What is wrong with this picture?

The highest paid executive in 2008 was with the Blackstone Group. The founder and CEO of that group which "went public" in 2008 was paid 702 million dollars. His base was $357,000.

Eli Manning just signed a six year extension with the New York Giants for $97 Million. This year is the last year of his rookie contract and he will ONLY make $9.8 Million.

The highest paid NFl player this year is Julius Peppers. He will earn $16.7 Million. He is a defensive end.

Am I weird or does all this strike you as slightly "off".

I can't imagine the need for that kind of compensation for a CEO or a star athlete.

I guess I have meager tastes. To be honest, I have had a scratch off Lottery ticket sitting on my desk all week. I began scratching it this morning, a two and a half hour process. I am exercising my ADD. I would scratch, get distracted and scratch again. When all was revealed, I won $30, and that makes me a happy camper!

I like to think back to a Bible class I had at ACC/ACU with Earl McMillan, a professor of Biblical studies who was later terminated by the University for what I have been told were views not "totally" aligned with the University's. If anything, Earl was honest to a fault. In this Bible class, we had a discussion about describing living a Christian life in one word. That was difficult, and to this day, mind wrenching. When discussion waned, the class asked Earl his one word. His answer? Moderation. He continued by explaining how excesses made it impossible to live a Christian life. Interesting. This question still surfaces years after the class. Hmmm?

Am I one of these people who aim low and expect to achieve even lower? I don't think so. I would like to be comfortable. Where money was not a daily issue, but it wasn't something that dominates my every thought. I don't have to have a new spiffy vehicle, my little 1994 S-10 should prove that point. I don't want a huge house, ninety-nine percent of the time our home is more than large enough. I don't have a big screen. I don't have a flat screen.

Use to be Krl and I would play a game. What if? What if you won the lottery? We would take a piece of paper and begin writing down what we would do "if" we won the lottery. Surprisingly, a lot of our answers were the same. Education for our grandchildren and great grandchildren was near the top. Benevolent causes, through church and other agencies were another priority. Of course sharing with friends, family, and co-workers was included as well.

It was fun to day dream.

Krl and I are talking about treating ourselves. I have been seeing the Red Lobster advertisements on television, and anyone who knows Krl knows she has a weakness for sea food. The only time the woman has ever embarrassed me is when the small woman ate her weight in crab legs! It seems as I age I have developed a taste for seafood and pasta. We haven't eaten out since her birthday, so we are due. I told her, we deserve it.

I had been campaigning to go to Chili's the last month, but I didn't get far with my plan. Today I was entertaining the possibility of running to load money of fuel cards and picking up burritos or tacos from Rosa's, so Krl isn't going to have to persuade me too much.

I guess this could be a celebration of faith. Krl was told by the vendor she had been harassing for pay for loads dating back to June, they had cut and mailed a check zeroing their account. I hope so. It is very difficult when Pepa needs money and is due money, but vendors haven't paid. It seems as though we usually are the ones that do without.

I guess while I am on my soap box, I might as well vent a little. We use pre-paid debit cards for fuel cards. We do this to be able to get money to a driver if he has a problem and also to have funds available to him for maintenance and fuel. Two drivers are excellent. They have never used the card for anything except "business expenses". The third driver is the other extreme. He can get paid and make a cash ATM withdrawal on his company card the same day, then call Krl and tell her he is going to need more money on his card. Yesterday we were looking at his card activity report. Truck Stop Restaurants, Mc Donalds, Taco Stops, Taqueria, and ATM withdrawals are the majority of his activities. I have begun to keep a minimal amount of money on this driver's card. Use to be I would try to keep at least three hundred dollars on it, but in one week this man drew off $236 for personal use. I began passing charges for loading the card, and the inconvenience of me having to either cash a check and take the time and trouble to go and load it in addition to the amounts used for personal use. As his "miss-use" has increased I have increased the charges. If he used five dollars on the card for personal, I charge the five plus five more for his excess and my inconvenience. So far, I have not seen the threshold that will deter him from his addiction.

I don't mind an occasional use. I can under stand that. But where this man is at is almost abusive.

Now I got to brag a little. Rian called last evening giving Dandy a baseball game report for Reid. Two triples and a grand slam home run. They still got beat 27 to 14. That was three games in a row Reid had a homer. Trc came by this morning and Kat pitched last night and did a good job and helped her cause by hitting an inside the park home run. The way Trc talked it should have been on a error, but oh well. And finally I saw in the Abilene Distorter News that Ln had 27 assists in the Eagle volleyball match last evening.

Have a great day and a great weekend!

FATHER, We are thankful for everything YOU bless us with. Thank YOU for YOUR mercies and YOUR grace. We continue to ask YOU for YOUR guidance as we transition. YOU are good!