By Manny Vazquez, M.S., LMFT

June 11, 2026

Friends, my Dad, Manuel Sr., was a very wise man. He was always quick to listen and slow to speak. I was blessed to have had two real Dads in my life, Dad, Manuel Sr., and my father-in-law, George, or Pop, as my Wife Laura and I used to call him.

Pop was just as wise as Dad. Pop would sit with a Group of Family members at a party, and he would listen to the conversation; then he would listen some more; finally, toward the end of the conversation, he would speak, and his words would be tremendously wise.

My Dad was the same way. Both my Dad and my father-in-law George taught me how to be a good counselor who listens first, then speaks. If you have counselor who speaks more than he or she listens, then you have a poor counselor.

And now, here is my joke for the day of Thursday, June 11, 2026, as told to me by my Dad, the wisest man I ever knew. You see, when I was younger, I had a hard time believing that God could heal through medication, so one day, Dad told me this parable:

There was once a man named Frank. And Frank lived in a big, beautiful two-story home in the country. One day, Frank heard that a storm was coming, and it was going to be a big, dangerous storm. It might even cause flooding. God will rescue me, if it gets bad, Frank thought.

The storm came, and just like the forecasters said, it was bad. Frank was outside enjoying the rain, and he kept thinking, God will rescue me if it gets really bad. Well, it got really bad.

As the water started to rise, a jeep with a couple of men came by. They told Frank, jump in before the waters rise more! “No, kind sirs, God will rescue me!” Frank asserted. So, the two men in the jeep shrugged and drove away.

The flood waters continue to rise, so much so that Frank had to go on the 2nd floor of his house. From there, he watched the flood from his window, actually kind of amused by the whole thing.

Eventually, the flood waters rose almost to his second-floor window. Then, a boat came by with several rescued people in. “Quick, get in, before you drown,” said the operator of the boat. “No,” Frank said, “my Blessed LORD will save me.” The boat left, with the people in it shaking their heads.

As the flood waters continued to rise, Frank eventually ended up on his roof, still bemused by the floodwaters all around him. Eventually, a helicopter came by. The rescuers lowered a rope ladder and yelled down to Frank, “Come up here before you drown!” “Absolutely not!!! My God will rescue me!” Frank bellowed into the dark sky. So, the helicopter left, the rescuers wondering what else they could’ve done.

Well, eventually, Frank succumbed to the floodwaters, and he drowned. Frank went to Heaven, where our LORD welcome him into the Kingdom, for despite his lack of wisdom, Frank had been saved on Earth

One day, Frank was chatting with God. Frank thought, let me just ask him. “LORD, why didn’t you rescue me from the floodwaters?”

The LORD looked at Frank in the most loving way. “My Son, I sent you a Jeep, a boat, and a helicopter, and you chose to ignore them all.”

The End