Dr Seuss Was Right

  “ I don’t know how to tell you this but….You’re living on a speck!”

                                                              Horton the elephant

 

And then there is Antares (below)…it is the 15the brightest star in the sky.  It is more than 1000 light years away

And this is an image taken from the Hubble Telescope showing countless galaxies…billions of light-years away

       “To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him?  Look at the stars in the sky  they’re all numbered, in fact  they’re all named.”

                                                                                                God

                                                                  (paraphrase of Isaiah Chapter  40)

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     “Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool.”

                                                                              God  

                                                                   (again from book of Isaiah)

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   “The earth is the LORD’S  and  everything on it…the world and those who dwell therein….”  

                                                                                             From Psalm 24

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     Makes me feel like a “Who”                   DM

The Empereror’s New Clothes And “Avant-garde” Art

    “This place gives me the creeps”   Lou Brown

     Sunday night found the Mrs.  and I attending  our third  concert of Lou Brown from the UK.

     Lou is touring Iowa right now… I fear, she’s  going home with  a bad taste in her mouth for Iowa.   

      I’m not going to mention  names or places - if you’re resourceful you’ll figure it  out. 

      The venue of Sunday’s concert   had   four pieces of ”art work”  (I use that term loosely) on display in  their lobby.  They were part of a bigger collection.

     “Cutting edge”   “Avant-garde”  art…. .  Corporate sponsorship , big name models…”Opening to rave reviews”  according to the media.

    Disturbing, depressing, hopelessness, dark,and in one case  evil…is what I call it.

Avante-garde  (Advance guard) according to Wikipedia is  :  “work done by small collectives of highly skilled  intellectuals and artist as they open pathways through new cultural or political terrain for society to follow“

             The “art”  consisted of  people doing an activity, accompanied to a sound track, on a plasma TV screen.    

     To be fair, I only saw 4 of these creations out of a collection of 40.. there may be some great pieces elsewhere.  The ones I saw need to be  unplugged.

                Here is Lou, from another culture, 20 years my junior, who is into the arts  having the same reaction to this display as me. 

      Remember the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes?   I’m the little boy.

I Want A Pig! (part 2)

“I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us but pigs treat us as equals.”    Winston Churchill

   

   Winston Churchill had a love for pigs . 

    When  the problems of life would start to wear him down and he wanted to unwind he would  go out  and talk to his pig.      We’re thinking about getting a pig (or two).     There are things about pigs you probably don’t know unless you’ve been around them. 

       They are highly intelligent. 

       They are NOT messy creatures…when you hear about pigs and mud..what they’re doing is trying to stay cool…they don’t sweat so in the Summer heat, they will try to find a water hole. 

       They are social creatures (that’s why I’d get two instead of just one…so they could keep each other company)

       They make great pets.  I had one when I was growing up..they love to have you scratch them behind their ears. 

        They are not naturally smelly…they just start smelling if you don’t clean out their living quarters.

        We have a couple of spots on the farm that I don’t mow.   I’m thinking the pigs can spend their summer under the trees,  keeping down the weeds…it’s a win-win situation. 

       My wife suggested this morning if we do get a pig, one of them needs to be named “Winston”. 

     My brother Steve had a pig , decided to just  let him just grow..see how big he’d get.  Normally, you take the pig to market when he get’s 220 pounds…well, Steve’s pig got up to over 900 pounds ..started having knee problems..wonder why?.

     Anyway, if you do come to see us this Summer, there is a very  good chance you will get to meet Winston….

       Ah, one of the joys of living in the Country….coming up with a weird idea and then being able to act on it.

     I posted this article on my other blog yesterday.

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     On a completely different note, we have 3 musicians from the UK  staying with us this week.  We’ve rented a local coffee house for them to perform on Friday.  The Mrs and I  had a chance to see them three times last week.  They are awesome!  They called this past Sunday and wondered if they could spend the night here..the other arrangements they had didn’t work  out.  This is one of the reasons I love having a B and B…we can put someone up on short notice.

Interpersonal Relationships Graduate Program

     “Would you have a set of scaffolding I could use for a couple of days?”  

       That conversation signaled the beginning of  my work  relationship with Don Winters, (not his real name) the past 3 years.  We settled up and  parted company this past weekend on good terms.  That is an amazing feat in itself.  I enjoyed my time with him  but there were moments  it felt like I was riding  one of these:

  

       “Be at peace with all men, so far as depends upon you….is one of my life principles.  I don’t “do” unresolved conflict very well.  If there is tension in my relationship with you , I will address it.   Early on, two people cautioned me that Don could  be pushy and dare I say manipulative…just give him some time   They were right. 

     I hate conflict and tend to be a people pleas-er, so working with Don forced me out of my comfort zone.  In the 30 months I worked for him, I had to aggressively pursue getting paid every time. Early on, I had to let him know, unlike his other men, my crew  would  take a morning coffee break.   When you’re doing heavy physical labor you burn between 5000-7500 calories a day….so by 10 AM I  need my sugar.

     We almost parted company on strained terms.  Last March , some of you may recall, my Cousin Michelle passed away in a tragic accident.   I didn’t work the day of the funeral, but  a couple of my guys did.  Don left a grumpy message on my voice mail about how little my crew got done that day.  That did not sit well with me .  I commented to my wife I was not going to put up with it.  On the ride to work  next Monday, I asked Ben about Don’s message.  I began to entertain thoughts of severing my working relationship  with him.   When we got to the job-site, the first thing out of Don’s mouth was “Did you see how little your guys got done on Friday?”

             I was standing about 18 inches from him and I let him have it…remember, I’d been building up a head of steam ever since I’d listened to that voice message.)  Eye ball to eye ball, I told him that was it- I was done working for him… “I’m almost 50 years old and I’m not going to put up with this stuff. ”

      It was  like an out of body experience…it felt like I was watching my dad  straighten out  this 60 yr old bully.  I didn’t swear  (I might have said bull sh*t).    We both knew I was right… he started back peddling, telling me we needed to go out for a cup of coffee  or something to talk this out.  “I don’t think so”  I thought to myself…

    We didn’t part company that day, in fact, we worked together for another year….Don- if you ever read this..just want you to know..I did enjoy my time with you.

    But now it’s time to award myself this certificate:

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School Of Life

Graduate Program

 

        The bearer of this certificate has demonstrated  the ability to hold his ground in a relationship with someone known to intimidate 90% of the population…By virtue of the fact he was able to collect his last check,and leave on good terms.

    The recipient is hereby awarded a Masters Degree in the area of getting along with tough people.

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     Several of you have expressed frustration in some of your work relationships,  I know God uses these situations  to grow us…but at what point do you draw a line in the sand and say “Enough is enough?”

    

When Someone’s “Hitting” On Your Spouse

     I ran into “Jackass” Friday at  a Buy Fresh workshop .  Here’s his picture: 

      He mentioned he and his wife hadn’t seen us for awhile  (it’s been two years).  I’m not sure what to do with him  them relationally.   He suggested we needed to get together again.  

       Every time we are with them- Virtually every time  “Jackass” will say some form of …”It’s too bad you are here (meaning me ) …MM  (my wife) is who I really enjoy seeing“.   ;-)   (or some variation of that statement)

      We’ve known this couple for 8 years.  He’s a 60 year old hippie, been married a time or two….he’s a big flirt with every attractive woman he sees…not just my wife… to be perfectly honest, for the first 5 years we knew them, I thought to myself..he’s harmless enough..that’s just “Jackass.”

    Scripture talks about how the words  we use are an index of our heart…both good and bad…we give others a glimpse into our hearts by what we  talk about.

     Anyway, 3 years ago, in another friendship we had as a couple…I kept insisting  that the boyfriend of my wife’s good friend was an out and out pervert.  Guys can pick up on things in other men, I swear women are sometimes blind to.   My wife wasn’ t so sure,  so I  had to bite my tongue, so not to rock the boat.  One day my wife comes home and says…”You were right about Wilbur.  He is a pervert, he tried to kiss two  women who   stayed over night @ so and so’s house.” 

      I wept  from  the pent up turmoil I’d been carrying for over a year. 

     My wife and I had a heart to heart talk , we  both agreed “Jackass” while not cut out of the same cloth as Wilbur,  was a firt, why submit our marriage to that?   So we backed  off.  It was hard because we did enjoy his wife’s company.    

       Any suggestions?….?  Address things head on with Jackass and his wife?  If so,  where and when?  Have you ever had to deal with this sort of thing?

100 Things About Me

         This post will probably signal a significant cutback in my blogging activity both in posting and commenting on blogs.  I am going back to work this week after  2 1/2 months of not much work.  Sooo…if you want to stay in touch drop me an e-mail….I will still have time for some of that at the end of the day …here’s my list:

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100 Things about me 

1.  I celebrated my 50th birthday in February…have you sent your  ”What you appreciate about me”  note yet?   You can you know..In care  of this blog.

2.  I am a first-born

3.  I moved to a farm when I was 10

4.  We milked cows twice a day, 7 days a  week 365 days a year.  Took a good hour both times

5.   I was small growing up..didn’t hit puberty until I was about 18-that ticked me off.

6.   I am musically inclined but would never quit my day job

7.  I took Piano lessons for 5 yrs.  and organ for 2

8.  I was 2nd chair trumpet in band….quit my senior year- really ticked off the band instructor..

9.  I hated my big ears growing up..read about it here

10  Kids called me “monkey” growing up..kids can be so stink’n mean sometimes…I’m lucky they weren’t meaner

11. My brother and I physically fought almost every day until I was 15.

12.  We have  a good relationship today…so don’t worry mom if you have boys and they like to fight..it’s a guy thing

13.  I have 2 sisters

14.  All of us  siblings call each other on our birthdays…

15.   Each of us (siblings) are so different…I’m the only one that doesn’t like to gamble a little…

16 .  I take after my dad in that regard…I come by it honestly

17. The older I get the more I look like my dad.

18  My dad looks more and more like my grandpa…you know where this is going don’t you

19.  My dad could not speak English when he went to Kindergarten..just low German (plow deutch)

20.  I never knew my great grandpa…(dad’s grandpa)  but I hear he was a mean old cuss…with 8 boys and 5 daughters…it had to be a rowdy house.

21.  My dad’s dad used to talk about making moonshine when they were growing up on the farm.

22.  I once interviewed and taped my grandpa..had him retell all those stories he used to tell…I asked him about the moonshine story  again…was it really true..yep…then he gave me the recipe for making it

23.Blogging friend suggested limiting  the word size on most posts which I think is a great idea…I’m making an exception  today but have purposed to keep the word count to 350 .

24.  I was called a Renaissance man twice in one year by two different people who didn’t know each other….had no idea what that ment ..had to look it up.

25.  I am a general contractor by day.

26.  I Love my job and have for years…I am one of those fortunate people who get paid for doing something they love.

27.  Why do I love my job?…it keeps me in shape,  forces me to use my mind,  get to work with people, see what I  accomplish at the end of the day,  get to travel,  it pays the bills,  I love the variety of what we do…there’s more

28.  I am afraid of heights…a carpenter afraid of heights..go figure

29.  My favorite thing to do is frame a house or pour a sidewalk

30. I can drive a skid-loader with the best of them:

31.  We own a bed and breakfast

32.  We planted an apple orchard

33.  We have 80 trees currently…but room for 120

34.   Taking care of the orchard is not work..it’s therapy for me

35.  I love to watch things and people grow..must be that farmer thing

36.   We planted an apple tree that is a direct descendant of an apple tree known to have been planted by Johnny Appleseed..(got the papers to prove it..got it from a Historical tree website.

37.   We host a music fest once a year in one of our old barns…

38.  You’re invited.

39.  This year..Wendy Jan’s is one of the performers

40. There’s an open mike the first couple of hours…anything from music, to a cowboy poet, to an auctioneer..if you have a talent you’d like to share..let me know

41. I want to sing this song with my daughters at the next event

42.  This fall I’m planning a 100 mile walk retracing the first road in Iowa

43.  I’m 50 yrs old but tell people I feel like I’m 21 with 29 yrs experience

44.  I did smoke the wacky weed when I was single just a few times…enough to know I’m glad it’s not a regular part of my life

45.  I have had too much to drink a few times as well…(couldn’t remember the next day what I’d done)..feel the same way about that as smok’n pot..and by the way…I didn’t inhale

46.  Hemp (pot) grows  locally here in our ditches and fence rows…I once found a large bag of dried pot when I was rabbit hunting..someone was growing/ and drying the good stuff on my dad’s property…

47.  I  love my coffee

48.  If you’re looking for any gift ideas…Starbucks gift cards work for me

49.  I’ve self published 2 books and am working on #3

50.  They cost me 1200  and  1500 respectively to get published.

51.  I love to teach

52 .  Here are some of my spiritual gifts as I understand them:  Mercy, encourager, serving, teacher,

53.   My wife and I will be married 29 yrs this April

54.   She was my first date.

55.  She was not the only girl I dated

56.  I’ve officiated 2 weddings..one being my oldest  daughter

57.  I think my oldest daughter is the female version of me

58. I think my 2nd oldest daughter is my sister Karen’s genetic twin

59.  I think all of my kids are more gifted than they realize

60. We adopted another daughter this past year

61. My son  plans to go to trade school to be a mason..I think it’s a good fit

62.  The fact that Jesus  the Messiah was  a carpenter still blow my mind

63.  I hate conflict

64.   Parenting has forced me to deal with my people pleasing tendencies

65.   I love hanging out with people who have tattoos, body piercings, ride motorcycles, …your non church types

66.  I love to bake bread from scratch

67.  I have my grandma Marie’s original cross stitch sampler she made when she was 11

68.  I cut 3/4 inch off the tip of my ring finger with a skill saw 3 years ago which pretty much put a kabosh to my guitar playing (can’t press the chords the same)…wish I could play like this

69.  I went to Spain when I was 16

70.  Actually it was Ibiza a little Island in the Mediterranean

71. Went to a bull fight when we were there…I puked my guts out afterwards

72.   Imagine me…a shy Iowa farm boy..sunbathing on an Island in  the middle of the Mediterranean..when he should have been home baling hay..what a trip

73.  I scored 90% on a marksman test this Fall…used a Glock pistol w/ a custom sight…sweet

74.  I had to shoot a  pet calf who was terminally  sick w/ pneumonia…one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life

75.  I know how to butcher a chicken and properly cut it up

76.  I have taught at the local community college several classes..my favorite being something I called Bible For Dummies

77.  I prefer a highly interactive method of teaching rather than  lecture

78.  I can be a very funny person..both in private and public

79.  Did I mention I am also intense.

80.  My wife says that being married to me is like riding on the back of a tiger..sometimes it’s all she can do to hang on.

81. She says I add a lot of adventure to her life

82.  I am a great listener…I love deep conversations..just like my friend Hope I don’t “do” shallow very well.

83.  I  would much rather read than watch TV

84.  I used to be addicted to TV until the darn thing broke back in the early 1980′s…never re-acquired that addiction

85.  We own a 1999 Toyota Tacoma 4 by 4 and a 2000 Camry..both paid for…I would rather put a new motor in a car than buy a new car and make payments. 

86.   I have a very detached attitude about money…am probably generous to a fault…lucky you

87.  I give myself $25.00 a month for as my mom calls it “mad money”

88.   We used  to live from check to check the first 15 years of our marriage..I HATED it.

89.  Things were so tight…we didn’t have enough $ for postage stamps some times…let alone the dentist…

90.  Two of our children were born in New Jersey

91.  I met one of my best friends at an inner city mission…he was trying to get off the street..here’s his picture

92.  The last time we were together, my jaws hurt from laughing so much

93.  I did tell you I was a teaser right?

94.   Our neighbor  just built us (4)  count them..4 – 42 inch by 7 foot tall  white oak book cases…it is great to finally have all of our books together in one spot

95.  We tried our hand at homeschooling for 9 years…I was totally opposed to the idea originally for all of the same reasons you hear people say…what about socialization,  bla bla bla…found out, several things…it’s not for everyone, it’s not even for every child in a family, and as far as socialization…I was wrong…home-school kids typically are more socially confident and  able to interact w/ people …instead of growing up in an environment where you are picked on by your peers…you are nurtured..we dual enrolled so they still went to traditional school part time, went out for sports, etc…would highly recommend it for several reasons..if  you’re at all considering it

96.  A history bug bit me big time a year ago.

97.  I do have a relatively good voice if I’m not nervous

98.  I have a 94 (all positive) feedback on my e-bay rating

99.  It takes a lot to get me angry.  I’m a lot like my grandpa

100. I got the idea from this list from  this blogger

Don’t Mess With The Bull

      Opa was a quiet man, - gentle soul, wish you could have met him.  One of the stories he loved to tell happened before he was married.

     I suppose he was 19 or 20.  A farm boy, German background, back in the 1920′s.  One Saturday afternoon, he stopped by Clarence Hayen’s General store.  Grandpa said he was collecting money for the Wayne Lutheran Church and needed to see Clarence.  There were some young men hanging around  the store for the  dance that night.

      Grandpa said  he told the fellas “Hi” but  all he got was  a few grunts.  In those days, the German’s were not always  liked.   

      As he walked out of the store someone hit him on the back of the head.  I’ll let grandpa tell you what happened next:

     “When I walked out of the door, someone hit me from behind.   They put me on my knees.  About 5 or 6 of them piled on top of me.  All I could think of was they wanted my money.  I shook them off and started swinging.  By the time I finished, the last one was running to the car crying like a baby.  He got to the car and locked the door.”

     What those boys didn’t realize was grandpa was one of 8 brothers  who loved to wrestle.  He stood 6 ft  3 in his prime, 240 pounds.  He once took  a live market hog (220 pounds of squealing pork )and threw it over a fence.   Those boys had picked the wrong person. 

     Next Monday, Grandpa was at the  farm of one of his assailants buying hogs.  He brought the incident up to the father  he was feeling bad he had  beat up his son. 

     “John he said,  those boys had it coming- I’m glad you whipped them good. ”   About then  the boy came out of the house a big hand print on the side of his face.

      There’s a saying in these parts…”If you mess with the bull, you may get the horns”

My First Year Blogging…High Lights and Low Lights

     Today the counter on my blog registered  20,000 hits.  Here are some of my  high lights and low lights…

Highlights

# 1 Highlight…  People..without a doubt..It’s been meeting and bantering with several of you on the blog and via e-mail.  You’ve added to my life immeasurably.

#2  Blogging has given me an outlet for my thoughts.  If you blog, you know what I’m talking about. 

#3  Encouragement…It’s been a two way street.  I’ve had opportunities to encourage people I’d otherwise never known and I’ve had people speak into my life .

#4  I won a contest!    Thank you Kristina!

#5  The World has become a much smaller place…from Canada to the Philippines,  The United Arab Emirates, to the East Coast…The West Coast and even in the UK…

#6  Provided me with a new outlet for personal growth.  I love to learn, and blogging has been a vehicle for me to learn how to do things like  “copy/paste”, upload photo’s, link to other sites, etc.

#7  Blogging has kept me from bouncing off the walls this Winter because work  has been slow.

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Low-lights

#1  I really only had one….and it could have been much worse.  When I first started blogging, anyone who wanted to post a comment could do so automatically without my having to approve it.  We were out of town one weekend and some drunken clown read  one of my posts all out of context and thought he needed to give me a piece of his mind, which he could ill afford to  part with….At this point, his words make me smile   (He called me a “tree hugger ” who better keep driving his Kia rather than have me riding my motorcycle and giving ”real bikers” a bad reputation. 

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       Here’s what I want to know…If you are reading this…could you tell me  where you are from?  I’ve tried several times to install one of those maps  that indicate where people come from and as of yet, I’ve not been able to get it done…this will be a poor man’s version of one of those indicators…

    Second thing…I’d love to get some feedback….both things you’ve appreciated as well as suggestions for improvement.

   

Family/ House Meetings

      I still remember my first house meeting.  We were renting an apartment from our church….not your typical church mind you.   We lived on a 10 acre retreat center in Northern New Jersey right in the middle of Watershed property- it was beautiful! 

      I know this is a bunny trail- but did you know there are still black bear that run wild in New Jersey  :-)

 

      OK back to the house meeting…

      We were staying  in the main lodge which held a girls dorm, a guys dorm, the pastor’s apartment and a couple of apartments for guests like us.  Once a month they would call a house meeting to address any issues that might come up….could be laundry , parking problems, noise, you name it.  There were a half a dozen people on staff, couple of young people on rehab…I’d say there were at least 15 to 20 people present if you counted children.  I soaked up every detail.   If you think life in your home is hectic…try rubbing shoulders with 20 people.  You learned how to address issues.  We lived in that type of environment for over a year.   I was telling a friend of ours about it who happened to be a Franciscan Sister (nun)- she told me that nuns also have house meetings for the same reason- to address problems and keep things running smoothly.

     We brought that concept over into our home as we were raising our four children.   We didn’t have them every month, but as things would develop…

     “Andrea  borrowed my good top that I bought with my own money and got a stain on it.”   

      “The last time Jordan was here at our house I know he was snooping in my closet.”

      You  could tell when you needed to call a meeting- especially as the kids got older…that way everybody was on the same page on a given issue..everyone  got a chance to express themselves without being interrupted.  I  would usually moderate…If passions were running high I might have to lay the law down a time or two to not interrupt..you’ll get your turn!   We might have one item to discuss or four.  I would always summarize our final decision…make sure everyone understood how things stood.

     One of the things I’ve noticed as our children have become adults…they are much quicker  to address  issues in all their relationships- both socially and at work.  

              I can’t imagine sitting around the table as a child having the opportunity to share my thoughts with the family  and then being taken seriously.

       Thoughts or questions?

    

    

Part 3 -Swimming Upstream Against Pornography

     “I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate…..for I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do….” 

   Do you know who said that?   Unless you’re   familiar w/ the  Bible, you’d never guess.  The  ”Bill Gates” of First Century Christianity- Paul….writer of thirteen letters in the New Testament , swimming upstream  against the culture in his day.   He was humble and transparent enough to make that statement.

Footnote:  I know someone is going to write me and say..”well…that’s  only what Paul experienced  before he was a believer”.  I don’t think so

    That’s one of the problems  when we paint this phony baloney  best foot forward  version of  our faith.  We’re not perfect, most of us smoke and sputter from time to time.  Do you ever struggle ?  Yea I know you do- we all do…so when we buy into this perversion of Christianity (plastic smiles, I’m just “claiming the victory”  nonsense, and some “issue” creeps into our lives…maybe not yours, but one of your children, or yours spouse,  we don’t know what to do…  we don’t  tell anyone until we have a mess on our hands.

 God set us free from the lies and the pride that keeps us enslaved.  

        Now that I got that off my chest…   This seems like a good place to talk about temptation vs. sin.    I was doing an Internet image search for this post…some of the things that came up were quite tantalizing…did I “sin” when I felt drawn to them like a moth to a light?     I don’t think so.   If I would have lingered- clicked the link and kept “playing” with it…..but the very fact I was drawn to some image in and of itself only means I am alive….I come by it honestly.  Martin Luther  said” You can’t keep the birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from  building a nest in your hair”.

A craving is not wrong in and of itself..Ever hear this pithy saying:

“Sow a thought- reap a deed

Sow a deed- reap a habit

Sow a Habit- reap a character-

Sow a character- Reap a destiny”

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          I want to wrap this series up-   summarize what keeps me moving in the right direction currently:

    #1 Openness and  intentionally avoid certain situations.

       My wife and I have talked openly about these things…she knows  I am tempted in the video store so very rarely do I enter one unless I know which movie I want…the darn movie posters can trip me up.  Honestly, I rarely watch TV,  Call me a wimp but the commercials can be a snare .  If you’ve never struggled in some area of life and then been set free, you might not understand the pull that will sometimes raises its ugly head….That’s OK…I know some of you have been “stuck” in other ”behaviors” and are not sitting there reading this with a smirk on your face.  

      So far, the price I’ve paid for admitting I don’t have it all together far outweighs any negatives I’ve experienced.  There may come a day when you won’t find this blog on the Internet, but for now I’m convinced it’s worth it.

     #2 There are resources out there if you want help.. books, ministries, Internet filters, accountability partners, etc.

    #3 Understand the difference between temptation and willful sin

     #4 Don’t feed the dark side of your soul- rather, feed and build up that which is wholesome.

      #5 I fear- fear that  I will again cross that imaginary point where I don’t have control of my thought life.

      #6 Love- I do not want to see the hurt on my wife’s countenance if I have to admit her love for me just wasn’t enough….

    #7  I’d like to tell you, I don’t want to offend and grieve God himself..but to be honest, it’s more of a fear of him than a desire not to grieve him.

       I’ll call that good enough on this topic..if you have specific questions- don’t hesitate to ask.