I have been off the blog for a week and missed the opportunity to capitalize on a number of great stories. We went on vacation to Branson and into a national disaster. There were record floods in Missouri, but fortunately we had only one day spoiled by the rain. The shows went on in Branson.

The news of the week centered on Obama’a loud mouth pastor, Jeremiah Wright. He has proclaimed that America got what was coming to them with the 9/11 attacks and that the whites had infected the blacks with the AIDS virus. The criticism of Obama is that he sat by for years while this preacher spewed venom about America. Obama has remained a member of the church and has had the Reverend Wright as his spiritual advisor. I really can’t blame Obama for his pastor’s mouth and doing nothing about it. I have listened to the ranting and raving of preachers for years and remained a member of the church. As a Baptist, I have listened to preachers tell us we were going to hell if we danced, drank alcohol or smoked. I even sat through one service when a preacher had folks in the congregation come to the front, at the invitation, and promise they would never dance. I must admit that I have had an occasional glass of wine and on more rare occasions a cocktail. With my tolerance for alcohol, if I had more than one drink at a time I would have been rendered unconscious and already on my way to hell. In my lifetime, I have also smoked a cigar on rare occasions but never finished one because of the nausea and dizziness. Yes, I have also committed the unpardonable sin in that I have danced with my wife at her insistence, but she quickly sat down after I trampled her feet. Even though I have committed these deadly sins against the advice of my pastors, I have remained a member of the church and just didn’t pay much attention to his warnings. Hopefully, I heard and believed a much more important message and one which we celebrated today on Easter Sunday.

I’m still not an Obama fan but I sure understand his situation. As far as the Reverend Jeremiah Wright is concerned, I think he should be arrested and his tongue removed. His kind of behavior only aggravates racial tensions.

It’s great to be back on the porch after the week in Branson. It’s sure hard to believe we are in a recession with all the tourist I saw unloading tons of money for recreation. The price of everything is out of sight. Gasoline is through the roof, but it’s interesting that a bottle of water cost more than a gallon of gasoline.