Gross and net. Yeah, that's the words that you can use to describe what you really can use from your paycheck. Gross, of course, is the total amount you get in the paycheck. Then, of course, that's not what you can use, because net is the amount that's left after taxes, right? That's what you've still got in the net. You've never even seen the government's share...and that's what's gross. Well, they call what goes to the government withholding tax. Now, it's not just the government that's in the withholding business. You and I are too, and it's gross.
Like most countries, America has some holidays that are pretty meaningful. We've got the Fourth of July to celebrate our independence. We've got Veterans' Day and Memorial Day, and those are great times to remember all those who've fought for our freedom. We celebrate the birthdays of some great Americans like Lincoln and Washington and Martin Luther King. And then there's this one oddball day on your calendar. Groundhog Day.
Years ago we had a big move to make from Chicago to New Jersey. And our girl, who's now all grown up and a mother herself, was only 18 months old. I still remember how she responded to all that transition.
Okay, I'm pretty much a village idiot when it comes to taking care of growing things, I admit that. I have to be careful laughing therefore; at what a cousin of ours did. Oh, it was a nice thing. His wife was gone for a couple of weeks; he volunteered to take care of some of the household jobs she was leaving behind. Including watering her plants. Which he did. Including this good-sized ficus plant. Now, I don't what that is, but I can still tell the story, right. He watered it faithfully every day, and he proudly reported that to his wife when she got home. That's when he learned a revealing fact about that ficus plant - it wasn't real. He had been faithfully watering a lifeless plant.
First we hear the stories of the disasters. Then we hear the stories of the people affected by those disasters. Especially the heroes. You might remember seeing the horrific floods that swept through Queensland, Australia, carrying away loved ones, and houses, cars, communities. But there's one story from that tragedy that I will not soon forget. It's about a 13-year-old boy named Jordan - from a town called Toowoomba.
It's happy-time at the Hutchcrafts these days. Our newest grandson was just born - all ten pounds, ten ounces of him! That's a lot of boy! Just ask his mama! And even though he's not our first grandchild, there's still something breathtaking and amazing about the arrival of a new person in this world. I couldn't help but think of when his daddy was born. I was there in the delivery room when he arrived, and I will never forget what the doctor said. Now keep in mind, this is a doctor who's, well, seen thousands of deliveries over a long career. As I held my newborn son, the doctor said, "You know, this is the greatest miracle known to man." He got no argument from me.
Well, first we had these Super 8 films of our kids when they were little. And then they became, of course, videos for modern times and DVDs. And it's really kind of fun to flash back, especially to when they were babies and, you know, just toddlers.
For example, our oldest son that we've got an old movie of his first birthday. And we managed to keep this on film for better or worse. In this picture my son is seated in his highchair, he's dressed in brand new birthday clothes it looks like, and he's surrounded by relatives who are probably saying lots of dumb things to him. And Mom comes along and there she sets in front of him on his highchair a big, beautiful, fudgy, chocolaty birthday cake with one candle in it.
My wife says I usually try to cram in one more thing before I leave for an appointment. I guess she's right. Then she says that I usually try to make it up on the road, and I have to plead guilty to that sometimes. And it usually works okay if the weather's on my side. And then there are those very rainy days when it's a little tougher to hurry. You know, you're zipping down the highway at top speed, and suddenly you feel yourself losing control of the rear wheels. You ever had that happen to you? Well, that's what they call hydroplaning. The water builds up under those tires so that well, you're suddenly skiing. You're skimming along on water rather than on the pavement and the rear of your car starts to go somewhere you don't want to go. Now, if that's ever happened to you, you know it is a scary feeling to start hydroplaning because, well, you're going so fast and you're starting to start losing control.
Now, if we get together regularly by radio, we have sort of a strange relationship, you and I, don't we? I mean it's very possible you only know me by radio, and that could be a break for you. Probably some folks who know me would say, "Yeah, that's probably better we just know him by radio." You only know my voice; sort of a one-dimensional relationship. Now, it's always amusing when people find out how I look. Yeah, they have a mental image. They'll be somewhere where I'm speaking and say, "Oh, this is it? We thought you looked different."
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction and this...honestly, this is a true story. Friends of friends of ours have a big dog. And their neighbor threatened them about that dog. She had this white fluffy rabbit, you see, and a rabbit hutch in her backyard. And she said, "I'll tell you, if that dog ever hurts that rabbit of mine, I'll sue you for everything you're worth." Uh...she loves the rabbit?
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