Pleasantly Disturbed Thursday

It’s time for another thrilling installment of Pleasantly Disturbed Thursdays, the brainchild of Duane Scott. So here goes.


While I was biking Monday evening on Grant’s Trail, a black snake slithered across my path and into the weeds. It was only about three feet long, unlike the six-foot relative that stopped me abruptly a couple of years ago. The trail cuts through an eclectic landscape of subdivisions, woods, open fields, light industrial and commercial areas, a shopping mall and a small park or two. It offers lots of opportunities to encounter wildlife, but I prefer to avoid the snakes. The live ones, anyway.

At work this week, I had to watch two hours of a live congressional hearing televised from Washington. I thought it would be dull, but it wasn’t. It was mostly posturing by the panel and the people testifying, and it occasionally became fascinating as you watched and tried to figure out which witness was aligned with which member and his or her staff. I think I prefer the black snakes on the biking trail. Black snakes aren’t poisonous, and they don’t look for publicity opps.

I’ve been reading the novel Mending String by Cliff Coon, published in 2004 by Moody Press. Two story lines comprise the novel – a pastor and his teenage daughter who live in the same house but talk past each other, and a power struggle in the pastor’s church to force him out in favor of a more contemporary approach to church. Good story so far.

Tuesday night, my wife and I finished the eight episode of the seventh season of the British spy/suspense series “M1-5.” That means we’ve watched 68 episodes of this absolutely riveting since about mid-April. The eight season isn’t available on DVD or through Netflix yet.

Sitting on my desk at home is a software program for learning Italian. We’re planning a trip next year. The box is sitting there with a rather reproachful expression on its face. It wants to start.

We just did a walk-though for a house my son and daughter-in-law are considering buying. It was a nice home, not too far away to get a regular grandson fix.

Speaking of my grandson, I’m so glad you asked!

To see what others are up to on Pleasantly Disturbed Thursdays, visit Duane’ Scott’s place.