Serve by Design

During the Olympics this week in Beijing, I have been intrigued to watch the women compete in a new addition to the sledding competition. The “monobob” is a women-only event so far and it debuted in 2016 during the Youth Olympics. But. this year it has been mainstreamed into the official Olympic program as an exciting new venue! Kaillie Humphries, a Canadian-American slider, has become the first to win a Gold Medal in the monobobbing event. The Thrill of Sledding! Image credit: istockphoto.com When I was a kid, we lived up a pretty steep elevation just at the western edge of Vandalia. The actual street is Randolph, but back in the day, it was referred to by the locals as “the old shoe factory hill." My dad’s house, our old home place, is at the peak of that “hill” today! During the years of my childhood, I spent hours sliding down the sidewalk along that snowy and slippery slope during some pretty ferocious Illinois winters. Watching the Olympic bobsledding reminded me of how I fa...

My beloved wife has many gifts, but one that is little known is her ability to capture (and sometimes release to the outdoors) pesky flies that follow us into the house each summer season! With a fluid motion and sweeping hand, she is nearly flawless in grasping her prey. The Venus Flytrap can close its hinged blades in a half-second of movement! I believe Monique is even quicker! When I compare her to the super hero of my childhood, she is almost “faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive,” but she’s not “able to leap tall buildings at a single bound” like she used to though! Image credit: istockphoto.com I marveled today as she captured two of our evasive and airborne pests! One was creeping up and down the window sill and the other was resting on the curved side of the lavatory basin. The latter catch was nothing short of miraculous in technique! I suggested after this deftly feat of cupped hand dexterity that the International Olympic Committee should co...