Papa Pat Tiny Devotionals

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, don’t neglect nap time. Open your mouth, judge righteously, And defend the rights of the poor and needy. Proverbs 31:9, NASB So, why did I select a passage from the instructions to King Lemuel, and not from the paean to the Excellent Wife? I’m tempted to say: “Nunya Bidness,” but that’s not true. As long as I am writing a Tiny Devotional, everything I say IS Yer Bidness.  It’s not because I don’t understand the topic. I’m married to an Excellent Wife. As a little boy, growing up on a dirt road in Bibb County, GA, my caretakers were Excellent Wives. Excellent Wives taught me in Sunday School. I’m familiar with the concept. It’s just that I think that any points I may make will be covered elsewhere today, and so I decided to look into King Lemuel a bit, and THAT! And THAT exposed me to a new idea, and one that I need to contemplate. Specifically, was Paul speaking o...

A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to you, AND to any family members who have dropped by, I hope that you all have power and secure housing,  Do not slander a slave to his master, Or he will curse you and you will be found guilty. Proverbs 30: 1, NASB I love finding out I’m wrong; it means I have learned something, and likely have more to learn. I have always read this as “don’t slander a master to his slave,” but that ISN’T what the verse says.   This verse demands respectful, courteous, perhaps even ethical treatment of slaves. Wait, WHAT? Admittedly, my mental image of a slave culture derives from that transmitted by Hollywood and some written works of fiction. I rank that with my mental images of all the Whos down in Who-ville, in terms of reliability; Fah-hoo foris , y’all.  Still: I find myself shaken, if not stirred, by a three-thousand year-old order forbidding malicious lies against slaves. I just opened a can of worms...

 A great GOOD MORNING to all my friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And to family who dropped by: sure, but we did get One Thing right.  One who gives to the poor will never lack anything, But one who shuts his eyes will have many curses. Proverbs 28:27, NASB  Do you know people who have no place to live; who border on starvation because there is no food they can buy; who are clothed in rags culled from a garbage dump? If so, you probably aren’t living in the US; if you are living in the US, then you know of some exceptional cases. Tell me if I’m substantially mistaken! This morning, I’m not thinking about the no-money poor; I’m thinking about the no-hope poor. This is not to suggest for one second that we should ignore those who are without funds! Yes, GIVE, directly, or to one or more of the outreach programs which help meet basic subsistence needs. Send money TODAY! Meanwhile, look around you, and identify those who are poor in hope.  I know the most...

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And, to any family members who dropped by, have a banana! A stone is heavy and the sand weighty, But the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them. Proverbs 27:3, NASB I made the mistake of reading a couple of emails before I started this post. I hope never to do so again. In fact, I wonder if maybe I should eliminate email from my life. Of course, it just got worse, when Alicia Ann glided into our bedroom showing off her planned costume for today, which is Biker Day at high school. I had to explain to her, one more time, that she is Frighteningly Beautiful; that for her to show cleavage is unsportsmanlike conduct, like dynamiting fish. It’s better now; she put on a T-shirt. But, my blood pressure spiked. A fool WILL provoke; it’s what they do. Whether it’s a government agency overstepping boundaries, a neighbor who refuses to be courteous, or a gorgeous teen-age daughter, (with high moral standards!),...

A great good Monday morning to all my friends and neighbors n Internet Land! And to family members who dropped by: ouch. Like one who takes a dog by the ears Is he who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him. Proverbs 26:17, NASB Preliminary Thought 1. Today in particul;r, there were SO MANY verses I wanted to share with you! I hope you will make the time to chew on and digest Proverbs 26 on your own. Preliminary Thought 2. Ouch, but. For reasons, my ouch level is high this morning. Here is a wonderful thing: as I read the ancient wisdom, and drained the delicious mug of Black Rifle, the ouch level lost my attention.   Main Thought. To the best of my knowledge, I have never taken a dog by the ears; at least, not with malice. I did try to break up a dog fight once, and got bitten for my pains. Still, I can imagine the scene: dog sleeping in the sun, fool does the ear-grab, chaos ensues. On the other hand, I have, all too many times, seen what happens when someo...

A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who dropped by, Sam’s Club has a GREAT frozen chicken pot pie. It is better to live in a corner of the roof Than in a house shared with a contentious woman. Proverbs 25:24, NASB There are four places in the Bible addressing what it’s like to live with a contentious woman, and they are all in the Book of Proverbs. In the years since I started reviewing books, I’ve picked up bits of author wisdom. One of these is “write about what you know.” It’s not a PERFECT rule; nobody knows about exploding spaceship battles, or wizard schools, and yet, you’ll find good and popular reading available with these as a setting. Here’s the thing: King Solomon was born into royalty. Why would he know about sleeping in the corner of a roof, or living in a desert land? On the other hand, he was absolutely certain to know about contentious women; the Bible says he had 700 wives, and 300 concubines. If you think they ...

 A great GOOD MORNING to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who dropped by, here’s to a peaceful and pain-tolerant day!  For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity. Proverbs 24:16, NASB  Gentle Reader, I have few guarantees for you, but one of them is this: you WILL fall.  Whether as a result of your own missteps, or because one you love has tripped you with their calamities: you WILL fall. Falling is not now, and never was, the issue. We THINK it is, at the time. We look at our possessions, strewn about on the ground, broken eggs mixed with freshly laundered linens, and think: “Oh, no! I’ve done it again! How could I be so stupid!” We blame ourselves, when the truth is that the falls are inevitable. Some are because we are yet ignorant of some Truth, others because we have been dealt a bad hand, and some because lightning strikes on its’ own terms.    The issue ALWAYS...

 A great Good RED Friday  Morning to all my friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And to any family members who dropped by, please don't abandon lard for use in cooking, unless you just love the flavor of olive oil. When you sit down to dine with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you, And put a knife to your throat If you are a man of great appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, For it is deceptive food. Proverbs 23:1-3, NASB Dining with rulers. It’s quite stimulating! So is dropping your iPhone into a pot of grits.  Instead of grits, I’m going to offer the magnificent cheeseburger in speaking of dining with a ruler; and THAT is a metaphor for a too-close affiliation with a leader, which I’ve seen approach idolatry.  Dining with rulers isn’t NECESSARILY a destructive thing; a very strong person, with profound convictions, can share a cheeseburger, and come away with no harm ( but Billy Graham couldn’t , so watch yourself). When you dine with a r...

 A great Good Morning! to all my friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And to any family members who drop by, it is a great thing to be happy, joyous, and free! Still, I DO have a time deadline this morning. A good name is to be more desired than great wealth, Favor is better than silver and gold. Proverbs 22:1, NASB It’s 7:17 AM as I start this, and I have a doc appointment at 8:30. I must leave the house at 8:00, and to do that, I must start final prep at 7:45.  I want to take a current list of meds to the doc, which fortunately is mostly ready to print, although I did want to go over the list. I have two teen-agers to get out the door for school. And, at 10:00 AM ON THE DOT, I have a bid to submit for a desired and rare purchase. Did I mention that earlier, I dropped my weekly pill carrier on the floor, and had to clean that up? It’s enough to make this Redneck Biker with ADD a little bit crazier than I already am, because I often have difficulty setting priorit...

 A great good morning to you, friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And to family members who dropped by, cats are noisy and nosy. The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue Is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death. The violence of the wicked will drag them away, Because they refuse to act with justice. Proverbs 21:6-7, NASB At school yesterday, our delightful Alicia Ann was walking in the hall with her friend Dulce, who moved here with her family from somewhere in Latin America a few years ago. Dulce has slept over at our house, and seems very nice. Arugula, another girl in their class, approached them, and said to Alicia Ann, loudly enough to be heard by anyone nearby, “What are you doing, walking with that ho?” She glared at Dulce; and then she stuck her nose in the air and walked off. And that’s why Alicia Ann monopolized the evening of my gift-from-God, happily-ever-after trophy wife Vanessa, the elegant, foxy, praying black grandmother of Woodstock, GA. What’...

 A great GOOD MORNING! to all my friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And for the family members who have dropped by,  it gets better! Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin”? Proverbs 20:9, NASB  Within the 300 word limit  of Tiny Devotional: This verse is NOT so much about current behavior only (if at all), but about a particular consequence of the past.  I speak of memories; painful memories, to be specific. These seep into our daily life, and poison us, and everything we do, if not handled properly. IMPORTANT: It’s not just memories of things we have done wrong, although those are addressed in this verse. This morning, though, I’m thinking of the memories of past trauma, and of things done wrong TO us, not BY us, that we can’t cleanse from our hearts. Can we cleanse ANYTHING from our hearts? YES, and this is essential! A Tiny Devotional can’t address this fully, but: don’t lie, rage, or slander, for a start. And, whe...

 A great good morning to you, friends and neighbors out there in Internet land! And to any family members who found their way here: having a written shopping list doesn’t mean I’ll buy the right item. The foolishness of man ruins his way, And his heart rages against the Lord. Proverbs 19:3, NASB I do not know how many times I’ve read Proverbs 19; dozens of times, I would hope. But until today, I never SAW verse 3. Isn’t that ridiculous? (This is me) I re-read the entire chapter; practically every other verse is something I’ve thought about, talked about, written about, meditated on, taken hope and encouragement from. BUT: I’ve never even SEEN verse 3. Isn’t that bizarre? What makes it even MORE bizarre is that this is one of the foundations of my view of life, the universe, and everything. I gained this understanding from my walk down a path of wisdom I started 11,980 days ago. NOTE: I didn’t INTEND to go down that path; I went down kicking and screaming, but I haven’t left it afte...

 A great good morning to you, friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And for any family members who have stumbled on this post, my gift-from-God, happily-ever-after trophy wife Vanessa, the elegant, foxy, praying black grandmother of Woodstock., GA, has decreed that Christmas season starts TODAY. He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from the Lord. Proverbs 18:22, NASB August 6, 2011 Confession: I already knew what I wanted to say this morning; I was just looking for a verse to justify it. Fortunately, I found the perfect verse to illustrate my point, which is: How could so many talented musicians write and perform so many great songs, and be completely WRONG about the subject material? Yesterday evening, I wanted to sing a love song to my beloved, and I recalled the beautiful, swooping sound of Joni Mitchell, with "Help Me." So I played that, and I realized how EXACTLY WRONG the lyrics were: We love our lovin' But not like we love our free...

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And to any family members showing up here, I send much love and encouragement, and also offer you the breakfast option of fast-food tacos, frozen in a time of surplus, then microwaved and served with ranch dressing. The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the Lord tests hearts. Proverbs 17:3, NASB Over the past several days, I’ve been considering: “What is my goal in writing these Tiny Devotionals?” I conclude that it is to provide encouragement for you to hold strong, on the right path. I don’t want to get distracted by events, or people. I just want to point to truth. Which is the process described in Proverbs 17:3. I don’t refine silver or gold, but I DO refine lead for cast bullets.  So, what does this proverb tell me about the way the Lord tests my heart? It starts with scrap. I’ll get a big bucket of used, broken wheel-weights. I dump them all in a pot, and turn up the ...

 A great Good Morning! To all my friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And, for family members who found their way here, it’s R. E. D. Friday : R emember E veryone D eployed, and wear something RED today, if possible.  He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city. Proverbs 16:32, NASB 1/5 of my grandchildren, ruling their spirits  I don’t recall ever wanting to rule a city. I did want to be mighty, though. At first, it was just a physical revenge thing. If I was mighty, I could wreak my vengeance on the monsters who tormented me on the bus to school. Later, I wanted to be a MIGHTY basketball player, win respect, and attract girls.  In the Army, being mighty meant being of an exalted rank, that no longer required me to put up with the fault-finding of my sergeant.  And, if my recollection is accurate, the last time I desired being mighty was when I was a pawn in a power struggle between m...

 A great good morning to you, all my friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And to family members who find themselves here: it’s the 47th anniversary of the day I drove the car into the Enz River. The Lord will tear down the house of the proud, But He will establish the boundary of the widow.  Proverbs 15:25, NASB Broken Tools It may come as a surprise to you, Dear Reader, that I consider you every morning as I write these Tiny Devotionals. After all, I don’t know who you are! I know how many people are subscribed to this blog, but not much more than that. So: how can I tailor the message to give you help in meeting the challenges YOU will face today? For that, I just have to trust.  Today’s message is frequently repeated in the Bible:  Powerful and Arrogant => Crushing  Powerless and Faithful => Vindication. In the words of Bunker Hunt: “The game is not about money. The game is about power; money is just how you keep score.” I’ve been on both s...

 A great good morning to you, my friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And, to my family members who have dropped by, TODAY is Carol’s BIRTHDAY! Woot! (She likes olives, if you need a gift idea.)  Confession: EVERY day, I face difficulty in deciding which of the verses from the daily proverb to choose. So far, I’ve resolved it by saying, “I’ll pick that one up next month. This is a TINY Devotional!” But today, you get TWO  verses. 14:4   Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.  This one is included because I have ADD, and was undiagnosed (and untreated) until age 40. And my room, school desk, office: always a wreck. (I was pretty squared away in the Army, though. Go figure.) In 1980, I was working in an office job I was really good at.  When my supervisor told me my desk was a mess, I cited this proverb to her. She didn't walk away HAPPY, but, she walked away.  Still, this manger COULD use ...

 A great good morning to you, friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And, for those family members who found this post: we have left-over Pad Thai, and I got the GOOD kind of cocoa to make mocha coffee. The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth, But the poor hears no rebuke.  Proverbs 13:8, NASB I had the great fortune to apprentice under Mrs. Pat K, at Otwell Middle School. She was a classroom teacher for years before becoming a school counselor (that was a requirement, until the late 1980s). She was hard-working; popular with colleagues; phenomenal with students and parents;  she always encouraged me to learn new things.  Unfortunately, she and her husband were rather well off.  Unfortunate, because one day, while she was at work, someone broke into her house. The thief stole a lot of their valuables, including ALL her jewelry, other than what she was wearing that day. It was a great financial loss. I felt compassion for my mentor, and anger that som...

 A great good morning to you, Internet friends and neighbors!  And, to those family members who stumbled onto this morning’s post: what did our ancestors do to keep pests out of the stored grain? The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.  Proverbs 12:15, NASB Confession: By this standard, I’ve been a fool for MOST of my life. An EDUCATED fool, but a fool nonetheless; I HATED having someone tell me how to do something, ESPECIALLY if they were correcting my technique.  When I was in my mid 30s, I was on a retreat weekend, cooking breakfast. A DEAR brother told me I was stirring the grits wrong; I almost hit him with the ladle. That incident, plus at LEAST two others during that same retreat, pushed me to seek help. What was WRONG with me, that I flared up with such rage at a simple correction /suggestion /instruction? The answer: in my heart, I believed I was worthless. I was afraid that my feeble attempts to construct a u...

A great GOOD MORNING to all my friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And to any family members who have stumbled upon this post, join us for on-line worship at Liberty Church! A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, But a just weight is His delight.  Proverbs 11:1, NASB For years, whenever I read this, I thought of it as addressing economic transactions. “That’s cool,” I thought. “God is against those people who try to rip others off.” I was all in favor of smacking the hucksters and con artists upside the head. Maybe I still am. Just yesterday, I found I needed to explain a bait-and-switch ad brochure to Alicia Ann, who thought she had won us a 55 inch TV. Some years back, though, I learned a deeper meaning to this proverb. Maybe it applies to you? I was about to make a major change in my life.  It wasn’t impulsive; I had been stuck in unpleasant circumstances for three years, ATTEMPTING to fix the unfixable. It didn’t work. I was concerned that some people...

 A great GOOD MORNING to all my friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And to any family members who have stumbled upon this post, Alicia Ann got selected for Varsity Basketball Cheerleader yesterday! He who walks in integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will be found out. Proverbs 10:9, NASB Getting Found out (Check out Despair.com for some GREAT posters, etc.) It’s rare, today, to encounter the word ‘pervert’ in any context other than sexual (and with modern morality and politics, that use may be in decline). The primary meaning, though, is to distort or corrupt something from the intended design, use, or purpose. This morning, I’m thinking about those who pervert their ways at their job: the Work Fakers . I’ve had 31 jobs from 1966  (shoe shine boy) to 2007 (middle school counselor). I believe I was 17 when I first encountered a Work Faker, but it was decades before I understood what was happening. One kind of Work Faker has little intention of d...

 A great good October morning to you, friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And, to those family members who found yourself here, Kenneth overslept this morning; that’s my boy! I selected these verses because of aggravation. That doesn’t mean the message is wrong. Wisdom speaks: 5. “Come, eat of my food And drink of the wine I have mixed. 6. “Forsake your folly and live, And proceed in the way of understanding.” 7. He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself. Proverbs 9: 5-7, NASB Y'all come on in and get yourself something to eat! For purposes of transparency: in the translation I use, verses 5 & 6 are formatted as a verbatim statement by Wisdom; verse 7 is not. Tiny Devotions don’t include exhaustive textual studies, so I’m abandoning that issue right there. All alcoholic beverages were forbidden in the  church tradition I was raised in. Christians didn’t drink; if you drank, you weren’t a Chr...

 A great good morning to you, friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And, to those family members who found yourself here, the Black Rifle Coffee called “M.O.” for “Murdered Out” is one of the best reasons to get out of bed. There are AT LEAST two things I want to share from Proverbs 8, but this is the Tiny Devotional, and not the Comprehensive Bible Study Devotional. Sigh. When He set for the sea its boundary So that the water would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth; Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And having my delight in the sons of men. Proverbs 8:29-31, NASB Sophia, the Master Workman Two things about this passage strike me as significant: 1. Wisdom has ALWAYS been with the Creator. I couldn’t help but contrast this with the Marvel superheroes ( I did a recent re-watch). All the superheroes have lots of power, but are so...

 A beautiful and blessed good morning, to all my friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And to my family members who have chanced upon this blog: I’ve got your back, but I’m STILL going to eat chicken for breakfast. It’s comfort food, and it was going to go bad if I didn’t cook it. "Suddenly he follows her As an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool, Until an arrow pierces through his liver; As a bird hastens to the snare, So he does not know that it will cost him his life." Proverbs 7: 22-23, NASB I wanted to write about the misery that awaits those who take advantage of widows and orphans, OR about a truth to take you through hard times. I have immediate and pressing reasons for BOTH of those! However, the daily proverb doesn’t talk directly about either. Instead, today’s message is:  Don’t play around with things that you KNOW are wrong, because it makes you eligible for a Bad Thing. Poor choice for a wedding picture, right? ...

I'm pretty sure it's morning out there, friends and neighbors in Internet Land, and I hope it's a delightful one for you! And, for any family members who have happened on this page, keep out of rivers, and avoid impetuous behavior. In support of brevity (needed to make this a TINY Devotional), the following is an excerpt from Proverbs 6:1-5: If you have been snared with the words of your mouth, Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor, Go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor. Proverbs 6:2a, 3b, NASB The passage addresses the problems we get into by making promises and commitments we can’t keep; specifically, incurring a financial obligation that isn’t ours. There is a broader application, though. If you have made ANY statement you can’t back up, whether to a friend, relative, stranger, or corporation, DO NOT make it worse by dragging it out. As soon as you come to your senses, and realize  you can’t deliver, go ask to be released THEN. Don’t wait! This al...

A great good morning to you, Internet friends and neighbors, and I hope it is as lovely for you, as it is here in the north Georgia piedmont! And to those family members who have happened on to this post, take it easy today; it's another Monday, and you know how those can go. Drink water from your own cistern And fresh water from your own well. Proverbs 5: 15, NASB An ancient cistern   1973; 5th General Hospital in Stuttgart-Bad Canstatt, West Germany: Gary didn’t want to take his medication. In those days, in that place, the common barracks drug was hash, smoked communally in a pipe. Lots of transfer of saliva; hence, lots of opportunity for hepatitis to spread. That's what Gary was hospitalized with. He had some mental stuff going on, as well, and in his disturbed condition, he picked up the Gideon Bible by his bed, and started underlining passages, trying to find truth and peace. Proverbs 5:15 was one of those verses. Gary took it to mean that he couldn't take his medica...

Good morning to all my friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And to those few family members who have stumbled upon this post, I STILL think left-over pizza would have been a great option for breakfast, instead of scrambled eggs. Put away from you a deceitful mouth And put devious  speech far from you. Proverbs 4:24, NASB Grandson Heath, my wonderful, sweet, very very very smart, delightful in every way, Firstborn Son of my Firstborn Son, had a sleepover with us last night, just for fun. He adores Kenneth and Alicia, he warms the cockles of GranNessa's heart, and he thinks Daniel San and PittySing are the exception to the Law of Dogs Rule and Cats Drool.   It's always a LOVELY time when he gets to hang with us! Last night, as we were in the Two Minutes Until Bedtime period, I asked him if he needed to brush his teeth. He quickly disabused me of that idea, letting me know that he did that in the morning, and he didn't need to brush them at night, and ...

 Oh, happy cool fall morning to all of my Internet friends and neighbors! And to those family members who have stumbled upon this reading: my gift-from-God, happily-ever-after trophy wife Vanessa, the elegant, foxy, praying black grandmother of Woodstock, GA, is having a HORRIBLE time trying to persuade Pitty Sing and Daniel San to stop drinking her coffee and eating the muffins we have for our breakfast.  I really need to get her a dog; cats don't obey worth beans. ( She's muttering...never a good sign...)  Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it” Proverbs 3:27-28, NASB Some many years ago, living on the close edge, I was renting a house from a friend at church. We had a flexible rent arrangement, which means that he had a house that needed renters, and he knew my income was iffy, so he would take what I had to offer. It's the kind of arrangement ...

 A great and hopeful R.E.D. Friday , to all my friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And, to those family members who find themselves reading this, it's Remember Everyone Deployed Day, so, if possible, wear something red. Umm...I'm having split green pea soup and brown rice for breakfast, but if you are desiring Cheerios, go for it! Another explanatory comment.  If you haven't already figured it out, each Tiny Devotional (so far) has come from the Book of Proverbs. There are 31 of those, so that matches up nicely with the calendar. Not PERFECTLY; but then again, we seek progress, not perfection. For if you cry for discernment,  Lift your voice for understanding;  Wisdom will enter your heart,  And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; (Proverbs 2:3,10; NASB)  I have mentioned before that I have multiple sources of wisdom. In one of the places where I purchased counsel at great cost, I heard the phrase "When the student is ready, the teac...

 A great good morning to all my Internet friends and neighbors! And to family members who have stumbled upon this post, both dogs AND cats make nice pets. Different, but both nice. "Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square;" “They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof. 31  “So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices." Proverbs 1:20, 30-31, NASB "Wisdom Personified" Statue in Ephesus, Izmir, Turkey Two things I want to share, and the FIRST one is a bit of a new insight for me. A. For whatever reasons, this idea has popped up many times: city life is evil, and we all should blow up the TV, throw away the paper, go to the country, and build ourselves a home. I bought into that at age 18 in 1971, and kept it as a longed-for goal, AT LEAST into my 30s. Different reasons at different times. I believe there are a LOT of valid reasons people get away from the Big City, but the ide...