The Bold And The Dutiful

 

The Bold And The Dutiful

I put off my shopping because I'm a last minute kind of guy. One of my biggest dilemmas of the season comes when I have to decide how to use my holiday gift cards. The following is about one of my excursions to the store, taken from May 29, 2006.

As promised, I will update you on my excursion to Foley's. A refresher; one of our seniors at Westbury Christian bestowed $50 Foley's Gift Cards on a number of teachers at graduation Friday night. Like me, Sam Ruiz, one of our Spanish teachers and coaches, was the recipient of this kind gesture. We decided to spend our Memorial Day morning using our new found wealth. Sam thought he would buy shoes. I KNEW I would buy shirts and dress pants or just shirts. He was wrong and I was correct. Sam purchased a $45 bottle of cologne by Lacoste. His rationale was that he would use the card on something he would never buy for himself which is what he did. My thinking followed different logic. I always need dress shirts. Once, I heard a celebrity remark that he preferred wearing dress shirts and it wasn't a dress shirt if it didn't have long sleeves. I adopted his philosophy with the addendum that they must have buttoned down collars. That is my wardrobe, along with khaki pants, when I teach. I like variety in my shirts, as long as they are solid white or blue. I take the occasional pin stripe but solid colors are preferable. My students give me ties; solid white and pale blue oxford shirts go with any tie imaginable. Actually, I was a bit daring with my gift card. My $50 allowed me to take home a white dress shirt AND a white shirt with a small, blue check pattern. Truthfully, I overspent my limit by 87 cents but Sam had more than a dollar remaining on his so he relinquished his leftover plastic change. Sam and I do share one trait- fast shopping. We were in and out of Foley's in fifteen minutes.

Our trip to the clothing store illustrates the difference in Sam and myself. He is more adventuresome and I am hopelessly cautious. He and his wife, Julie, travel the world in the summers- Italy, Spain, Australia, etc. I leave the US only for mission trips. Sam goes to midnight movies while I go to bed early so I can get up at 3:15 AM to lift weights. Although I have never asked him, I think Sam admires my discipline in using time. I admire his sense of being open to whatever comes up. It takes both kinds, doesn't it? I keep telling myself I'm going to be more flexible...and I mean it. Sam keeps telling me he intends to get in the weight room on a regular basis...and he, too, is serious. My sermon yesterday was from Luke 11, about praying and acting with boldness- that has never been easy for me. My favorite commercial is the Jack-in-the Box spot where at a staff meeting, Jack encourages his employees to open up and share bold thoughts with everyone. One guy blurts out to the shocked group that Jack's head is ''FREAKISHLY LARGE!'' While those around the table catch their breath, the man next to the confessor coughs out under his hand, "Too bold, Stan!" I doubt I will hear, "Too bold, Steve!" often in my life. But, the next gift card might find me following Viri Maldonado's suggestion and buying dress shoes to replace mine that are split from side-to-side on the bottom. On second thought, I can get them for half the price at Wal-Mart. Never mind: this is going to require baby steps!

Applicable quote of the day:

"Fortune befriends the bold."

John Dryden

God bless,

Steve

Luke 18:1