Tag Archives: Rambling Ruminations

This Blog Has Evolved, But The Imbeciles Have Not

7 Feb

As you can probably tell from the title, this blog began as a place for biting commentary on the condition of humanity. It was a place to rail against the people and things that I found ridiculous about the world. I realize that was an arrogant mission, but I saw this as a place to vent without hurting anyone.

However, the blog has evolved. Now, I write about travel, music, movies, and funny things that happen. It is mostly light-hearted stuff about the things that I enjoy.

This change has come about for a couple of reasons.

First, I have changed. I found the love of my life, and that changed my view of the world.

Second, people I know started reading the blog, and I do not want to air my grievances out for everyone. It is one thing to write for people around the world and another to write for people down the street.

With all of that being said, I have found myself in a dark mood for the past several days. I have witnessed people acting like imbeciles, and that makes me want to divert back to my old writing ways. It also makes me wish that the real world was like the world we see on the screen.

Remember the kid that Billy Mumy played on The Twilight Zone? He was the one who could make anything happen just by thinking it. People were afraid to cross him because he could make them disappear or turn them into some kind of freakish toy.Billy Mumy

When someone does something completely ignorant, I imagine that I have that power.

Remember Josey Wales? When someone got in his way, he shot them and spit on their forehead. Lone Watie, his traveling companion, said, “I notice when you get to dislikin’ someone they ain’t around for long.” Captain Terrill, Josey’s enemy, said, “Not a hard man to track. Leaves dead men wherever he goes.”Josey Wales

When someone does something completely ignorant, I imagine that I have been dropped into the world of Josey Wales.

Obviously, these are things that are not done in polite society and are things that I would not do if I had the opportunity. However, that does not make me any less angry that I imagine the kid or Josey were supposed to be.

I used to be selfish in the fact that I would get angry when I felt someone had done something stupid that affected me. That was when I was a bachelor who lived alone. Now, I get angry when I feel that someone has done something stupid that affects my wife, my stepdaughter or the rest of my family.

I cannot be the kid on The Twilight Zone, and I cannot be Josey Wales. However, I can do everything in my power to protect them from the craziness. From the people who do not act before they think. From the people who only think of themselves. From the people who refuse to take responsibility for anything.

I am not perfect, and I have done some bad things in my life. I have hurt people. I have hurt myself. However, I always knew that many of the things were my fault. If I was the kid on The Twilight Zone or Josey Wales, then those are the people I would go after first – the ones who leave carnage in their wake and do not know who is causing it. They are the true imbeciles who surround us.

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A Very Long Post About What I Learned While Sitting In A Bar

4 Feb

Over the weekend, my wife was out of town, and I took the opportunity to hit the streets. Robert, my good friend and college roommate, got a pass for Saturday night, and we took the opportunity to relive some of those olden college days. The first stop was a high-caliber restaurant where there was more food on the plate than there were clothes on the waitresses. To provide an example of what I am talking about and to rack up more page views, here is a photo.Twin Peaks

After our meal, we drove a short distance to the Tin Roof, a drinking establishment that has several locations around the state. When I tweeted out our location, my nephew replied, “Are you in college?” I tweeted back that I teach at a college. Most of the Tin Roof locations are known as hangouts for those in college or a little older. This one is geared more toward an older set, so I can understand his confusion.

We found a table and ordered some drinks. It was just like the old days. We told stories; talked about people; laughed a lot; and recalled our days of youth. Along the way, I learned a few things. From my first days of going to bars, I have had a habit of watching the people around me. It is not a “watching my back” kind of thing. It is more of a study in the social interactions of inebriated humans.

This night was no different. As we talked, I watched. As I watched, I learned a few things.

A cover band that opens up with “Hotel California” must feel pretty confident. Not long after we arrived, guys were dragging guitars and drums, and that is usually a good sign that they are in the band. As usual, it took a while for them to set up. When they started playing, we got fired up because this is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest songs ever recorded. It was really good for the age of the crowd.

However, that is when I started thinking. How do you follow up one of the all time great songs? With “Stairway to Heaven”? The set can only go down from here. I was worried that the band had peaked too soon. It turned out that they knew better than I. This bunch played for hours without taking a break.

Bands in small suburban bars have groupies, too. As the band played, a tall blonde came walking through the door. She stopped at the bar to get a drink and talk to some people. However, she did not stay there for long. She founded a spot in front of the stage – actually, a raised platform – and never moved the rest of the night. She did not dance. She did not have another drink. She just sat in front of the lead singer and stared at him.

If you think the bouncer is your friend, then you go to that bar too often. The bouncer was huge and looked tall even while sitting on a stool by the door. He was doing his job of checking ID’s and watching the crowd. The funny part was when people would come up and talk to him. Women gave him hugs and whispered in his ear. Honestly, he probably did not mind that. Guys came up and shook his hand or slapped him on his shoulder, which I would not recommend doing to someone in the security business.

The funny part was the expression on his face. Whenever someone came up to him, he had this “who are you? don’t bother me” look on his face. I wondered how many people go up to him in a weekend and act like they are his best friend. I also wonder how many of them he actually knows by name.

Bottom line: if he knows your name, then you need to expand your circuit and get to some other places.

Former NFL players cannot go anywhere without being bothered. At some point, a large man walked into the bar. I thought he looked familiar, but I kept saying that I did not think he was who we thought he was. Robert googled him and found out that he was who we thought he was. It was Albert Haynesworth, former Tennessee Volunteer and Tennessee Titan.Albert Haynesworth

He and the lady he was with went to the bar for a few drinks. She knew a few people and began introductions. She even introduced him to the bouncer. I guess that means she goes there a lot, too.

Anyway, it was not long before guys started talking to him. Hey, I saw you play that one time. Hey, do you remember that game where you tackled that guy? On and on it went. Finally, he found an empty booth where he and the lady could sit. That is when a couple of dudes sat in the booth with them. She tried to be nice, but Albert stayed on his phone. Eventually, Albert and the lady left. However, those guys can always say that hung out and drank with a former NFL player.

Old people get in bar fights, too. Suddenly, the bouncer leapt from his stoop and ran into the patio area. Luckily, nobody was hugging him at the time. That is not unusual to see in a bar. Drunk people get in fights all the time. The unusual part happened next.

After the bouncer took off, we heard a crash right next to us. Some woman had thrown a beer bottle at some man. She did not hit him, but the bottle broke. Beer landed on everyone around. One guy wearing an Alabama shirt was soaked. Of course, that did not bother me. They could have thrown more bottles at him for wearing that shirt. Especially since he was also wearing an Alabama cap.

(An aside: Why do Alabama fans feel the need to cover themselves in university memorabilia every single day of their lives? Do they not have something to lay claim to other than being fans of a college football team?)

When the glass settled, it turned out to be an old woman who threw the bottle at an old man. I say old. They were not as old as I am making out. They just seemed to be too old to be in a bar fight.

The bouncer made his way through the crowd and threw the woman out. For the rest of the night, she tried to sneak back in. She even pointed at Robert and claimed to be with him. Last we saw, she was trying to climb over the fence around the patio.

People from Alabama do not like it when you disparage their state. At some point, a group of young ladies came in and stood near our table. They looked like former sorority girls who are making their way through their 20s. When the band played “Sweet Home Alabama”, I knew that they were former sorority girls. Wait, is there such a thing? I guess a sorority member is always a sorority member.

Anyway, they sang the song at the top of their lungs and added, “Roll Tide Roll!” That meant they were sorority girls who went to the University of Alabama. For the uninformed, the University of Alabama has adopted the Lynyrd Skyrnyrd tune as a de facto fight song.

I find this ironic because Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote it from the point of view of the racist older generation who loved Governor George Wallace. It was an indictment of southern ideals that has been adopted by Alabama natives, and other southerners, as a celebration of southern ideals. When people sing along with the song, I always wonder if they really know what it is all about.

So, the women are from Alabama. I figured that out pretty fast. Then, one of them came over to ask what happened in the fight. I told her, and she replied, “That happened in Franklin? They must be from southern Williamson County – down around Maury County.” Again for the uninitiated, Franklin and Williamson County are the suburbs to beat all suburbs in these parts. Only the “beautiful people” live there.

That is when Robert said, “They may have come up from Alabama.” She got all haughty and said that she was from Alabama and was a graduate of the University of Alabama. That is nice. However, if Alabama is so great then why is she living in Tennessee?

A lot of people in bars are looking for what I already have. A lot of people go to bars to relax and have a good time. However, a lot of people go to bars in search of someone. If not, then they would not get so dressed up. Think about it. If people are going to a bar to just hangout, then why do they not wear comfortable clothes. Instead, they try to look their best. That means they are looking for what I already have – a soul mate.

The greatest thing I learned was something I already knew. I am glad that I do not have to go out and look for someone. I have found the love of my life. That means I can go to a bar without worrying about being alone or finding someone to take home. I can sit back; have a drink; watch people; learn about them; and listen to the band. As Robert kept saying, “It’s all about listening to the band.”

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A Flaw in My System

29 Jan

Like everyone else in the world, I have numerous flaws. However, one of them flared up recently and caused consternation in our home.Flaw

Nothing frustrates me more than people who have difficulties driving. It is my opinion that someone who has a license to operate a motorized vehicle should actually know how to operate that vehicle. As I write this, examples of what I am talking about keep popping into my head. All people have to do is follow the lines and the signs, but that does not happen all of the time. For instance:

When a person pulls into a turning lane, the entirety of their car should be in the turning lane. In other words, they should not block the regular lane with the back-end of the car.

When a light turns green, a person should go. After all, that is what green means. It does not mean stare at the light for 10 seconds to make sure it is green. It does not mean finish a meal before moving.

When a speed limit is posted, it is alright to travel at that speed. I understand if people do not want to drive over the speed limit, but a limit of 55 means that is the optimal speed for that road. In other words, 35 is not optimal.

When a driver comes to a stop sign, they should stop. If there is not stop sign, then they should not stop. There is a crossroads in our neighborhood that is a two-way stop. People will invariably try to make it a four-way stop.

That is a short list, but it is a good example of things that frustrate me when I encounter them. The same thing probably happens to a lot of people, but my flaw is that I let it get to me. I fly off the handle and do something just as stupid as I think they are doing.

The other night, I was faced with one of these examples and lost control of myself for a few seconds. The people in the other car did not receive the brunt of my frustrations. All I succeeded in doing is scaring my stepdaughter. It was a dumb thing to do, and I have to work to make sure that it never happens again. I know that I cannot stop the frustration, but I can stop my reaction to it.

It is not an excuse, but this behavior comes naturally to me. When I was a kid, my dad was driving me and Larry to a football game. I was in the passenger seat, and Larry was in the back reading the newspaper. Traffic was heavy on the interstate, and a guy changed lanes. By doing that, he cut my dad off.

Immediately, my dad hit his horn. There is nothing unusual about that. The unusual part came when my dad stayed on his horn. For what seemed like miles, my dad laid on the horn until we thought it would eventually give out. It never did. In the back seat, Larry started laughing. My dad had totally lost control.

Finally, the man got over into the next lane. Obviously, he knew my dad was mad and was going to let us drive by. However, that was not my dad’s plan. He pulled beside of the guy and was going to do a little yelling and screaming at him. As he tried to roll the window down, I had my hand on the button and was keeping it up.

When my dad could not get the window to go down, he started yelling at the car. Larry was almost in the floor with the newspaper over his head. He was not embarrassed. He was dying of laughter. I was laughing because my dad could not get the window down. The man in the other car was not laughing because his wife was screaming at him. She was accomplishing what my dad could not.

Eventually, we went on, and my dad calmed down. A few minutes later, it was like nothing ever happened. That is the way I am. I get frustrated at a driver. I do something crazy. Then, I am over it. I have to learn that other people do not get over it as fast. I have to learn that other people do not find it funny like Larry and I did. It has been 30 years, and we still laugh at that story.

When I was a kid, I had a terrible temper, but I was able to push that temper back as I got older. The road rage that is one of my flaws is the last remnant of that temper. It has to be pushed back, too. The last thing I want is to scare the people I love.

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Hanging On

21 Jan

Monday was unseasonably warm in this part of the world. That has changed drastically in the past 24 hours, but the fact remains that Monday was a nice day. My nephew and I went to a movie, and, as I waited for him, I took a stroll through the yard. I studied the woods behind our house and noticed the contours of the land. It is a lot easier to see with the foliage off the trees.

That is when I began studying one tree in particular. My wife had mentioned it before, but this was the first time that I really looked at it. The tree is not in the woods. It stands alone in the yard. However, it stands out because the dead foliage is still hanging on.Yard Tree

How are the leaves still hanging on? We have had storms, rain, strong winds. Yet, the dead leaves remain.

Why are the leaves hanging on? Are they waiting to resurrect with the coming of Spring? Will they not have to fall off to make room for new leaves?

I know a few botanists, but I am not one. This could be a type of tree that does this every year. It could be a freak of nature. I do not know the answers to any of that, but the leaves on the tree made me think about people.

We tend to hang on to things. We hang on to life to the very end. We hang on to memories, both good and bad. We hang on to anger and hang on to grudges. We hang on to pain. We also hang on to love and happiness. We hang on to those fleeting moments when everything is perfect. I suppose all of that means that we hang on to the past because that is what makes us who we are.

I used to hang on to a lot of things and keep them bottled up in my mind. I hung on to mistakes and lucky breaks. I hung on to pain that I caused and pain that was caused me. I hung on to those empty moments when I thought there was nothing in my future. I hung on to the darkness that protected me from the world.

I do not hang on to those things anymore. At some point, all of those old feelings slipped away, and my mind focused on the present and the future. All of the pain and the scars vanished into thin air. The best part is that I know when that point was. It was when my wife said, “Yes.”

At that moment, the heavy burden of the past went away, and I did not have to hang on anymore. No matter how many mistakes I made. No matter what happened, either good or bad. They all led me to that moment and where I was supposed to be.

Everyone hangs on to something, and I hope that, at some point, they are able to let the leaves fall. I did, and new leaves, new life has arrived.

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Total Chaos

30 Dec

Over at Cole Mining, you can read an interesting piece about time. It is a well written post about time and its many facets. It is thought-provoking and worth your time. Yes, I went ahead and said that. When I read it, many things went through my mind. The concept of time. How time seems to go faster as we get older. Time is a fascinating concept. However, I kept coming back to another thought. This may not be what Cole wanted to inspire when he wrote his post, but I thank him for placing this into my mind.

There used to be a theme park in Nashville called Opryland, USA that provided many days of fun for me and everyone I know. I won’t go into a lot of detail about Opryland because it has been written about many times. Instead, I am going to write about a ride called Chaos, an indoor roller coaster that was Tennessee’s answer to Space Mountain.Chaos

It was a cool ride, and, when it first opened, people were lined up for hours to get on it. Once the line entered the building, warning signs could be seen everywhere, and an announcement played over and over.

“You’re time is running out!”

Apparently, we were in a place that was about to be destroyed, and we were waiting to board the vehicle that would take us to safety. As we stood in line, the announcement continued.

“You’re time is running out!”

Finally, we got on the ride and put on our 3-D glasses. Yep, it was a 3-D roller coaster. As the ride zoomed through the darkness, laser beams shot through the air, and the glasses made it look like they were all over the place. Of course, the ride didn’t last near as long as the waiting process. Despite that, Chaos was a good ride.

At least, it was a good ride for as long as it worked. Not long after the introduction of Chaos, the laser beams broke and were never repaired. Rumor was that the company that built the roller coaster went out of business, and repairing it was impossible. Without the laser beams, Chaos was just a ride through the dark. They tried several ways to make it a good experience, but it was never the same.

Soon after, Opryland USA closed. There were plenty of great rides and entertainment, but I have always thought that the failure of Chaos led to the failure of the park. It had to hurt to spend millions of dollars on a ride that couldn’t be fixed.

As I think back, the announcement is what sticks in my mind about Chaos.

“Your time is running out!”

As it turns out, that announcement was prophetic. Our time of enjoying Opryland was truly running out.

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From Sports Illustrated to The Old Farmer’s Almanac

24 Dec

This is another one of those nights when I don’t have anything to write about. I thought about an expose on Duck Dynasty and the dangers of turning a real person into a television character, but I have heard enough about that topic. All I know is that I don’t agree with the opinions of most of the people around me.

Last night, my mind was running crazy with ideas to blog about. There was this movie character that I was going to compare to a person in my town. Then, I remembered how many people in my town read the blog. I also thought about writing about our dinner at a local establishment. In fact, that could be a future one.

Heck, I even thought about listing a bunch of stuff that I like. One day, I was driving down the road when I came upon a bridge. Out of the blue, I said, “I like bridges.” The lady who was with me said that I sounded like Forrest Gump. It’s true. I like bridges. That’s just the way it is.

As I sat down at the computer, I considered writing about the emails that we get from students when the semester is over, but I have already written about that. It’s usually over by down, but I am still getting emails about grades on Christmas Eve.

Of course, I could write about my current treadmill book. It is Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. No Country for Old Men and The Road have already been scratched off my McCarthy list. They were both made into great movies, and I think this one would make a great movie, too. It would be one of the bloodiest and most realistic Westerns ever made. I am proud to say that McCarthy is a Tennessee guy.

Those are all things that could be written about, but I’m not going to do any of those. Instead, I am going to list some of the things that are on my desk.

There is the latest copy of Sports Illustrated.Sports Illustrated

Next to it is a box of dry erase markers.

A gift card to Bed Bath and Beyond is underneath there somewhere.

My grade book is out for those emails that I have been getting.

There is even a couple of VHS tapes.

There is a tape measure sitting on top of a book called John Henry: The Doc Holliday Story. It was written by Ben Traywick, native of Watertown, Tennessee and official historian of Tombstone, Arizona.

Sunglasses and a stapler are butted up against each other.

Beside them are a couple of lottery tickets that didn’t pay off.

My trusty iPhone is next to my trusty calculator. I know. The phone has a calculator, too. I don’t care because I like the old-fashioned kind.

There is a stack of bills and a newspaper clipping from the Civil War.

A little further away sits the 2014 issue of The Old Farmer’s Almanac.Almanac

If you want to get smarter, then you need to pick up a copy. It’s full of all kinds of great information. For example, November 25, my birthday, is one of the best days to set posts or pour concrete.

That’s the stuff that’s on my desk, and that’s also the reason my wife keeps telling me that I need to clean it.

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It Was Unidentified to Me

17 Dec

I thought about changing the names in this story to protect the innocent. Instead, I changed my mind.

Last night, I watched a show about aliens on the History Channel. You know that channel. The one that is supposed to be about history but is about everything else. (Side note: If you want to watch shows about history, then I would suggest the National Geographic Channel or the Smithsonian Channel.) Anyway, I watched this show about aliens, and it made me think about the time that I saw a UFO.

It was during my high school years, and I was cruising around town with Chris, my best friend. We were doing the usual stuff. Riding up and down Main Street. Hanging out a Sonic. Doing a little drag racing. It was a typical Friday night. We were heading to his house, which sat in that weird place between town and country. We were not in the boondocks, but we were not in town, either.

We were almost to his house when Chris asked about a light that was in the sky. I said something about it being a radio tower or airplane. He said something about it not moving like an airplane and about how a tower couldn’t have been built while we had been out. I looked up and saw this red light in the sky. Then, it was blue. Then, it was yellow. I had to admit that it was weird.UFO

When we got to his house, we stood outside and watched it hover and change colors in a set pattern. We kept talking about it, and I broke down and said it. It could be a UFO. Chris went on and on about how there were no aliens and no flying saucers. I didn’t say it was some alien in a flying saucer. I said it was an Unidentified Flying Object, and it was definitely unidentified to us. He didn’t find humor or logic in what I had said and went in to wake up his parents.

Chris’ dad was one of the highest ranking political figures in our state, and we were waking him up to see a UFO. Chris came out with his mom and dad in their pajamas. His mom was trying to be cheerful, but his dad was not hiding his annoyance.

That’s when it got really weird. We were watching this thing hover when a beam of light shot out of it and hit the ground. Chris’ dad said he was going to bed and went back into the house. Chris’ mom followed. At some point, Chris said he was going to bed. I couldn’t believe it. We watched a laser beam shoot out of this thing, and they were going to sleep.

I got in the car and watched it all the way home. It never moved, but it kept changing colors. When I got home, I went to my room and watched it from the window. There were no more beams, but everything else remained the same. Eventually, I went to sleep, too.

The next morning, I told my parents, but they didn’t seem interested. Chris acted like it never happened. I never said anything to his parents about it, but they probably wouldn’t have talked about it, either. Through the years, I have told a few people, but they all think I am being ridiculous. I tell them the same thing that I told Chris. Whatever it was, it was unidentified to me. That is the definition of a UFO.

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The Day the Christmas Tree Adventure Came to an End

11 Dec

The last episode of the Christmas Tree Adventure ended with the tree in the garage. Things were going well. We were relaxing in the house. The tree was relaxing in the garage. However, we needed to water the tree. That was a job that I could handle, so I braved the cold garage with a bottle full of water. Then, I went back into the house and back to relaxing.

Despite all of the relaxing, I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something was wrong in the garage. I went back and found that the tree had fallen over. Had the addition of water made it shift? I had no idea, but I knew we had an issue. The tree couldn’t be on the ground all night. My wife and I stood it up, but it wouldn’t stand up. We knew that was a problem but decided to prop it up in the corner and deal with it later.

Later turned out to be the next afternoon. She grabbed the top of the tree, and I grabbed the bottom. Off to the front door we went, and, as we made our way through the door, leaves and small branches went everywhere. The floor looked like the green carpet of a forest in a Disney cartoon. There was stuff everywhere.

We had picked out a corner by the fireplace to put the tree and got it in position. But, it wouldn’t stand. We shifted it. We tightened the screws. We did everything we could think of, but it wouldn’t stand. My wife wanted a perfect tree, and I had been saying that there is no perfect tree. However, this tree was far from perfect. When we let it go, it would always fall.

That’s when my wife said that we should have gotten it at a nursery. They deliver it and set it up and everything. I immediately wanted to know why I had never heard of this before. We have a tree that won’t stand. That could be because the tree is crooked or because we don’t know what we are doing. Either way, I knew the perfect place for this tree.Woods

We went to the nearest nursery and got a tree. They had that thing delivered and standing within 30 minutes. This may have been the greatest thing I have ever seen. When my stepdaughter got home from school, we started laying everything out to decorate. We got the lights. We got the ornaments. Then, this happened.Praying Tree

Unbelievable, the tree that was straight and that was put up by experts had fallen over. We lifted it. We tightened the screws. We got it to stand. Let the decorating begin.

The lights. The ornaments. We had finally gotten the tree finished, and it looked great.Christmas Tree

My stepdaughter went to bed, and we sat down to enjoy our work. That’s when my wife said something that caught my attention. The tree looked like it was leaning. I looked up and knew that it wasn’t leaning. It was falling. I jumped up and caught the tree before it made it to the ground.

There I was holding up and fully decorated tree. What happens now? As I held it, my wife crawled underneath and started messing with the bolts. I let it go, and it fell the other way. It was my turn to mess with the base. She held it, and I crawled underneath. It still wouldn’t stay up. For an hour, we took turns holding it up and crawling underneath it.

That’s when I made the big declaration. If it falls one more time, then we are taking everything off and throwing it in the woods. We will get the artificial one and decorate it. My wife messed with the screws one more time. I don’t know what she did. She doesn’t know what she did. All we know is that the Christmas tree is standing – for now.

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The Day the Christmas Tree Adventure Began

9 Dec

For several days, we have been waiting for the opportunity to put up the Christmas tree. Several things have been getting in the way, but today was the day that everything came together. Excitement filled the air as we started the process of putting everything together.

My stepdaughter came up with the idea of having a real tree. It was a great suggestion because there is something special about a real tree. We had them a few times as I was growing up, and I can remember how good they smelled. However, a real tree meant some other things had to be done. We needed to get new lights because the artificial tree has its own lights. We also needed to get a stand that would handle a real tree.

We headed out to Target to get the stuff before picking out a tree. The day started out well. There was a great lunch. We were having fun pushing the cart through Target and making our way to the Christmas corner. We got a bunch of lights before checking out the ornaments.

That’s when things got a little dicey. I guess we all had a different idea about decorating the tree. My wife wanted something traditional with traditional colors. I guess traditional is the right word. I wouldn’t call it fancy, but I would say that she wanted something nice.

My stepdaughter was thinking of something fun and colorful. That sounded good to me because I have always thought Christmas should be fun. Without realizing that there was a difference of opinion, I said something about fun and colorful being a good idea. Hindsight by the pound is cheaper than foresight. In hindsight, I should have just let them work it out.

We went with the colorful ornaments, but I wasn’t finished saying things that I should have kept to myself. My wife had been talking about flocking the tree, and I had a question about it. If we were getting a real tree, then why would we put fake snow on it? That seems to defeat the purpose of getting a real tree. If that’s the case, then shouldn’t we just get a fake tree that was already flocked? As you can imagine, the release of my inner Spock didn’t go over very well. Now, I know what to do with my inner Spock – keep him innered.Spock 2

With the trimmings purchased, it was time to purchase the tree. There a couple of places near the house, and we picked one of them. By this time, the cold precipitation of the past few days was coming back. We walked through the forest of cut trees and picked one out. The guys who ran the tree stand looked something like these guys.Deliverance

Don’t know them? Well, they like banjo music and Ned Beatty.

We got out of the woods better than Burt Reynolds with a bow and a canoe.

The tree is in the garage drying from the rain, and the Christmas tree adventure will continue tomorrow. Hopefully, I will convince my wife to flock the tree before then.

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Making Sure It’s Safe to Hit Send

6 Dec

When operating in a social media driven world, there is a dangerous thing called the Send button. It’s dangerous because of its permanence. When the Send button does its job properly, the information it transmits is out there forever. Sure, something can be deleted, but it has been exposed to the world. You might say that the Send button is the modern version of Pandora’s Box.Send

That’s why I am not going to write what is really going through my brain. I may hit the Send button before I realize, and Pandora would be doing her thing. Instead, I am going to play it safe and throw out a few things that are going on.

The weather is a mess. Yesterday, we woke up to 70 degree weather and saw that plummet throughout the day. Last night, it was in the 30s with heavy rain, thunder and lightning. There was a mini crisis at my house when the lights went out before the end of Scandal.

Today, the rain continues, and ice is in the forecast. I don’t think ice is going to make it to my town, but the land to the west will definitely get something. If you ever wondered what Tennessee weather is like, then I have just given you a good description.

This is Friday. Everyone knows that. However, you may not know that a group of us have been meeting every Friday for lunch for the past 20 years. It’s me, my dad, my brother and an assortment of other people. Politicians and other guests show up on occasion. We have a table at Gondola, a local Italian restaurant. If you want to know what’s going on or how to fix the problems of the world, then you need to see the Gondola Mafia. We will make you an offer you can’t refuse.Don Corleone

After lunch, I have a faculty meeting. Those are always entertaining. Despite the best efforts of our dean, they usually devolve into gripe sessions. I don’t know everything that’s on the agenda, but I know someone will find fault with all of it.

The rest of the day will be spent waiting for the ice and setting up for tomorrow’s Open House at Beauty Boutique.Beauty Boutique Logo

My wife is having a celebration at her business. There will be plenty of food along with the usual offerings at the store. Stop by if you are in the area. Eat food and spend a lot of money.

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