Here's to long life! But not too long.

Well, I was 4-2 in my football pick last week. Not bad. Unfortunately the Auburn game is one that I was completely wrong about. I didn’t get to watch the game, but it sounded horrible on the radio. What worries me most is that it reminded me of the Vandy game last year. That was the beginning of the end of the 2008 season. Hopefully the Tigers will recover some of the mojo they had early in the season.

So, anyway, 4-2…not bad. Too bad I don’t live in Vegas. Or have the courage (is it really courage?) to actually bet on sports. I’ll pick again this Thursday or Friday.

Work is stressful. Writing helps relieve the stress. You’ll probably see multiple posts this week.

Encouraging news: According to the quiz at livingto100.com I will live to be 80 years old. After the quiz it gave me ways to extend beyond those 80 years. No thanks. That sounds about right to me. I’ve said before that I don’t think I want to live much past that anyway. I don’t want to get to the point where my body breaks down faster than my mind. At that point quality of life takes a nosedive. I like 80.

I read a disturbing story on CNN.com earlier today. Here’s a link: Justice stands by refusal to give interracial couple license to wed. The sad part is, he thinks he did a god thing. He doesn’t think he’s racist. Here’s a quote:

[H]e told Hammond's Daily Star in a story Thursday that he did not marry the couple because he was concerned for the children who might be born of the relationship and that, in his experience, most interracial marriages don't last.

Wow, really. Interracial marriages don’t last? Someone needs to take this guy aside and tell him that most MARRIAGES don’t last. Period. Only 52% of marriages reach their 15^th anniversary. Only 33% reach their 25^th. Granted, that number includes marriages that end for any reason, including death. The commonly held stat is that 50% of marriages in the US end in divorce. Technically, that’s not most marriages, but you get my point.

Is the divorce rate higher for interracial couples? I have no idea. I tried to find statistics but had no luck. And you know what, I don’t care.

I know I’ve barked up this tree before, but one more time won’t hurt. I’m tired of hearing about “the sanctity of marriage.” The truth is, for the majority of Americans, there is no sanctity of marriage. I’m tired of listening to the jibber-jabber about “defending marriage” against this agenda or that agenda. Poppycock!

What marriage really needs to be defended against is apathy. Couples fall blissfully in love and get married. Then when the “new” wears off and the idyllic infatuation fades, they immediately think the marriage is over. They figure they fell “out of love” and decide the marriage is over. Oh well, on to the next one.

For all of those unmarrieds out there, read this carefully: Marriage is hard. It takes work. It will not always be easy. It will not always be fun. But it is well worth the effort.

Wow, I did not mean to go on and on about marriage. But I did. You know after writing all of that, I’ve changed my mind. I do want to live past 80. March 18^th, 2055 Misty and I will celebrate our 60^th anniversary. 81 sounds like a good age. I guess I need to go back and look at those “life-lengthening” suggestions again.