. Many people are finally feeling a sense of closure and that vengeance, finally, is ours. I think we all saw this coming. Sooner or later, someone was going to take him out. That was the only possible ending to his reign of terror. Too many people were hunting  him and it was inevitable that one day, someone would get him. In this case, it was the U.S. Navy SEALS. Thank you, U.S. Armed Forces, for all you do to keep us safe and for being ever watchful. May God bless you and your families, now and always!

I also find it a bit sad. It's sad that one person could be so horrible that the world celebrates their death. I don't think it's any coiencidence that it also happened 66 years, to the day, after Hitler was confirmed dead. Once again, we are reminded that some people can be true monsters. And even though evil doesn't prevail and they always come to an end, it's an uncomfortable reminder that they have a way of returning, time and time again, to unleash their terror on the world.

Take a look around, and you'll see that the "war on terror" is never really over. Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden are examples of how it ends, but there' still plenty of evil running amock in the world. I'd point to Lybia and Iran as examples of our continued fight on tyrants that think they can rule the world with their horrors. Indeed, Satan never runs out of imps to dampen what would be Paradise.

Right now, bin Laden is facing the ultimate judgement, and it's far worse than any Earthly tribunal could offer. All of them will face it someday. But let us be cautious in our joy. Yes, the tyrant is dead, but more will come. We thought Hitler was the worst and we'd never see terror like that again. We were wrong.

Yes, one monster is gone. Now let us be viligent and watchful. The forces may be scattered, but they will orgainze and another one will rise. Let us not get complacent. Let us be ready.