Today is Sunday, April 10 and there are only 204 days until Halloween, so start watching for those candy sales.  Today we remember the birthdays of Hugo Grotius, Commodore Matthew Perry and Clare Boothe Luce.  On this day in 1790 the US Patent system was established, in1841 the New York “Tribune” began publishing and in 1955 Dr Jonas Salk successfully tested the Polio vaccine. Not a big day for holidays, but it is National Farm Animals Day and National Cinnamon Crescent Day.

I am sad to report that the lovely Elaine is still in the hospital.  I have hesitated to say anything before now, but she is dealing with a brain tumor and the side effects of chemo.  I mention this so that you understand why I do not have much to talk about lately.  I hope you will take a moment to remember her in your prayers.

I do have an issue to discuss this week.  It involves one of my regular gripes – commercials.  I have been seeing commercials lately for a hair restoration company and a cosmetic surgery facility.  They both have commercials that show what a great job they do.  What I found interesting were the before and after pictures.

With the hair restoration company, all the before shots were taken showing the top of the head, the lighting was harsh and the person had no expression.  The after shots showed the person’s face, not the top of the head, the lighting was softer and, of course, the person was all smiles.

The cosmetic surgery one was more interesting.  The company was pushing the work they did for older people in tightening up their necks.  You know, like the wattle I have talked about before.  The pictures were unflattering, showing the people in bad light and in profile, highlighting their necks.  The after pictures showed them from the front, the women all had makeup on, several with different hairdos, tans and jewelry.

I understand that the after pictures are to show what great work they did.  It just seems to me that if you want to show how good your work is, the before and after pictures should be as close to the same as possible.  That way we get a better perspective on what was done.

I sometimes wonder if maybe I am too picky about stuff like that.  Maybe I analyze these things too much.  That might be why I am a balding man with a wattle and not doing commercials for these people.  Or maybe I am just happy with the way I am.  I figure if everybody else is trying so hard to look different, I will stand out more by staying the way I am.

Our fact this week tells us that you cannot snore and dream at the same time.  How do they know this?  They claim that you can’t sneeze with your eyes open, but I can.  They say that no two snowflakes are the same, but how do they know that? How could they possibly have examined enough flakes to reach that conclusion?  I think they (whoever the people are that come up with this stuff) say these things and expect us to believe it simply because they said it.  Frankly, I do not see why it matters if I don’t dream when I am snoring.  And I could not care less about how snowflakes look as long as I do not have to shovel them.

I will close this out now.  I need to get to bed because I have to get up early so I can go find cinnamon crescents for breakfast.