Do as I say...

What do you think?

First, a little background…

In our church, we have something called ‘The Lord’s Law of Health’ or the ‘Word of Wisdom’.

It was given to us back in the 1830s and, in a nutshell, consists of advice like: Cigarettes and alcohol aren’t good for you. Neither are tea and coffee. You should eat right and get lots of exercise. And if you do these things, you will be blessed with good health.

My family, including my parents, were raised on this.

Thus we were a non-smoking, non-drinking, eat-well household.

Oh, us kids branched out occasionally (don’t tell Mom and Dad!) but mostly, we toed the line.

The only time I ever tried smoking was at the age of 10 when my best friend’s worldly-wise cousin came to visit from the big city, stole some money, and bought cigarettes with it.

It didn’t end well.

Of course, we were caught.

And of course the weight of my parents’ disappointment and disapproval nearly crushed me.

Ensuring I would never EVER try that again.

You can read the full story here. Go ahead. We’ll wait…

Back? Let’s move on…

I have this picture of my dad, taken when he was a Veterinarian student at Guelf Veterinary College in about 1947 by one of his roommates.

He is being studious.

But I want you to look closely at the picture.

Because Daddy was right-handed.

And in his right hand is a pen.

In his left hand is, according to Daddy, another pen.

Hmmm…

So, I ask again—What Do You Think?

The monkey…

P.S. Daddy once told me a story about how his request for an increased allowance while attending college was refused by Gramma Stringam because he would (and I quote) 'just use it for buying cigarettes'.

I shook my head in disbelief at her 'so-obviously-way-off-the-mark' comment.

Sooo, my head's not shaking now.