Francis At 40 -- You've Come A Long Way, Baby!

Lessons, ponderings and observations from the first four decades:

Experience doesn't necessarily equal wisdom. I'm still learning on the job.

Substitutions come with pitfalls. Don't try using dishwashing liquid when you run out of Cascade.

When you move up in your job, or in life, everything should move up. I passed on job offers from Wichita, Lexington and Ft. Meyers because they couldn't cut it.

Some people would rather live in their own world than face the truth -- too many examples to list.

I have to accept the limitations of my body. It took only one Scottish dance to trash my arm, and Ukrainian folk dancers can do things that would break my neck.

GOD answers prayers in ways people don't expect. And often that answer is "no."

Contentment prevents many problems.

I can wear a tricorn hat in my full Revolutionary War uniform and people will still call me a pirate.

I can serve GOD by serving others.

Passion is wonderful, as long as you're passionate about the right things. I still can't believe the fanaticism surrounding my appearance on The Price Is Right.

Shoveling snow like you're fighting a war is a sure way to end up in the Emergency Room.

I don't need to drink alcohol. I don't want to drink alcohol. GOD did not create me as a drinking person.

If peanut oil comes from peanuts, and olive oil comes from olives, I hate to think about where baby oil comes from.

I can only remember 20 percent of what I learned in college. Glad I had a scholarship.

If I had my current interest in history back when I was 16, I would have gone to the prom dressed in a 1740's coat, powdered wig, white stockings and knee breeches. I kid you not. What would they do -- throw me out for being too elegant?

GOD gives us a compass, not a road map. All of us are free to follow our joys as long as we trust HIS guidance.

If I'm not supposed to eat the paste in Kindergarten, why did they make it so tasty?

If I can walk, I can dance.

Show me an old Radio Shack TRS-80 system, and I'll show you one slobbering nerd.

The evil genius who can manipulate the world's testosterone will be the one to rule them all.

A dog knows more than I would like to admit.

First you find your MASTER. Then you find your mission. Then you find your mate.

Across the infinite universe, much more is unknown than known, more undiscovered than visioned... but when the aliens invade this planet, they'll eat the fat ones first.