Uncle Thor's Lessons, Anecdotes and Humor

Self-reliance is a wonderful thing. In my case, the ability to do my own repair work has saved us thousands of dollars. It also makes us independent. Audrey and I do not have to wait for the handyman to arrive. The work can proceed at our leisure.
Inner strength is also a good [...]

A simple thought. Who is the better friend? Is it the person who tells you what you like to hear, or the person who tells you what you need to hear?
Is the friend the one who lets you go over the cliff, or is he the one who stops you before [...]

Anger and Fear are two emotions that have a very physical component. Both trigger our survival responses and induce a rush of adrenaline. These emotions were originally for survival. Fear was defensive, and anger was offensive. These emotions are not limited to humans. Lesser mammals, birds and most reptiles can experience fear [...]

I had mentioned the other day that my so-called “family” confused guilt with love. That is not as rare as you might think. It is a form of greed practiced by many selfish and insecure souls. Those they cannot keep with love, they try to keep by applying guilt.
Guilt is an [...]

The Ase Rune describes something that is good. It is not an abstract good, but a good that can be appreciated. Good coffee, good food, a good day, and anything else that is good are expressive of Ase. To that degree, they reflect the nature of the Gods. Generally, to be [...]

In Summer of 1972, one of the most popular songs was “Can’t Live” sung by Harry Nilsson. It had a nice tune, but the words were a bit sad. Or were they? At the time, I found them baffling. I had no experience that related to the song. My so-called [...]

This is a very old story. A version of it was made into a popular song some time during the 1950s. In that version, the main character was a woman. There is an earlier prose version where the main person is an Indian. That is the one I heard first.
The story:
An [...]

There was a very personable fellow who had a thriving new business. He had that asset of being instantly likeable. That is a huge bonus for a businessman who deals directly with customers.
Unfortunately, this friendly fellow had some bad habits. On a handful of occasions, he invited female customers into the back room [...]

A big part of popular music is the “one hit wonder”. That is a band or musician who makes one very popular song. No other “hit” songs follow. Usually he or they fade out of sight quickly. And just as often, the song continues to live on.
One hit wonders pop up [...]

People are watching. That is just human nature. The people who are around you on a regular basis notice you. You notice them. If you commute on the same bus or train every day, you probably notice a few people who are regular riders. If you have lunch at the same [...]