Columns

I'm done with summer, I thought. Sad thing is, at the time, summer was not even here yet.

It all started the Thursday before Memorial Day when my car died at the grocery store. In the nearly three minutes that I waited for someone to give me a jump, I lost 10 pounds in sweat.

I assumed my problem was the battery. Friday morning, with a new battery in place, my car ran like a dream - until my wife and I drove to the lake that Saturday. The car stalled on the way home. The battery was drained.

There are certain things in life one can count on happening just about 100 percent of the time - buttered toast, when dropped to the floor, will land buttered-side down. And politicians will continue to need to remember that when standing before a microphone in a public forum, the mic is always on and yes, what they say is on the record - forever.

Because of the wide-spread use of technology to disseminate information, the public can either read about or listen to politicians when they misspeak.

You no doubt remember George W. Bush's first awkward live mic moment.

I'm disappointed. I used to love the show and set my schedule around it. I watched every Tuesday and Wednesday, without fail. There's so much about American Idol I love.

It gives the average person a chance at stardom. It makes "Crystal Bowersox" a household name.

It makes Andrew Garcia's interpretation of "Straight Up" a well-Googled phrase and a YouTube phenomenon.

For those like me who love ... love ... music, this show is like going into a candy store with no possibility of diabetic shock.

But, as I said, I'm disappointed.

Six years ago I moved my family to Campbellsville. Our Bishop had appointed me to serve as the pastor of First United Methodist Church. At that time my wife Debbie and I had two children, Ariel and Alexander. Ariel was ready for seventh grade and Alexander had not learned to walk yet.