Worst Tasting Products

I can eat virtually anything. I hate to waste food. Many years ago, Conagra's Banquet came out with frozen chicken nuggets that we decided to try. I bit into one and the taste was so horrible that I had to spit it out. I tried another just to make sure with the same result. I offered one to our one hundred and ten pound Flat-coated Retriever who loved to eat roadkill, and even he would not eat it. Yuck, one of the worst commercially-made products ever. I do not want to pick on Conagra. They probably make many good products, but back decades ago, we also tried their first Fat Free Ranch Dressing. It was like pouring vomit on a salad. No one could finish the lettuce with the nauseating Ranch on it. Worst dressing or condiment ever. These experiences were both thirty-plus years back, so I would guess if these products remain on the market, they would have to have been vastly improved, but I can tell you I will never find out.

When Italy Sneezes

The political turmoil in Italy knocked world markets down yesterday. US markets were hit hard. I never realized that US stocks were dependent in any way on events in Italy.

Not a Bargain

If you think your dollar value menu item is a great deal, you may actually be eating highly-processed, sodium-filled food with little nutritional value that would not have been a good deal for you even if it was free. By eating your "good deal", you are actually harming your body.

Great Value Meal

Your holiday turkey may seem expensive, but when you consider how many portions you have from it, the price does not seem so bad. For a day or two you enjoy it as traditional turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce. Next you have it as sandwiches. Then, you probably finish it off as an ingredient in soup or casserole. What initially seemed pretty costly has become a part of a lot of different meals.

A Terrific Side

I happen to like spinach in almost all its incarnations, but my grandmother's spinach casserole was the best of all. She used frozen spinach well-drained, sour cream, Lipton onion soup mix, and bread crumbs. I could literally eat the whole casserole, if the other folks enjoying the meal had given me the chance. It was made with good ingredients- plus the one thing Polly always added- LOVE.

Best Dessert Ever

Forty year or so back, my grandmother made the best dessert that I have ever tasted. Amaretto cheesecake with a cherry topping made us all feel we had gone to heaven. Mom and I have tried to duplicate the deliciousness but never even come close. Sometimes the best things in life turn out to be a one off.

Really Dirty Martini

I was at the grand opening of a luxury car dealership once, when the old bartender dropped the bowl of olives he was going to use in the Martinis he served. He scooped them from the floor back into the bowl thinking no one had observed the event. I stuck with Evian that night.

Worst Culinary Experience

Years back, when I was a child, my parents bought some frozen monkfish. They thawed and prepared it according to the directions on the package, baking it at 450 degrees for 45 minutes. Mom served the fish and our accompanying sides. We cut into our portions only to find live worms crawling all over our plates. We called the health department in Nashville, and they instructed us not to eat the fish (not that there was any chance of that). I will never knowingly eat monkfish, but you have to admit after being frozen and then cooked, those are some remarkably resilient worms.

Should Not Eat

After consuming some nearly killer tuna salad years back, I would say it is NEVER a good idea to eat mayonnaise when you can not read the expiration date! I certainly felt like I was dying after that mistake, but the Good Lord spared me.

Miracle of Pineapple

When I was a child, I was scheduled to have surgery to remove my tonsils. The night before, my parents took me to our favorite Chinese restaurant. The proprietor saw me looking glum and was concerned as I was usually the opposite. When we told him that I was down because my tonsils were to be removed tomorrow, he brought me canned pineapple, and told the story of how he was spared an operation to remove his tonsils back in his home country by the enzymes in canned pineapple that eliminated the inflammation of his tonsils. Miraculously, the canned crushed pineapple had the same effect on me and saved my tonsils that remain with me as a fifty-one year old today.

Apple a Day

Eating an apple every day is a good start, but we need more fruit and vegetables in our daily diet than a single apple. I have rarely, if ever, seen an obese vegetarian.

Life Without Pepper

Life would truly be bland without pepper. I would not want my morning eggs or steak at night without a bit of freshly ground pepper. Pepper really adds the spice to life.

Miracle of Garlic

Garlic is one of the few foods that is both delicious and good for the health. I can not imagine eating pasta without it.

Came Pretty Close

I was a huge Minnesota Vikings fan as a kid in the seventies. I loved Fran Tarkenton. Then, I rooted for Jim Kelly and the Buffalo Bills during their streak of AFC dominance. These great teams managed to make it to the Super Bowl quite often back then, but never managed to win a single one of them. This is how I learned to deal with disappointment.

Greatness Over Decades

Only the New York Yankees and Boston Celtics have sustained greatness across the decades. Like them or not, no one can deny that these teams have contended for and won championships, not simply for consecutive years, but spanning different eras of play. It was not simply the Ruth or Russel Dynasty in the respective sport but multiple titles with different personnel over the course of more than a century for baseball's dominant team and over a half century for basketball's Celtics. And it continues into this very year with both teams still vying for titles.

Guatemala Answers Call

Guatemala has become the second nation to move its embassy to Jerusalem. This move recognizes the reality that Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish State. Moving the embassy is also morally right and courageous.

Error of Terror

When terrorists attack a democracy determined to defend itself, the terrorists lose. Israel has just proved this again.

Blame the Terrorists

If you use your own women and children as human shield cover to conduct terror attacks, it is no wonder women and children are killed. It is not the fault of the nation trying to defend against terror, only of the cowardly perpetrators of terror who are hiding literally behind what should be noncombatants to launch attacks. Do not fault the IDF, fault Hamas.

Nations Will Follow

The United States is the first country to move its embassy to the real capital of the Jewish State, but it will not be the last. There will surely be more to follow because anyone who knows the Bible is aware that the Jewish people have the first claim on that part of the Holy Land.

Logic Over Emotion

You can not expect people to behave like robots. In many instances, for good or ill, emotion is bound to come into play. You just can not permit yourself to be carried away by your feelings. Careful reflection saves a lot of misery in life.

Emotion Over Logic

People all too often let their feeling overwhelm their thoughts. They almost always do this to their own detriment.

The War Begins

Iran and Israel are now engaged in open warfare in Syria. Iran and Iranian proxies have been attacking Jews all over the world for years. Their terror campaign against innocent Jews has stretched as far away as Argentina. Let us hope that Israel is able to vanquish the End Time Shia extremism that has held the Iranian people hostage since the fall of the Shah.

Bad Attorney General

It appears the Attorney General of New York was doing exactly the same things for which he was prosecuting other folks. When sex involves coercion or force, it becomes a criminal offense.

An Unwanted Drive

I spent the night in a motel room, not travelling for business or pleasure, but to go to divorce court in a few short hours. I do not believe in divorce, but it takes two to tango. I pray our daughter, who is innocent in all this, never suffers because of decisions other people made.

Blood and Oil

Oil prices are soaring as the world anticipates conflict between Iran and the US. A war with Iran would drastically reduce the supply of oil, but thankfully with fracking and with President Trump opening much more of the US to oil exploration and extraction, America's domestic oil supply will tide us through any contingency.

Assuming a Risk

I certainly wish those living near the Hawaii volcano well, but an eruption should not be a surprise to anyone living near an ACTIVE VOLCANO. They must know the risks.

Truth About Trump

Whatever you think of our President's seemingly outsized ego, he has reduced Federal regulation enough that we have a booming economy. Black and Hispanic unemployment are at all-time lows. If a Democrat were presiding over this recovery, the press would be heralding it as miraculous.

Had a Few

I certainly regret that my marriage is ending. I believe in marriage as a lifetime commitment. I will never regret that the union produced our spectacular daughter.

Living Without Regret

Anyone who does not wish they had conducted themselves differently at certain points probably is a sociopath. I can not imagine anyone with a conscience who has not felt remorse for some of their actions.

Pray for Curry

I have been blessed to interact with one of the sweetest and most determined little dogs anyone could meet. She is a rescue Keeshond with no front teeth. Our vet thinks she lost those teeth chewing through a chain to make her way to freedom. Curry has had some health challenges in the past, including battling cancer. Now

she must wage the fight again. Please join us in her corner and pray for Curry's recovery.

World War III

Israel released some bombshell material that it had stolen from the Iranian nuclear program yesterday. It looks like Israel will soon square off against Iran,possibly with Saudis on Israel's side. If a war between the Jews aided by Sunnis against the Iranian Shia starts, it will not be limited to the Middle East, but spread worldwide.