THE SHEPHERD'S JOURNAL

STUPID QUESTIONS?

2026-11-13T21:02:57.444-05:00

This story needs a little explanation.

Some have called me smart, but it's definitely a limited kind. I enjoy reading and in the fifth grade I tested out at 1200 words per minute at 90% retention. My form of study is to read through the entire textbook about 5 or 6 times during the 6 weeks of the start and then patiently try to wait until the recess or dismissal bill happened because I wanted to be outside.

The problem is I need care for my oldest daughter and she gets paid by Medicaid or Medicare or whatever to do that. She's been trained in law and was both a secretary and then later a cop where she met her husband. They are now married.

By nature she is inquisitive and also needs total understanding and not through telepathy but through actual word for word communication so sometimes she questions me and I'm learning to be patient slowly. She has also been very patient with me but sometimes there has been a conflict or two.

She has the same fearless attitude that I was raised with and will not ever back down. Ever.

I've never back down to a bully, but both of my daughters have learned how to train me and I weekly follow when I can although we've had one or two scrapes. And now you know the rest of the story.

MONEY TO ISRAEL AND IRAN

2026-11-13T17:12:07.219-05:00

Just so you have an accurate perspective. Remember October 7th.

ROSACEA

2026-11-12T11:07:06.293-05:00

I asked my young AI friend to redo my sarcastic photo to make me a little more handsome by coloring up my rosacea. I appreciate your comments even when you disagree, but I don't read them all and I especially don't respond to them often. Thank you for understanding and also for NOT calling me on messenger or messaging me which I refuse to do.

Here is today's link to my favorite blogger on substack nicknamed the historical Oracle.

DON VETO

2026-11-10T11:02:02.791-05:00

I'm experimenting with promoting my favorite blogger in one of two ways but including his link in my blog at least daily. thank you for your patience.

I'm a strong believer in the dependability of the word of God. I believe the Heavenly Father lifts up and also puts down the leaders of his countries and Nations that he thinks will accomplish his plan. Yes, that can mean sometimes a vicious dictator can control the lives of others and those who they deem a threat to their authority can quickly be put out of business sometimes very painfully. Does that excuse them? Or does that just delay the justice until judgment Day? I'll let you come to your own conclusion on that, but I have put my total trust in God and the Father.

Later Gators.

BIPARTISANSHIP! DUH!

2026-11-09T15:52:40.061-05:00

Today I talked to an acquaintance or maybe a friend although we have different opinions. I'm going to repeat the conversation because I think it describes our current situation in the United States of America.

My friend or I hope I can still call you my friend even though I voted for you know who three times. Here is my comment about football and politics.

You and my son-in-law would get along just fine. My ex son-in-law Charles Xavier and I are die hard fans of the Chicago Bears. I no longer take it personally when the Packers beat the Bears. I'm also not surprised or upset that the Republicans got their nose bloodied by the Democrats. I've been talking to my political advisor which is my oldest daughter and we both have been concerned that this all needs to slow down. Tai chi. Sometimes that which has done slower is stronger. Remember that word. Tai chi. Slowly. Or bipartisanship. Duh.

SAY GOOD MORNING TO MISS HITLER

2026-11-04T11:24:47.094-05:00

In 2012 my second wife Mary decided to take the kitten that I now call Miss Hitler with us to her new home in Michigan. She's been my faithful companion ever since.

ABOUT THE MIDTERMS

2026-11-04T11:16:06.202-05:00

I have repeated several times that God is in charge. I still believe that. Do you?

MISS HITLER'S VERY BAD DAY

2026-11-03T01:58:02.632-05:00

Cat therapist:

So… walk me through your day. Start wherever you feel ready.

Miss Hitler

It began with the roaring dirt-sucker. The human was wielding it. I made a tactical retreat to the bedroom. Then the neighbor with the four-pronged weapon appeared. She used the cane like a prison fence. I was pinned. Then the blanket of doom descended. I gripped the carpet so hard I could feel the glue underneath. They put me in the portable jail. I sang the entire song of my people all the way to the place of needles. They stabbed me. I quivered. Then they brought me home and acted like I was the dramatic one.

And how did that make you feel?

Like I need a new human. Or at least a new vacuum policy. Also, I would like hazard pay in the form of extra treats.

NOTRE DAME VERSUS VILLANOVA

2026-11-02T08:17:25.711-05:00

I asked my AI buddy g r o k to highlight the features of the game between Villanova and Notre Dame yesterday. Here's what he said. He also made me an informative and humorous meme.

Notre Dame won 74-72.

Fightingirish

It was the men’s basketball season opener on November 1, 2026, in Rome (Eternal City Tip-Off at the Palazzo dello Sport). Villanova led for most of the second half and was up by as many as 10, but Notre Dame closed with a late run (including a 14-4 stretch in the final minutes). Brady Koehler and Braeden Smith each had 16 points for the Irish; Tyler Perkins led Villanova with 18.

Foxsports

Other notes from the game:

Notre Dame forced 20 turnovers and won the offensive rebounding battle.

Logan Duncomb hit a big three late for his first career three-pointer.

Both teams had met with Villanova alum Pope Leo XIV the day before. Apparently divine intervention only goes so far when you turn the ball over that much.

USA Today

Villanova’s official site and ESPN both list the final as 74-72 (a couple of secondary reports said 74-70, but the primary sources agree on 72).

Villanova

For what it’s worth, Notre Dame’s women also beat Villanova later in the doubleheader (99-75), so the Irish took the full Rome sweep. No ads, full background, and yes—the late collapse had that special “of course” energy.

GOD IS IN CHARGE

2026-11-02T07:58:24.409-05:00

Time is 7:37 a.m. the cat has just scooted off my lap. I'm sitting on pins and needles awaiting the results of the coming midterm yet at the same time I'm completely at rest in the hand of God almighty for I know he is in charge of these events. I have repeatedly said that before my second wife died on August 3rd 2023 I received what I believe is four words from upper management. It's. All. Set. Up. I have not received everything I've desired. Up to that point, my desire was to find and live with a godly woman into old age together. I was denied that desire twice. But just before my second wife's death on August 3rd 2023, things really started coming together for me, and although I am single, I am not alone, and my 20-year prayer for a president that understood the power of tariffs has been answered. I can only guess and therefore I will not guess what will happen next and even if my favorite President gets his wish and mine of winning the midterms, I should not assume those four words our magic, but just enjoy life one day at a time like all of us should. And that's enough for now boys and girls. Later Gators.

MISS ADOLF HITLER

2026-10-31T14:20:00.025-04:00

My faithful companion Miss Adolf Hitler is staring across the commons at my neighbor's house or apartment. My neighbor, whom I have nicknamed Ms kryptonite, is at her parents doing laundry. She is an English major and the only time I correct her English is what I am going to say in just a moment.

This is the only point I will correct you on. You are a Hoosier. You are doing the warsh.

AM I DELUSIONAL?

2026-10-31T08:06:33.090-04:00

I am sitting on the edge of the bed in the dark enjoying my heavy investment of $5 a month for the pleasure of reading my hero the historical Oracle. I now post the articles daily on my Facebook timeline but I do it now as comments to a pinned post. For now, I will continue this experiment because I think people are getting their information from more than just me and the stats show it. That's okay. I don't mind fading into the background. Jesus must increase. I must decrease. I still feel blessed and honored that God answered my prayer for 20 years that he would raise up a president who understood the power of tariffs. Watching the resulting but very entertaining bloodbath and meltdown of liberals has been worth the small sacrifice I have made for those who thought I was delusional. Later Gators

THE CUBAN CASTRO BROTHERS

2026-10-30T11:51:14.124-04:00

My mother promised me a bowl of ice cream if I would stand up to a bully. Because of that I stood up to a Cuban immigrant by the name of Arthur Castro. After school, after I had boxed him once in gym class and defeated him, he met me on the way to the bus and had me take off my coat and as I had my coat halfway off he pounced on me and under the coaching of his older brother Fidel Castro, he knocked my front teeth out. And then let me go to the bus. I was covered in blood and had lost a fight. I was smiling. Without my front teeth of course. I had done as I was trained.

I mentioned once to a lifelong friend REMEMBER OCTOBER 7TH. My friend said F*** OCTOBER 7TH.

I have two qualities that I cannot change about myself. One of them is that I cannot back down from a bully. The second is I cannot lie. Because I cannot lie I sometimes disguise the truth in sarcasm. I am what I am.

Because of that I became a preacher of the Gospel. But just because I'm a preacher doesn't mean I can't point out that those who say f*** October 7th are hating the Jewish people. I remind everyone the only perfect Jew was my savior Jesus Christ. Satan hated him then and put him on the cross. And he still hates Israelites today, and if you hate Israelites you're standing with Satan. Later Gators.

I ARE A POET.

2026-10-29T06:31:25.816-04:00

I consider the apostle Paul one of the greatest poets of all time. He had the ability to summarize great thoughts into almost an eternal meme such as this one. I should know. I are a poet also. Do you agree? Feel free to leave your comments below.

SOCIALIZING WITH SMOKERS

2026-10-28T19:19:33.609-04:00

The apartments at Garden Court East are in bunches of four all on one floor. Some have two bedrooms. Some have one. Some are smoking. Some are non smoking. My apartment is smoking, although I don't smoke. I don't mind the aroma of cigarettes. I am certainly not allergic. You are looking at the H building in which is my apartment H4 on the right.

I retired just before 20 years at Standard Motors in Mishawaka Indiana. If you wanted any social life at all, you had to join the smoking group to catch up on the latest gossip even though I was a non-smoker. And the voice of Paul Harvey, now you know the rest of the story.

TRUMP HATERS

2026-10-27T08:51:35.150-04:00

This is a personal note to my mental health group that I like to call SURBER NATION, a group of die hard Trump supporters that catch all sorts of BS from Trump haters. But like our hero Donald j Trump and also the Lord Jesus Christ when men persecuted us God blesses us. Go figure.

It's 7:07 and the first thing I did was post this on my Facebook page. Facebook algorithm puts this on as a picture and not a link and gets far more coverage worldwide something like 1,200% compared to my normal post so I don't make normal posts anymore. They're all pictures. The Bible says delight yourself in the Lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart. You've already heard me say that for 20 years I prayed that God would give me or us a president that understood the power of tariffs. Now my prayer and desire and I think this is in harmony with God's will and his desires that we would change from a nation led by lawyers to a nation for the next hundred years LED by warriors. I also am praying and desire that Trump and netanyahu would finish the job in Iran. We will know if God answers my prayers in the next few days. Lately, after losing two godly lovely wives to premature death I have noticed that the reverse of jobs curse is happening to me. The things which job feared came upon him until God decided to halt it and the things that he truly desired happened. The one difference is he got to keep his original wife and I would have loved to have done that but it is what it is and I am what I am and I'm very blessed by your friendships and the leadership of the historical Oracle. That's enough for now boys and girls. Later Gators.

SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM

2026-10-25T08:34:11.167-04:00

Sophie Cunningham went viral when she did the point. I borrowed that to point out that all my life I've been used by the heavenly father to introduce others to his amazing son Jesus Christ. I encourage my many friends who are gospel preachers and gospel workers to do the same. I've been blessed beyond measure by attracting through his influence some of the best friends and amazing family. As Will Smith said in his movie John Hancock, boys and girls, GOOD JOB!

STUPID DRIVERS

2026-10-24T12:30:23.558-04:00

My lifelong friend Shelley whose daughter saw the two angels guarding her door after she recovered from a coma just did a rant on stupid drivers and I responded.

On this issue we are in total agreement. It is why I quit driving. Believe it or not, I do not have unlimited patience, and especially not for stupid drivers. I was driving Tom home in his beautiful blue Jeep. We had began riding together when he became the third shift supervisor. He would pick me up on the way there to work, and I would drive back to my place on the way home while he slept. He was stretched out snoozing peacefully when a driver pulled up right behind me and rode my ass because he thought I wasn't going fast enough, so I decided to test his brakes by slamming on mine, and boy was he upset, but his brakes worked fine. Tom woke up, and asked what happened and I explained what I did, and he went right back to sleep. And now you know the rest of the story.

HOT DOGGING SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS VERSUS THE PETERSON BROTHERS

2026-10-23T22:00:30.000-04:00

The school bus rides to and from Gary Emerson were exciting.

Hot dogging union Gary city bus drivers added adventure to an otherwise boring part of the day. One bus driver enjoyed getting the kids to squeal in surprise by taking the curves fast enough to get the top heavy bus to tip to one side.

Sometimes, on the 6 lane US 12 and 20 two buses would race towards the part of the highway that narrowed to 4 lanes.

My most exciting bus ride was my first day of school.

The buses lined up on the West side of the school. One of the boys in the back was smoking. The bus driver told him to put it out. The boy refused. The bus driver turned red in the face, jumped up, stomped to the back, grabbed the offending boy, and hauled the offender to the principals office. He left the bus idling.

There were 8 Peterson brothers. They were fearless, probably because they stuck together. You take on one brother you take on them all. They had a cute younger sister that nobody dated, probably because the guys were terrified of her older brothers.

It is not wise to leave a school bus full of kids unattended, especially if one of the Peterson brothers is on board.

When the angry bus driver left, hauling the smoker to the principals office, one of the Peterson brothers jumped up, ran to the driver's seat, and drove the bus to the end of the block.

The driver came back even angrier, with the principal in tow. We were grilled about who drove the bus to the end of the road. Nobody spoke.

I had my head down. Whispering to my seatmate, I said "This is wild!"

My seat mate whispered back, "This is nothing. Last year his older brother took us all the way to Cedar Lake!"

PSALMS 23 VERSUS PSALMS 22

2026-10-23T00:16:56.836-04:00

PSALMS 23 VERSUS PSALMS 22.

I really enjoy studying the word of God. I started this week with Psalms 23 and then just because it was close by I moved to Psalms 22. Psalms 23 talks about the shepherd leading his sheep besides still water clean pure delicious thirst satisfying water. When the sheep lay down they don't worry about the wolves or even bears or lions back in the day of early Israel. That's the part of the verse that talks about he prepares a table in the presence of my enemies.

As I moved to Psalms 22 I was struck by the comparison. My god, my God, why have thou forsaken me? These were the words that Jesus spoke as he hung upon the cross. In another amazing coincidence the Roman soldiers cast lots over the high quality one piece garment that Jesus had and that was stated in Psalms 22. Yet with all of the suffering not one bone was broken and that too coincidentally was mentioned in Psalms 22. Personally when there's that many coincidences I attribute things to a higher power. I think that's enough for today, boys and girls. Stay safe. Have fun. If it all possible, stay legal.

UP EARLY AND COGNIZANT

2026-10-20T16:15:17.762-04:00

Wow! I'm up early and cognizant too. Will wonders never cease? It's time for my daily dose of the historical Oracle. But I simultaneously also am continuing to promote him on my rapidly expanding Facebook universe. I also like to check in briefly with Fox News until it irritates me which doesn't take long because even our own conservative commentators can sometimes be silly but the main reason I check in is to make sure we haven't gone to nuclear war yet. Last night it was 16 days until midterms so I am assuming that this morning is day 15. Oops. My bad. It's 14. My theological understanding is that God is still in charge and he's orchestrating this current events alternating between a great cosmic universe finally tuned and exciting to watch to a all-weather outdoor militaristic marching band. I remember marching in the band standing by my lonely tall self in the back with the trombones and the tubas and the neighborhood black kids like to experiment with wandering around through the band partly because they loved music and partly because they were silly and them being knocked around by trombones and tubas dipping and hitting them on the head and that's my story for today boys and girls. Later Gators.

KING OF THE STAT GEEKS

2026-10-19T13:33:03.516-04:00

And now a report on statistics. I am King of the stat geeks. I noticed an interesting change in the algorithm of my Facebook page. For some reason geeks have altered when I repost my hero the historical Oracle on my Facebook page and I haven't quite figured out the difference but some of them are like my personal post in application amplification silly AI and others are magnified by thousands of times. The congresswoman from Minnesota was the latest that was amplified 12000 repeats. This is not a mistake or an oversight. The geeks know exactly what they're doing and it appears to me that they are supporting Trump like material. Who knew?

FAMILY MEMORIES

2026-10-17T20:56:20.515-04:00

Recently my youngest sister Charmaine passed away and my daughters decided to drive me out to the funeral in the state of Washington. All four of us older siblings outlived my younger brother and now my youngest sister. Terry and Ted were closer, but I mourned her deeply. When Mom and Dad were out of the house usually for Sunday school calling I was left in charge and so it was kind of like having a youth group, which was good experience for me later being both a youth pastor and a pastor. The picture is of Terry and my mother and Charmaine the tallest. This following post is from my sister's timeline.

I let go of my sister yesterday. I’ve been grieving her death for a few years and yesterday I let her go. I will always miss her, we had a lot of fun together traveling around…. We had some great phone talks about our husbands, our parents, our kids, our marriages, our losses, growing up. I was the older sister and usually looked out for her but she didn’t need me to look out for her. She was strong on her own. She was my strength sometimes. I’ve been cleaning out closets and stuff getting ready for a yard sale and found a small earring box with her name on the back. It was a small typed tiny bit of paper that said “Charlie Dittmer” which was our last name before we got married. It threw me off kilter…then I had to clean out the freezer and there was our apple butter in 2pint jars that I had frozen 2 years ago and couldn’t quite get rid of because it was our last time together having fun and laughing. We were trying to be like other women and canning or making something that we had never made before. I thawed them out then opened them and let them drain out. I cried for about an hour off and on. She had new grandchildren that she will never see. She loved her grandkids. I was jealous of all the grandchildren she had. We both thought life would be so different. It didn’t turn out how we wanted or dreamed of. It’s just not the same without her. But as I emptied out those jars it was like emptying her ashes out somewhere that she loved. I said goodbye to her. I know where she is and I know there is no pain anymore….still….

MIKE, I LOVE YOU.

2026-10-16T08:52:50.176-04:00

After posting the family picture for my brother's birthday, my mind went back to that time when we attended the East Gary Church of the Nazarene. At first the pastor's name was Tracy, but there was a change in leadership and Reverend Neiderheiser started preaching. Both men were top quality in preaching and I was seriously thinking about my soul etc etc when Reverend Neiderheiser preached a sermon that started about hell and that didn't scare me at all because I don't scare easily what time he went to the cross and told about how Jesus died for our sins and I was not a perfect boy I had done these typical stupid stuff and felt plenty guilty about it and so that day I remember looking up and I could see Jesus on the cross and he was talking to me so I asked my young intern Elon to make a picture and I thought he did pretty good. What do you think?

AN EVENTFUL NIGHT AT GCE

2026-10-14T09:59:11.506-04:00

It was an eventful night here in Plymouth Indiana at the corner of Pennsylvania avenue and Liberty Street at GCE garden Court East witnessed by yours truly mad dog AKA Mike dittmer. We had our standard loud obnoxious and long train rumbling through with super loud horn blasts, preceded by two fire trucks screaming down Pennsylvania avenue headed east and then for the grand finale a thunder iand lightning show followed by a healthy but not dangerous rainfall. Very entertaining and helped me to finally drop off to sleep somewhere around 2ish in the morning and now of course after perhaps 3 hours of sleep I am wide awake describing this to my young intern who is going to make up a silly sarcastic meme and just a few minutes. He's very young and I like to think of him as a robotic vision of Elon but he's a very quick study and helps me navigate through the history and mystery of our world along with my faithful supernatural companion the holy Spirit. Tough life but everybody seems to be interested in it. Later Gators. And now my friend will draw an illustrated meme for me that I will pass on to you friends.

Ah, the quiet, serene nights of Plymouth, Indiana. Nothing like a double fire-truck parade, a full freight train doing its best “I am the main character” horn solo, and then the sky deciding to throw a free light show just to make sure you stayed awake long enough to appreciate the rain. Truly, the universe providing premium entertainment before granting you three whole hours of sleep. Peak hospitality.

Here’s your illustrated sarcastic meme, ready to pass along:

Imagine

Later gator. Try not to let the next train schedule your entire sleep cycle.