As I was sitting in Jimmy John's eating my #5 vito sandwich on wheat bread with peppers, I was reading the signs hung upon the wall. One in particular caught my attention and made me laugh several times. I think I'll share it with you.

16 Things that it took me over 50 years to learn--Dave Barry

1. Never, under any circumstance, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

2. There is a very fine line between a "hobby" and a "mental illness."

3. If you had to identify, in one single word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."

4. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

5. You should not confuse your career with your life.

6. Nobody cares if you can't dance well, just get up and dance.

7. Never lick a steak knife.

8. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.

9. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.

10. You should never say anything to a woman the even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

11. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.

12. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic backgrounds, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers.

13. A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay Attention. It never fails)

14. Your friends love you anyway.

15. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

16. Final thought: Men are like wine. They start out as grapes and its up to the women to stop the snot out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.

I used to write in a diary and I was very good at that, in terms of consistency and not subject matter of course. What middle school diary really has much value as far as subject matter is concerned? But blogging is not like a diary. No one wants to hear all your inner secrets and what you really think about certain things. Everything must be politically correct and conditioned for the ears of others. It's a sad thing I think, because in essence it's just fake. Nothing anyone ever tells you in a public forum is the WHOLE TRUTH. It may be most of it or nearly the whole thing, but never the whole truth. People will always hold back just a little. In many cases this is a good thing and thinking before you speak often results in better interactions, but maybe it would be nice to be honest for a change.

As for me, when I hold back, when I don't tell the whole truth it's because of fear. I fear that someone may know me too well that I wouldn't be able to hide if I wanted. I fear I wouldn't be able to take as much time making hard decisions because everyone would know that I'm not content. Ultimately I fear a lack of control.

Being fake, gives a person a level of control that they would otherwise not have if honesty was the law of the land. The smile and nod through life approach gives people the ability to control things. They are less vulnerable to hurt and pain, and hurting others as well.

This is my problem with God. God knows all, and I know that. I can't hide from Him, and I can't pretend to be content and complacent. There is no smile and nod approach with Him. It's scary. It's uncomfortable. There's no control. But in vain I try. I begin to pretend he doesn't listen and watch. But I know I'm wrong, and I know His way is better. It's a hard thing to crawl out from under my carefully created hiding spot into the revealing sun. Though it may be a refreshing change, first I have to find the way out in the dark since there's no on here with a light to help.