An eclipse...a skunk...and some worthwhile advice...

Some special advice shared with me recently came to mind after I stood out in the dark last Sunday night and watched a total eclipse of the moon. 

I hope you had an opportunity to watch the eclipse. Especially the part of the eclipse when the color of the moon changed to a reddish-orange. It did. Really.

Anyway, while I was standing out in the dark, I happened to catch a glimpse of a critter wander under The Other Half’s car. Moments later, the critter made an appearance. 

It was a skunk. I’m hoping the critter was just out watching the lunar eclipse. I’m also glad he wandered away into the night...without putting on a stinky show...

Keeping one’s distance from skunks was wisdom shared in a wonderful item shared with me a while back by a fellow traveler on The Journey Through Life. 

The item came in the form of “Advice from an Old Hillbilly.” Hope you don’t mind if I share some of that advice with you this week...along with a few thoughts and observations...and thanks to the person who shared this with me...

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong. (The Other Half might suggest that your fences also need to be able to keep out deer, armadillos and ground hogs.)  

Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled. (Whispers aren’t very common these days. Maybe they should be.)

The best sermons are lived, not preached.

Forgive your enemies; it’s what GOD says to do. (If you are like me, and I’m pretty sure you are not, this is a tough one.)

If you don’t take the time to do it right, you’ll find the time to do it twice. 

Don’t corner something that is meaner than you.

It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.

You cannot unsay a cruel word. (True...true...true...)

Every path has a few puddles. (Sometimes, we step in a puddle...that might not be all bad...)

When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

Don’t be banging your shin on a stool that’s not in the way.

Borrowing trouble from the future doesn’t deplete the supply.

Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway. (Yours truly is guilty of such worry...)

Don’t judge folks by their relatives.

Silence is sometimes the best answer. (Yup...)

Don’t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t botherin’ you none.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.

The biggest troublemaker you’ll ever have to deal with watches you from the mirror every mornin’.

Always drink upstream from the herd.

Lettin’ that cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.

If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.

We’ll close with my favorite Advice from an Old Hillbilly...

Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time. (Your writer is meandering through that getting older part...and it’s true...sometimes I sit out on the front porch...do some thinking back...and enjoy the memories a second, or third, or fourth time...)

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God. (The Other Half lives this one...)

Most times, it just gets down to common sense. (Indeed. Indeed. Indeed.)