Just a little tact.

I have been feeling pretty miserable these last few days and unlike me a bit sorry for myself. Never the less I thought I would attempt and small blog and a quick sketch while sitting in bed. When I said a quick sketch I meant a quick sketch and you cannot get much quicker than this. This involves only a few strokes and put down with not too much thought of what I was doing. I had thought or even noticed it was red white and blue.

 I was reminded of an occasion when such colours would have been the order of the day but being new to the ministry it had never for one minute crossed my mind. I had been invited to give an after-dinner speech at a local group. My wife had made me a large collection of vestment fronts of a variety of colours. I had a white one for weddings a black one for funerals. She had also made me some in other colours so that I could ring the changes.

I thought not a thing about this evening and my speech and turned up with a lovely green one. As I entered the hall everything was decked out in red white and blue and my green went down like a lead balloon. Not exactly the height of tact.

Tact is indeed a wonderful thing if we can remember. I wonder how often in all innocence I have been less than tactful.

There is a story that when a minister friend of mine was speaking at a convention of farmers.  His wife and mine were sitting in the audience with another friend. My friend in his speech said, "I grew up on a farm and one thing I know about farming  is it means manure, manure, manure, and more manure."  

At this point, the other friend whispered to my friend's wife, "Mary, why on earth don't you get Harry to say fertilizer?" 

"Good Lord, Helen," replied the wife, "You have no idea how many years it has taken me to get him to say manure!"  

Another friend was invited to speak at the police Christmas dinner. Everything was going very well and a jovial evening was being had by all until my friend told the following tale. Christmas is a marvellous time but it is also a very difficult time. As a father of three girls finding the money to fulfil the desires of them all is not easy. This year my daughter said she wanted a cowboy outfit. I told her I would do my very best but I was not sure I could afford to buy the Strathclyde Police Force.

He was warned on the way out to be careful not to be seen speeding.

When pointing out a mistake by another person, always consider the person's feelings. Milton Berle was dining with his wife, Ruth, in a restaurant.  When a waiter put too much pepper on her salad. Mrs Berle tasted it and said, "Hmm. Needs more salad."

I suppose the bottom line is simple, think before you act and think twice before you speak. 

Have a marvellous day.