What CAN you do? Su-Doku Part III

You’ve got it.  I’m back at it again.  Yes I had another date with Sudoku yesterday morning because there wasn’t much else I could do.  We just finished a three consecutive concert in a row tour (that’s redundant isn’t it?) and my body went on strike.  For two days I’ve been chasing my running nose like a two year old toddler who refuses to settle down for her nap.  I’m sneezing virtually and in reality.  No fever, headache or other aches, but just the tiredness that comes from a congested head that added a couple of kilograms on the scale.  Whew!

Oh but my time with Sudoku was nice and peaceful and I finished the puzzle faster, even though I wasn’t trying to speed through it.  What was happening?  Well, I’ve been applying the other lessons Sudoku taught me i.e. thinking outside of the boxes for instance.  But today I noticed something different I hadn’t been doing before.  I was talking out loud!!  LOL!!  “You can’t do this, you can’t do that. . . because there’s a nine here, and there and there.  Aaah, but you can do this!”  If I recall correctly from my school days (sometimes I was just dazed, and enjoyed it.) this is called the “process of elimination”.  Cool, it really does work in real life and not just in text books. :-)

Looking back on my upbringing especially in the church, we were warned that as Christians we could not do so many things, so much so we were not told what we could do.  So for many of us our lives were spent “not doing” rather than doing, like walking down the street with your eyes glued to the sidewalk so you won’t step in dog doo, but you miss that handsome man walking by who was trying to get your eye.  (Well something like that.  Wait, please come back!!)  We were thus limited in our scope as to who we were then, and who and what we could become.  Even though we had invited Jesus to live inside our hearts we had not intellectually come in contact with the great big dreams He had for us so we told HIM on a daily basis “we can’t do this and we can’t do that” by our words, thoughts and deeds, efforts at living righteously.  Of course I can now imagine Him looking at us with “unbelievable” in His eyes, yet with undying love and patience with us in our blindness.  (Thanks for Your Amazing Grace!)

As I played with Sudoku this time, each time I said what I couldn’t do, Sudoku would eventually reply “but you CAN do THIS!”  I was like wow! And each discovery made the game come alive to me once again.  That’s the power of encouragement and affirmation – it gives us strength and power to move on and press through the difficult time and place.  I wanted to go to church today but my body said “no”, and the Holy Spirit agreed, or the Holy Spirit said “no” and my body agreed.  Anyhooooo, that’s two against one.  All I could envision were the thoughts behind the stares (I can SEE what you’re thinking) of fellow metro passengers that with each sneeze, sniffle, and nasal drip snort that I was probably engaged to a pig.  NOT!  Then my mind fast-forwarded to the people I wanted to see who I’ve not seen for months thinking “ghee we’re glad to see you, but couldn’t you have stayed at home with that song and dance?”  So what could I do?  I didn’t want to just sit or sneeze the day away, at least in my mind.  My body thought it was a good idea and just continued as she pleased.  “Your body’s here with me, but your mind is on the other side of town.”  That’s what I was experiencing.  So I asked my Lover, what can I do?  He said “you can work on finishing your book and prepare it for the editor.  You can use this time to rest and be quiet.”  Not a bad idea.

Many times Jesus told His disciples to “come away” and rest after feeding thousands, taming stormy seas, cleaning out the temple (didn’t have Hoovers back then) and healing a man from the swine flu.  Well actually what happened was the man had a lot of “folk” living with him and everybody wanted to have things their own way.  He was very schizophrenic and violent and loud and when he saw Jesus get out the boat everybody just went berserk.  Jesus asked him his name and he replied “Legion because there are a lot of us living in here man.”  To make a longer story long (just kidding) Jesus told them only one person could stay, but all the rest had to go, so they asked Him to send them into the herd of pigs on the hill.  And so He did and the swine flew down into the sea.  LOL!  Jesus did what He could do and that was liberate that man mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically, socially.  Wow talk about one-stop shopping!  Walmart has nothing on our Savior.

I’m now looking at life differently more each day, not from the perspective of what I cannot do, but what can I do here, now, on my way to doing what I cannot now do here. :-)  All things are possible to her who believes, and I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.  Nothing is impossible with God for if I have faith the size of a grain of mustard seed (that’s not very big) I can ask Him for what I need and desire – according to His best for me – and I shall receive it.  Daily God asks us “What CAN you do?” not because He doesn’t know, but because He does know and He wants us to know it and get it, and DO it.  I find that in all situations, the one thing I can do no matter what’s happening is pray.  Prayer isn’t just asking for this or that but it’s the vehicle for elevating my mind and senses above my environment.  Prayer empowers me to believe when I find it difficult to see.  Prayer encourages me to use all my gifts and talents to accomplish something at any level, not just for myself, but for others too.  Prayer lets me praise and show the Lord my gratitude for what He has already done for me in my life.  Prayer is an awesome privilege and opens the portal between heaven – the Lord, and earth Me (we are made from the dust of the earth. ;-0) – God touching me and me touching God Spirit to spirit.  (That’s what Jacob’s ladder signifies, btw.)  Prayer opens my eyes, gives me fresh and new vision (“I once was blind. . .”) to other possibilities, and also to retrieve nuggets I discarded because of disappointments.  I could go on about prayer (Yes I Can!  LOL!) but I think you see what I’m singing.  LOL!!

So the next time you or I are talking about this or that, and we hit a place where we’re talking smack, you look at me and I look at you, and ask the question “What can you do?”  Lord not only is Your grace amazing, but YOU are amazing!  

When Is Enough Too Much?

Good question right?  Or we could ask “when is too much enough?”  Hmmm.  Well I think both questions depend upon the side of the elephant you’re looking at, or maybe another way of saying it is, it depends on what side of life you are on and specifically to what you are referring.  This subject has been on and off my mind, mostly on, since the last time I posted a message and today I finally have been able to slow down long enough to let my thoughts have their way with me. :-)  I’m thinking about a time I was on stage singing up a storm with some other stormy weather singing friends and I stomped my foot in excitement and voila!  My shoe broke.  Well I didn’t have an extra pair backstage, but my McGyver twin sister did.  So she not only loaned them to me, but she gave them to me.  She was (and often is) a life-saver that evening.

 Well, back in the states I used to have well over 80 pairs (when it’s more than one pair, do you add an “s” on the end?) of shoes of all shapes, colors and styles for all occasions.  For instance, I had at least five pairs of bedroom slippers for traveling from city to city, or just from upstairs to the basement to wash clothes.  Now some people in my life when they saw my shoes said I had too many, until they needed or wanted to borrow a pair.  Hmmmm (Four m’s that time.)  Then others who knew my lifestyle as a singer and minister knew I couldn’t have too many pairs of shoes, especially black ones, and they helped me from time to time find another good pair.  LOL!!  For me it was, and is an investment for you get only one pair of feet and it behooves you to take good care of them from the toenails to the ankles.  Faire attention!!  (That’s “be careful” in French.  In English that’s “pay attention”.)

 

Now because I had so many pairs of shoes, did that make me extravagant, wasteful, or maybe a collector?  Hmmm. Funny isn’t it that according to the glasses we’re wearing that’s how we view other’s lives and make judgments, not according to their needs, desires, dreams and wants, but according to ours?  Not a good idea I think. (Or a good idea I don’t think.)  Also funny how we can deem some people “collectors” with so many figurines in a glass cabinet where all they do is collect dust, have no utilitical (new word) value, but however a sentimental value for the person, and that’s okay.  But someone with beaucoup shoes, or clothing, or jewelry, or phones :-), or ear wax, etc.  Ahem is considered to be greedy or wasteful.  Again, what side of life are you on?  What’s happening in your yard that helps you make the decisions you do, for yourself and about others?  When is enough too much and when is too much enough?  Who gets to decide?  Who gets to say “when”?  <I get to decide for ME when it’s time to say when, with the help of my Lover Who resides within.  He may choose to use you, a special brother, sister or friend, to help open my eyes to the “mess” I’m in> (if it is indeed a mess.  I may need to just make a few changes.).  

 

Sometimes we do amass too many things, but it’s not always easy to tell, depending on what side of life we’re on.  Depending on what’s going on inside of ourselves we may see all as normal.  Until a change gon come finally happens.  Then the scales fall off.  This happened to a prominent figure in the New Testament book of Acts.  His name was Saul.  He was edu-ma-cated very highly on the PhD level.  He knew the law better than his fingernails, so he was sent on a mission by his superiors (only in position, for none of them could shake a stick at him and not be embarrassed because their stick was too small) to stop a certain “sect” of people from increasing and spreading some story that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.  Just think of that.  They were threatened by a story like that and sent him to beat, harass, close down, imprison, and even kill these disciples of the Christ.  One such man he did it to was called Stephen who got in the last word before he was stoned to death, while Saul watched and consented to his death.  Oh, that’s in Acts too, a wonderful and powerful story.

 

Well, feeling good and fine like he just drank some fine wine, Saul went on his way to find some more of these obnoxious folks that just kept multiplying the more he killed them.  And he noticed they would die with a smile on their faces proclaiming they could see God in heaven, the God he said he was killing them for!!  Go figure.  This just ain’t possible.  But it was.  But God had had enough of his shenanigans and He met Saul on this rue called “Damascus”.  Wahooo!!  I’m so glad he finally got to meet the God he was persecuting.  That’s what he was told.  Okay, God asked him “Saul, Saul why you player-hatin’ on me man?”  Saul asked Him “Who are YOU?”  God told him “I’m the one you hateratin’ and holleratin’ on day after day, killing my homies and my ladies.  What’s up wit dat?”  Saul realized he didn’t KNOW this God at all, for if he did, he wouldn’t have been killing these people he didn’t understand and didn’t like.

 

When is enough, enough?  When is enough too much?  When is too much enough?  Well, if you’re in a relationship of any kind, for example and you’ve been punched in the face or any other body part because the other person had alzheimers and forgot who you were; or if you’ve been stomped because the other person couldn’t put his or her prosthetic leg on correctly or fast enough to suit them; or if you’ve been lied to about the same ole thing two times (“Fool me once shame on you.   Fool me twice shame on me”.  Don’t know who said it first so I cannot put author in a footnote.);  hmmmm (count the m’s)  Or if you’ve given your “life” (i.e. monies, heart, soul, prayers, tears, time, energies, etc.) just to have them kick the chair out from under you or smack the horses rump and left you hanging from a noose (Mr. Ed would have returned to help you down, and Bonanza’s Hoss’ horse would have too), then enough is too much.

 

See, so many times we say this or that will never happen to us because we’re on the outside looking in.  Window shopping does not buy the shoes okay?  It’s when you’re inside you get to not only SEE, but feel and touch and be touched etc. by the good, the bad and the ugly.  Depending on what side of life is ON you and inside of you too affects how we will act, react and respond in certain situations.  All you can pray is that the Lord will keep you out of Saul’s way, because you know the tables got turned on him.  The folks that sent him, when they realized he stopped working for them, they wanted to kill him.  It has happened in real life too.  A wife or woman has been abused one too many times.  A child has been left home alone one too many times.  An employee has been made fun of, or not paid on time or at all and couldn’t pay his/her bills, one too many times.  These are the stuff (not stuffs, right?  LOL!) headlines are made of.  “Enough is too much”, which means it never should have happened in the first place.  Too much is enough means you’ve reached your capacity for making use of, or enjoying all the items you’ve accumulated and it’s time to stop collecting, or time to give things away before adding more.  Etc. whatever “give” means to you.  (I.e. having a yard sale is still giving it away for you bought that dress for more than five dollars girlfriend.  And you only wore it three times.  Now that’s a give-away.)

 

I’ll be honest with you, I’ve had plenty of things in my lifetime and I enjoyed every single thing I had.  I try never to buy anything I won’t enjoy or that someone else cannot use or enjoy if for some reason it doesn’t work for me when I get it home, or after I’ve outgrown it for whatever reason.  (No comments are invited on that statement.  I buy my own peanuts. LOL!)  Waste not want not whether it be you or for someone else.  (I’ll have to work on that one a little more.) :-)   I think it is the fabulous Donna Summers who sings “Enough is enough, I can’t go on no looooong-er”.  Well, sometimes we can go on longer, but we shouldn’t.  How many times have your friends and family told you to quit that job, or leave that neighborhood, or that relationship because they see how it is bringing you down and your health is suffering, your life is in jeopardy and all your cash has been dwindled to nothing trying to help somebody else?  Yes we seem to have a high tolerance level for other folk’s messes and we end up with not only a littler (by now you know I’se talk lak dat on purpose. LOL!!) stick, but the short end of THAT stick!  A few months ago I heard the Holy Spirit say in my heart “Enough!” and I knew it was time for a change. Not only did the Lord know I had reached my breaking point, but even He was tired.

 

God gives us grace to suffer long and long suffer, but every coupon has an expiration date.  All the foods on the shelf have an “eat by” date, then it’s time to poubelle it.  Some relationships are for a life time and those are the ones that not only take, but give and you find yourself the better for it, and so does the other person.  Some relationships need to stop before they ever get started.  Enough.  Some relationships are for short-term only and you must recognize when the soap’s all gone.  It’s time to get another bar. :-)  Stop rubbing your hands on the sink trying to get all the soap that’s stuck there.  Get another bar!  (I’m preaching to myself so don’t get offended.  Just print it for later when you might need it.  :-0)  We must learn not to fear change, even when we’re in a good situation, because sometimes it’s time to say “enough”.  Change is just that, change.  Making adjustments, throwing out this, rearranging that, moving to another city, country, house, status, flower pot etc.  It’s not always negative and neither is it always about putting people out of your life.  Sometimes it’s you changing and they leaving your life because they don’t like the new you.  They can no longer do to and with you what they did before and because they don’t want to change, they say “enough”.  We must learn the parts, sing in harmony, and end on a positive note.

Peace. 

Door Number One, Two or Three?

Do you remember the game show of the 60s and 70s called “Let’s Make a Deal” with Monty Hall as the host?  His show was also during the era of Bob Barker of the “Price is Right” for several years, which I believe is still on television in the U.S.  I remember watching the prospective contestants dressed in all kinds of costumes bringing with them all sorts of things from their homes hoping to catch the attention of Monty Hall so they could make a deal to exchange what they had, for what was behind one of those doors.  Oh man all of us were hoping it would be a car and not a cow, or a washing machine and not something ludicrous.  Oh the show was hilarious everyday, “Leeeettt’s Make a Deeeeaaaall!!”  Oh and of course don’t forget the money he would have in his pocket.  Sometimes it would truly be worth the trade and other times not.  Of course you thought you knew better than the contestants because you’re on the outside of the television looking in.  LOL!  Anyhoo, I’ve been thinking about three other doors lately because I’ve outgrown my living quarters and must search for something larger.  No I don’t plan to win a cow from Monty Hall, but I do need space, the final frontier so I can have an occasional lunch or dinner with Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock.  

 

I’ve had a few people visit this small place and only two including the proprietor, who happened to be male, said I had too much stuff.  All the women agreed with me that I need a larger place.  Thank God for the eyes of women which see the big and bigger picture.  :-)

Depending on the eyes in your head you may say one of two things:  1) that I’m unorganized and cluttered or 2) this place is entirely too small.  Well I’m inclined to agree with number 2 for if you stayed long enough you would see there is a method to this seemingly madness.  I learned that phrase from my Richmond sisters a few years ago “there’s a method to my madness”.  What does that mean?  It means a place for everything and everything in its place.  It means that just because you cannot see your way through my maze, and just because you don’t understand my system doesn’t mean it doesn’t make sense.  I have a method, a way of doing things, a system (my English teachers in VA would not allow us to use the word we were defining within the definition of the word etc. for it did not show them that we indeed understood the meaning. :-)) for maneuvering through not only this place, but the myriad things in my life that I must accomplish on a daily basis.  And so do you.  The question is:  have you chosen door number one, number two or number three:  Are you (am I) organized, disorganized, or unorganized?  Hmmmm.  (four m’s that time)

I love playing with words, but most of all I love understanding them so I can use them correctly, especially now learning again the language of another culture makes this extra important for me.  I wonder for instance why or how they can say “pourquoi” for “why” when “pour” means “for” and  “ quoi” means “what”, thus the equivalent of our “for what?”.  Why (hmm, pun intended LOL!) can’t they find or have one word that translates “why” rather than confusing us with “for what”, for we say “for what” also?  Okay, I’ve gone around the barn for a minute and yes, Monty Hall does have a cow back there so let’s deal with this topic.

Okay we know that the word “organized” is in “disorganized” and “unorganized” and it is the positive state of the three.  To be organized means to be. . . well, organized.  LOL!!  To have things in order, whatever those things may be, to bring about a happy conclusion most, if not all of the time.  I didn’t get that from Webster’s but I think you understand it okay.  If not, send me Webster’s definition and I will add it to the end of this blog as a footnote.  Now to be disorganized doesn’t mean there’s no organization at all.  It’s more like being MISorganized:  Organized in the not-so-best way for the task or mission you’re trying to accomplish.

 

For instance, one of my favorite passages in the Bible is when Jethro (nope, not from the Beverley Hill Billies) comes to see his son-in-law Moses who has just brought the Israelites into the wilderness out of Egypt where they had been in slavery for 430 years.  One day he observed Moses at work “judging” cases like in our judicial systems we know today.  It might have been an episode of Law and Order, or Law and Order SUV?  Or is it SVU? :-)  Moses was the judge, jury, stenographer, swear-in police, the cops with the handcuffs, you get the picture.  He was organized, but not in the best way, for he could not be everything for everyone.  It was taking him forever to get the job done.  He was really dis- or mis- organized.  He needed help reorganizing his way of doing things and his father-in-law, a Midianite priest had just the wisdom he needed.  He advised Moses to set up lower courts and judges, which we know our current judicial system to now be, at least in the United States.  Wow!!  What wisdom.  What knowledge of organization.  I could use a Jethro right about now.  So Moses took his advice and reorganized his method and it wasn’t so mad anymore.

That brings us to being unorganized.  Now to be un-something means to not be something, or to no longer be something you formerly were.  It has now been Undone for instance.  To be unorganized means there’s no organization at all.  The place, the room, the business, the group lacks organization (oh my English teacher would have my grade for this.).  Order!!!  There’s the word I’m looking for.  So for instance you’re forming a new choir and the folks are all excited and have come on time with their notebooks and mini-cassettes and MP3’s and you start the rehearsal singing a simple song everyone knows, but everybody is just singing what feels good to them and what is natural and you’re getting a cacophony of. . . noise.  Ahem.  Sounds like there’s no organization for no one knows really what they should be singing.  Maybe they are good where they come from, but for YOUR group they need to be. . . organized anew, afresh to meet the mission of your group, not the ones from where they come or don’t come. 

I’ll admit, some organization is better than none, in most situations, but sometimes it’s best to start at ground zero, for where there is disorganization the challenge is to prove that the current organization is not meeting the needs of the situation and the desires of the mission statement.  (Oh, yes there needs to be a mission statement for therein lies the goal of the organization in the first place.)  Something needs to change, as Marvin sang years ago, “a change is gonna come”;  but not by osmosis, accident & not by itself.  It must be done on purpose and with a goal in mind.  Otherwise why waste the time?  Those two males who thought I have too much stuff did not offer any real suggestions or solutions.  They just felt I needed to get rid of things not realizing everything I have is for a purpose.  They brought with them no mission statement for my organization, thus what they had to say didn’t help me much.  I  just  need  space. ;-)  You see, I refuse to purchase things for no reason and I refuse to add anything to my life if I have no where to put it when I’m not using it.  That’s the beginning of clutter and hoarding, and becoming a packrat.  Nada.  Pas pour moi.

Now, if I were unorganized, they would have grounds for their perspective, but truly I’m organized.  This is just one of those topics I wanted to share for those three doors, I mean words have been on my mind for some time.  If you drive or ride in a taxi or bus in Paris, not knowing how the traffic patterns work, you will believe there is no organization whatsoever to the department of motor vehicles here, and you will wonder how in the world do they avoid having more accidents than they do.  Well, there’s a method to their madness and to an outsider it is truly mad.  But to them, it’s just right and will be for many years to come.  Door number one, two or three?  Monty, I’ll take door number. . . hmmm

Su-Doku Part II: What's the rush?

Around these parts, I guess Paris that is, some of us joke that we’re not “Russian” but American when we’re running late from one place to three others.  Well I caught myself rushing when I didn’t have to, and I was sitting down.  Let me explain (somehow you knew that I would, so just go ahead and grab your cup of coffee or Merlot, Bordeaux or hot chocolate – depending on your geographical locale and time zone, and spend a few moments with me.).  As I worked another Su-doku puzzle this morning, I became cocky and over-confident and thus made many mistakes.  I seemed to be completing it faster than usual, and then I had to consult the answer grid to get me back on track.  En plus (that’s French for “in addition to that”) I was talking on the phone, or the other person was talking and I was trying to listen and pay attention to Su-doku.  Hmmm.  You don’t have to say anything, I can hear you thinking it.  Anyhooo, we will come back to that.

The answer grid shows us what it’s supposed to look like when we’ve successfully completed the puzzle.  Hmmm.  God’s Word – written and prophetic is our answer grid to ALL of life’s situations – it’s our answer grid, even for those things not specifically addressed in black and white, or red.  Let’s just skip around a little bit to keep it interesting.  You see in school when taking a test, to consult the answers before completing the test is called cheating.  But in God’s kingdom this is not the case.  He commands (not in a controlling way but with loving indignation, like a teacher who wants you to ask questions and learn well) that we look at the answers first, so we will know how to “study” and learn.  He’s not concerned that we be perfect in everything with no mistakes, as the conditions on which our human and earthly cultures are based.  God is more concerned that we really “get it!”  Got it?  He wants us to really “learn” the “material”, for instance “love one another as I have loved you.”  He wants us to be able to apply and use in practical ways the inspirations and revelations we receive from His Word and His Heart by His Spirit, to mature us, such as “speaking the truth to each other in love” and “putting away all lying and slander and gossip and bitterness, etc.”  Hmmmm. (four m’s that time.)

First of all, it’s been a long time since I’ve royally messed up a Su-doku puzzle, for I usually take it slow, or put it down when I get stuck, but this one jerked me back to reality and warned me of several things:

First of all (again?), it’s rude to the other person who’s talking to you for you not to be fully there when they’re speaking, whether by phone, chat room, or and especially face-to-face.  My training as a psychologist and counselor has taught me this well.  So I had to be reminded that I must not multi-task when it comes to listening to people unless truly necessary, and cooking too.  LOL!!  Secondly, don’t get cocky because of past successes.  Being over confident is just as bad, maybe even worse than lack of confidence.  How can I say that?  (I just did.  Okay.  Ahem)  Well, because you can get on a roll and roll right on down the hill with Jack and Jill and before you know it all the water in your pail is spilled, your crown is broken, and voila! your insurance premiums go up!!  That’s it in a nutshell.  Anyhoo, you’re no longer in control and where you stop rolling, nobody knows!!  LOL!!

Third, or is it thirdly?  (Where are all the good English teachers of days gone by to keep us writing and speaking correctly?)  Don’t be too proud to check the answer grid every once in a while to keep errors to a minimum.  Keep short accounts with yourself, others and with God.  When you’ve not heard from a friend or loved one in a while, why not drop them an SMS (or an SOS), or an email and ask “how ya doing?”  Check your emotional, mental, and spiritual temperatures, blood pressure, weight, teeth, etc. every once in a while to see if you’re on healthy track.  Preventative maintenance can keep us from becoming high maintenance.  :-)

Finally, Su-doku humbly admonished me to slow down.  What’s the rush?  Su-doku is not necessarily a game you have to speed through (unless of course you’re competing with a friend or yourself and the clock).  For me I use it to slow down and empty my mind from all the multi-tasks I must do.  So why did I mess up?  I think I told you already, but since you asked, now you must start back at the beginning for obviously you did not get it the first time.  I messed up because of Cocky Pride in Speedos (no, not a man, just a play on words.)  LOL!!

As I live from day to day the clock continues to tick forward.  Even if I take out the battery time will not stand still for me.  So I’d rather make the most and best use of my time and other resources by doing whatever I’m doing, the right way the first time.  There’s not always enough time for back-tracking, so I must not get in a hurry to be on time when I’m already late!  “Haste makes waste.”  And if I’m on time, then there’s no need to rush, right?  Sometimes I envision falling down the stairs chasing after a train and missing it anyway, but now with a possible injury, or damaged luggage etc.  It’s just not worth it.  Thanks again Su-doku for preventing another possible disaster.  This is another lesson well-taught and well-taken, and for me, one well-learned.  Hey, if you can avoid becoming part of the cattle call running through the metro and chasing buses, etc. then do.  Pace yourself, and even schedule yourself if you must.  (No I’ve still not mastered this, but I will continue working on it until I do, because it’s so important as we get younger.  We cannot afford unnecessary accidents, etc.)  What’s all the rushin about anyway?  I’M not Russian.  I’m American.  “Head ‘em up!  Move ‘em out!  Rawhide!"