Random Observations and Trivial Events

1. Did any of you see the Rolling Stones perform during halftime of the recent Super Bowl? I was watching the show with a bunch of other 40-somethings from my Sunday school class, and the initial consensus was that Mick Jagger looked pretty good for someone in his 60s, especially considering how thin he was and how much energy he seemed to have. However, after Mick removed his jacket and started strutting in a T-shirt, a closeup shot revealed the wiggling wattles of fleshy fat dangling from his upper arms, and the women in the room I was in let out a loud, simultaneous “Ewwwwww” of revulsion. I think it ruined for them the whole idea of Mick as a senior citizen sex symbol.

2. People here in Waco were shocked and saddened to learn of the death of one of our local TV weather forecaster’s sons over the weekend. What was unusual was that it was not an accidental death brought on by a car accident or drug overdose, but an accidental death that occurred while parasailing behind a tractor. I didn’t know you could even do this, much less that people do do it. I know the family must be grieving, so please say a prayer for them.

3. Have you heard the incessant ads on radio and TV for some product called “HeightMax?” A father comes on, worrying and fretting aloud about his son’s short stature, and the helpful female announcer asks, “Have you tried HeightMax?” It’s supposedly an “all-natural” supplement full of vitamins and nutrients, according to the company’s website, but my question is, who has the problem here? The kid who might just be a little delayed in his normal development, or the anal retentive dad who is so worried about his child not being as tall as the other boys that he’s willing to try pills hawked over the airwaves? I know a number of buddies of mine who were shrimps in junior high or early high school, and by the time they hit college they were six feet tall or better. Sometimes it just takes time. But I guess I can understand why a person might want to try to help the body along. Society is not very kind to very short men, I don't think. (I'm 6'2", by the way. I was very tall very early, the opposite dilemma).