Bob's Laundry Room

The Virtue of Patience My former boss used to tell me I had the thickest skin of any man he’d ever worked with. The truth? I don’t. Insults sting just as much as they do for anyone else. What I do have is patience—at least most of the time. Even then, I lose it more often than I’d like to admit. And the worst part is this: the people who see my impatience the most are usually the people I love. It’s strange how we reserve our roughest edges for the ones who give us the most security. We assume they’ll understand, forgive, and keep loving us—so we let ourselves unravel. But that’s not the way it should be. This Christmas, I’ll be on the road instead of home. I’ll spend the day practicing patience among men who, like me, are somewhere they don’t want to be. Men who want to be home with their families, in familiar places, with the people who matter. Instead, we’re here—waiting, frustrated, feeling the weight of distance. Patience becomes a survival skill. Life on the Road Teaches Pati...

The List of Why I like the South and Southerners . I wrote this a year or two ago and dedicated it to Pam Price.   I had said a few things that got her a little riled at me and then realized the error of my ways.  I don't even recall what I said.  It may have had something to do with the South, but maybe not.  I really can't remember.  However, I did just come across the list and if a list still rings true to me after several years it has to be a pretty good list so I thought I would share it here. Dedicated to Pam Price......"Things I love about the South and Southerners". 1. Casual politeness is not dead. 2. People still teach their kids the terms of respect for adults, "yes Sir, No Maam" 3. Conservative Culture 4. Its not dominated by environment worshipers. 5. Grits, pulled pork bbq, sweet tea, hush puppies, boiled peanuts, fried chicken, fried Catfish, fried okra, pecan pie, fried green tomato's, pimento cheese. 6. Hot Hot summers, wa...

My wife Melanie wrote up this little note about giving and helping people.  I thought I would share it here. Decide to give. Many people love to give at Christmas and there are plenty of people who need help or a pick me up. Over the years Bob and I have helped a few people get over tough spots in their lives. Here are a few tips to help you give without making the receiver wished you had never helped. Give without conditions. Give the help without strings. If someone needs help they rarely can pay you back. It's tough to have thanksgiving with your banker. Instead let it be a gift and tell them if they feel obligated to  just pay it forward. There is always someone more needy than they are. Give and move on. Truly care for the people you help. This helps you not get the attitude of "I can now lord over you because I helped you with a $700 car repair".  If you have a problem getting angry with the persons lifestyle choices ie; they smoke and waste money and if...

One has to wonder why anyone would want fame and fortune. "It’s no bed of roses, no pleasure cruise". We revere the beautiful famous people because they make us laugh or escape a little from what we may perceive as insignificant lives. However, for many of them, their lives are lives of turmoil and despair that would make one wonder why do we elevate and celebrate such people? Robin Williams is the latest of such tragic lives, allegedly having committed suicide. The story this morning is that his depression was sourced in his fading fame. So why would you want to set your child up for this? Why would you want to work so hard to get somewhere in life, to be wealthy beyond most people's dreams only to find that in this is based no happiness, but fear and decadence? The fear of not having it anymore, or the decadence of having few repercussions to your actions. I guess it would make me feel proud that everyone knew my child, but see how rapidly fame turns to in...

Days 4&5   Life has its own plans….so don’t be a legalist about it. The last two days have maxed me out. Day 4 was really busy at work, but uneventful for the most part. I worked a 12 hour day and was stopped from my exercise plan because it was raining when I got back to the hotel. Yesterday, I worked 7:00 am to 10:00 pm and was just a little too beat to go run at that hour. I could have forced the issue, but why am I doing this to begin with?  To be more healthy, not to cause stress by  forcing myself  to do it every day.  Here comes some more ramblings...coherent or incoherent. Its something to think about. Legalism ties into my egg theory. If one gets too legal about anything it falls under rule#3. Excessive rules keeping creates stress on the shell of my life. Egg shells do not like stress and crack in due time. Your life will not be far behind in this regard.  Ultimately stress comes down to this concept of legalistic control. ...

I got into my Day 3 exercise campaign.  Felt more sore when I started than I had anticipated, but I ran my 5 minutes, walked 10, ran five and then walked 10 more.   About half way into my trek it started raining with thunder booming around and lightning hitting off in the distance.  It only rained hard enough to gradually drench the top half of my shirt so all in all it was not too bad.  I was pretty tight when I got back to the room so I took some Advil, showered and hopped into bed. This morning I am pleasantly surprised, not sore at all.  Good deal. While I was doing the run/walk the rain turned to a light mist and that spring boarded me to the thoughts below. Spiritual Time: What we all want, but may not know it..yet. One of the parts about running and walking alone is that I can think, talk to myself, pray or just drone out to the rhythm of my pace without distraction.   The movie "What Women Want" with Helen Hunt and Mel ...

The Egg Theory of the Aging Human Body So here is the deal.  The egg theory is simple.   As we age we should treat our body like a fresh egg.  Accordingly, there are some pretty simple rules to follow to coincide with this theory. 1.  Fresh eggs do not do well in extreme cold.  When I was a boy, we had some chickens and on cold winter mornings we would collect the eggs out of the hen house and on some occasions the eggs would be frozen solid.  Freezing eggs is not good for them if you actually intend to use them later on. Frozen Eggs are nasty and it does them no favors. Rule#1  As you age don't let your body get too cold. Cold racks the bones tightens your muscles up.  You can slip on the ice, wrench muscles,  fall and break bones (another part of the theory).  Stay in the happy 65-80 degree range if you can. Johns Hopkins supports this part of my theory. JohnsHopkins Health Alert about Cold 2.  Fresh Eggs also...