Today is Sunday, January 28 and there are only 157 days until the 4^th of July.  I will be in South Carolina in April if anyone needs fireworks.  Today we remember the birthdays of John Barclay, John Baskerville and John Fabian.  On this day in 1547 9 year-old Edward VI succeeded Henry VIII as king of England, in 1824 William Kneass became the third US chief engraver and in 1998 Michelangelo’s “Christ and the Woman of Samaria” sold for $7.4 million.  In Rwanda it is Democracy Day and in the US it is National Blueberry Pancake Day and National Kazoo Day.

The other night I was driving along and saw a dead skunk on the side of the road.  As I drove by, it became apparent that it was only recently deceased.  As a result I got to “enjoy” the skunk for several miles before its presence dissipated.  During that time I had to wonder why an animal like the skunk was created in the first place.  Can anyone tell me what the purpose of the skunk is?  I cannot see a reason for the creature.  Other than scurrying around at night, stinking up neighborhoods, spraying dogs (by the way the tomato juice remedy does not work, it simply gives you a dog that smells like skunk and tomato juice … but I digress) and getting hit by cars, there does not appear to be a reason for its existence.

It made me wonder about other animals.  Was the creator in a particularly funny mood when he/she created animals like the giraffe or the rhinoceros?  There are a number of critters whose purpose I question.  Aside from the skunk and the two previously mentioned animals, I also wonder about raccoons, alligators, hippos, manatees, aardvarks and several others.  One that always puzzled me is the anteater.  I know that it eats ants and termites, but if the ants and termites had not been created, we would not have needed something that would eat them, or ant traps, or ant killer, or Terminix.

Let’s be realistic.  There is no real need for the animals that I mentioned.  Most of them are not used as a source of food.  If we did not have alligators we would not have their leather for boots, belts, purses, etc., but then we wouldn’t miss those things because we wouldn’t know about them.  It’s not like a group of women would be sitting around, drinking cocktails, saying, “I wish there were alligators.  I would really love to have some nice new heels and matching purse.”  The next time you are sitting around with nothing else on your mind, consider the number of animals that you would never miss if they did not exist.

I heard recently that there is a move afoot here in my state to raise the speed limit to 75 MPH.  Are you kidding?!?  My first question is why?  Where does anyone have to go that they need to go 75 to get there?  It would be a lot safer to simply leave your house a little earlier.  I would rather have someone say, “Bill is always late,” than have them say, “Doesn’t he look natural.”  Besides, most of the people on the road are doing 75 now and the limit is 65.  If it is raised to 75, they will all do 85.  The only benefit I can see to raising the limit would be that the accident pictures on the news will be far more spectacular with the higher limit.

My older grandson got his driving permit recently.  I am quite proud of him.  His driving instructor said he did very well with his first driving experiences, including driving 65 on the interstate.  Having said that, I do not know if I am prepared to have a grandson old enough to be driving.  If he is that old then I must be a lot older than I appear to be in my mind.  In my head I still have a full head of hair, don’t have to get up during the night to use the bathroom, don’t need to take a nap in the afternoon and can get up off the couch without grunting and groaning.

I go into the bathroom and look in the mirror and wonder, “Who is this old guy that keeps showing up when I am trying to shave?”  I like to think that age is just a number and, to some extent, it is.  The problem is that the number brings things with it that weren’t here before.  I didn’t always have to say, “What?” when someone was talking to me.  My father always claimed that his hearing was perfect.  The problem was that we all mumbled.  I find that people around me are mumbling more lately.  When I am working on a project I can feel that number affecting me.  If I have to get down on the floor to do something, I always make sure there is something sturdy nearby to lean on when I have to get back up.  Usually, the noise I make getting up causes Barbara to ask if I am okay.  I suppose getting older has its drawbacks, but it sure beats the alternative.

This week our fact tells us that dentists recommend that a toothbrush be kept at least six feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles from the flush.  I imagine it would help to put the lid down.  Just to be safe, I keep mine in a drawer.