Have you ever had Serrano Ham? I purchased one this afternoon at our local delicatessen. It has similarities with prosciutto. Our friend, Jo Ann, introduced us to the delights of prosciutto many years ago. It sells for $18.99 a pound. I told the nice young man to slice it thin. It was the second time that the deli butcher had waited on me in the past few days. The first time an old employee of the establishment was training him on the vagaries of slicing and packaging deli meats. Today he was on his own and presented himself with a smile and a mannerly welcome. First I ordered a half pound of prosciutto and then a pound of the Serrano Ham. He carefully cut and then packaged each order and subsequently apologized for being slow. I responded that, You are doing great, Man! He looked at me as if he had never heard such worlds of encouragement…before. The young deli professional said, ‘Thank you Man…have a good day!’ As I was departing Keepers Quarters I considered that all of us need time to learn and people who will not only have the patience to wait…but the words of encouragement that will provide us with the confidence that we so desperately need to succeed.

One of my blog followers mentioned that we each tend to become pigeon holed in our careers whether we realize it or not. I heartily agree. Many moons ago I was the custodial crew supervisor in Parkinson Lab on the Campus of Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale. We worked the third shift. He was a graduate assistant in Geology. When he visited us, at our invitation, in our basement office…he commented that he was expecting to find Playboy Pin-Ups aligning our walls. One of the members of my Building Services Crew were a gentleman who had worked a career for a large cold cuts company, Blue Bell, and had driven a company automobile for his travel duties. Another member of my staff had been the Credit Manager for Martin Oil Company which was a multi-state petroleum corporation. We looked at the young graduate student with incredulity and dismay.

I have sat on more boards and committees than I can effectively remember. This includes Boards associated with the State of Illinois and Southern Illinois University and, for the last 50 years, church boards. More often than not I have felt pigeon-holed and categorized before I had the opportunity to open my mouth. So many times the leaders or moderators of committees expect the answers that they are looking for…from the historically accepted sources.

Judging future endeavors by our past experiences is…folly. This is especially true when there are people of good will who have not spent their lives attempting to, ‘Blow their own horn, as regarding their accomplishments. Jesus was born of ordinary people. He had neither a Harvard or a Yale degree. His dad was a carpenter and his mother a young humble girl. Money nor degree nor riches…nor familial position equals wisdom… If Jesus came to visit the majority of our churches this afternoon…we would not recognize him…

LIfe is short and it is fierce. The day to day struggles of Ordinary Time pull us in a multitude of directions. We seek answers to questions that we have not clearly formulated. We seek the Wise Old Sage…among those who we have pigeon-holed as…Wise Old Sages. We seek the best among the kaleidoscope of choices that dance before our eyes. Why are our our churches dying? Why do we seek wisdom from political parties and their leaders…who are primarily concerned with protecting their Senator or Congressman lifestyle? Why do we look to a mentally failing babbling buffoon…for wisdom or a clear understanding as to the commonsense approach to governing a country or the will of the Master Creator? Why do we seek the living among the dead…