Update Season VI - "A New Day Dawning"

[Mr. Morden]

Bushie, do you shut down threads only to reopen them, because you can't take the heat, and hope it dies down with a hiatus?

That's what he's always done in the past, yes.  Though that tends to be a last resort.  His preferred method is to keep the thread open, but just deflect the questions he doesn't like by saying "I'm not going to talk about this anymore.  Let's move on."  But if people keep persisting, then he resorts to thread closure.

[Mr. Morden]

What's this about the weather being so awful in OK that it justifies only going out for a walk "a couple of times a year"?  Good grief, doesn't anyone there own dogs?  Don't they take them out for a walk year round?  In any case, I can understand the heat and humidity making it miserable in the summer, but how bad can the winter possibly be there?  Can't you just put on a jacket, hat, and gloves if it's cold?  If I could go for walks during the winter when I was living in WI and MN, then surely Bushie can survive it in the OK winter.

[Mr. Morden]

What's this about the weather being so awful in OK that it justifies only going out for a walk "a couple of times a year"?  Good grief, doesn't anyone there own dogs?  Don't they take them out for a walk year round?

An Oklahoma dog owner out for one of his biannual walks:

Before I moved to Australia, the only thing I had to go on for setting my expectations for life here was Mad Max.  I've largely managed to avoid the parts of the country that are as desolate as what's depicted in that movie.

[Mr. Morden]

My main goal tomorrow other than relaxing is taking care of my laundry.

It's always good to aim high in life.

[Mr. Morden]

Right now, I'm drinking a Diet Dr Pepper since my fish oil capsules taste terrible with just plain water, so I have to have something other than plain water to wash it down with.

Rather than cover the taste with water alone, why not cover the taste by immediately eating some small piece of food, like a small piece of bread or cheese or something?

[Mr. Morden]

By his own word, he has gained 10+ pounds since he came home in a month. For someone his size, that is insane.

And it's not like he's tied down to a desk job at the moment, which makes it difficult for him to find time to exercise.  He has all the time in the world to exercise every day.

[Mr. Morden]

You need 3 spoons of mashed potatoes to be full?

Inks, a "spoon" isn't really a standard unit of measurement, is it?  We have no idea what quantity Bushie is referring to when he talks about eating "3 spoons of mashed potatoes".  How big are the spoons?  Bushie should clearly weigh every meal he eats (or measure its volume with water displacement) and report back to us.

[Mr. Morden]

When you're visiting with family for 10 hours or however long you do these things, do you just sit around and talk and/or eat the whole time?  No one else in your family would have an interest in going outside to get some fresh air, or even going with you on a walk of 30 or even 20 minutes to get some exercise, such that you can continue whatever conversation you're having with them while walking?

[Mr. Morden]

I read this and immediately thought of Bushie:

http://www.fastcoexist.com/1681708/we-should-measure-our-food-in-exercise-not-in-calories

[Mr. Morden]

The way he regards his parents is just mind-blowing....

Fortunately, his father at least has good health benefits, since Bushie sold him Ameriplan a few years ago.

[Mr. Morden]

I'm going to do something quite different for me.  I'm normally not a golf person, but my Uncle who is still here while his wife is in Florida is a huge golf fan.  After I take a nice walk, I am going over to Grandma's with him the next four days and watch the 2013 Master's Golf Tournament from Augusta, Georgia.  I would love to hear his commentary on the biggest golf event of the year.

I started reading this paragraph thinking "Wait, Bushie isn't going to golfing is he?"  Then by the end, I realized that all was right with the world again when I read that you were only going to watch it on TV.

[Mr. Morden]

I'm going to do something quite different for me.  I'm normally not a golf person, but my Uncle who is still here while his wife is in Florida is a huge golf fan.  After I take a nice walk, I am going over to Grandma's with him the next four days and watch the 2013 Master's Golf Tournament from Augusta, Georgia.  I would love to hear his commentary on the biggest golf event of the year.

I started reading this paragraph thinking "Wait, Bushie isn't going to golfing is he?"  Then by the end, I realized that all was right with the world again when I read that you were only going to watch it on TV.

I would like to go golfing one of these days, but at this time I'll be a sofa spectator.

Are there any outdoor activities you have an interest in, other than walking?  You have all this free time between now and the start of your schooling (minus trip to Kenya).  Is the Oklahoman summer so miserable that it's wise to just hide inside the air conditioning all day long, or might anything entice you to go outside?

[Mr. Morden]

What about finding a basketball court somewhere (whether inside or outside) and shooting hoops?  Not necessarily the most strenuous activity in the world, but at least it's better than sitting around all day at a computer or TV.

What about frisbee golf?  That doesn't require any knowledge other than how to throw a frisbee.  Are there any frisbee gold places in your area?  Any friends who might want to play that with you some time?  Again, not the most strenuous exercise, but at least it gets you outside, walking around.

Also, you live in a supposedly first world country.  How is it that you can't swim?  Didn't they teach you  how to swim in gym class when you were in school?

[Mr. Morden]

What kind of American public school has its own pool to teach kids how to swim in? Most Americans learn to swim, if they do, through private swim classes. About half of the population can't swim, and this is especially true of poor people.

I went to an American public middle school (in a suburb of Milwaukee) where there was a pool and they taught swimming.  But yeah, I already knew how to swim before that.

[Mr. Morden]

What does your knee hurting have to do with going home?

Just watching those golfers exert themselves by swinging a golf club is enough to put stress on his joints.

[Mr. Morden]

It's downloading now.

This is an app that allows Inks to stalk Bushie?

[Mr. Morden]

Why don't you just spend a day in Chicago, rather than hang out at the airport?

[Mr. Morden]

In any case, you do realize that you don't need a travel agent to look up any of this stuff for you, right?  You can just go onto kayak.com, or any similar site, and input your details, including any specifications about layover lengths and the like, and it'll tell you your options.

[Mr. Morden]

There is literally nothing holding you back but this silly idea that "now isn't the time" and I have never heard anyone say that before that truly was touched by God. I will maintain it is just another vacation for you like Utah. By your logic, God has dragged you around for years and years now with conflicting messages.

Indeed, that's the logic of it.  Bushie remains 100% certain of what God wants him to do in the future.  Then when the future comes, and Bushie does it, and it doesn't work out, then whoops, he must have misinterpreted God.

[Mr. Morden]

As long as we get it done before he has to mow again, we'll be fine.

Your dad is mowing the lawn too?  Even though you have nothing to do all day, while he has a full time job?  Are you doing any chores around the house at all?

[Mr. Morden]

I'd be willing to bet that Kenya has more churches per capita than the US.

Maybe they're the "wrong" denomination?

[Mr. Morden]

God can use anybody He wants where He wants.  He doesn't need anybody, He chooses to use filthy, dirty, rotten people to carry out His work.  In this case, He is choosing to use a fat, white man from Harrah, Oklahoma, the son of parents who do not have much money.  He is using a man who falls flat on his face daily, if not hourly.  He is using a man who is as stubborn and hard headed as a box of rocks.  Most importantly, though, He is using a man who is choosing to be used by Him.

That's dodging the question though.  Is there a logical reason why the church you're with decided to help build churches in a country that's already mostly Christian, rather than do their missionary work in less Christian countries?  Why did they decide to do this in Kenya of all places?  Is the only reason "because God told them to", with there being no underlying logical reason beyond that?  Did they have some preexisting relationship with a church in Kenya or something?

[Mr. Morden]

I'll be honest about something else here.  I have slacked off on my water drinking the past three weeks.  I haven't had near as much as I should.  In fact, I haven't had any except for iced tea.  I will get back on that tomorrow, as well.

What do you mean "haven't had any except for iced tea"?  You mean you've had it mixed in with iced tea, but never drank any water straight up for three weeks?

[Mr. Morden]

I'll be honest about something else here.  I have slacked off on my water drinking the past three weeks.  I haven't had near as much as I should.  In fact, I haven't had any except for iced tea.  I will get back on that tomorrow, as well.

What do you mean "haven't had any except for iced tea"?  You mean you've had it mixed in with iced tea, but never drank any water straight up for three weeks?

Pretty much.  Iced tea, especially if its unsweetened, counts as water consumption from what I have heard.

"Counts as water consumption"?  Any beverage you drink of any type is going to be mostly water.  So you're getting water consumption.  The point of drinking water straight up rather than iced tea or other beverages is to avoid getting all the other stuff you don't want, like sugar.

Ever since I was a toddler, I don't think I've ever gone more than a week without drinking *any* water straight up.  Heck, I can't remember the last time there was a *day* when I didn't drink water.  The idea of never drinking water perplexes me. 

[Mr. Morden]

It's disturbing enough to lie about everything, but it's almost even more disturbing to manage to get caught practically every time.

What makes you think he's caught practically every time?