“I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalog: - '
No good in a bed, but fine against a wall.'
No good in a bed, but fine against a wall.'
Eleanor Roosevelt
It has been a rough January. I was really hoping to have an extended period of down time. That was far from the case. Wedding planning has been going full force. Of course, my only involvement is writing checks. I have been receiving therapy on my writing hand already. Then there were little things like the Super Bowl and my birthday. I have been really busy getting my birthday coordinated with the NFL Super Bowl. Both were on Sunday. We were going back and forth with the NFL about the timing of the game and my birthday shindig. Late Saturday we struck a compromise. I got the early time slot for my thing and they took the 5:30 slot. I was rather agitated over the whole thing. I mean it was my 69th birthday and it was only their 49th gig but alas they really had me over a barrel.
My dog, Murphy, gave me my first birthday kudos by getting me up at 12:15 and announcing he had to go outside. Can you imagine a 69 year old staggering down the hall in a semi-conscious state, bouncing off the walls, tripping over dog toys, finally arriving at the patio door only to find the dog got tired of waiting and did his business 6 inches from the outside on your carpet. He treated me not once, but 3 three times Sunday morning with this trick. Next thing to brighten my birthday was the 95 feet of snow surrounding my house, but mostly on the driveway. I purchased a new blower a few weeks ago so I could rely on a machine that would start. It started alright, getting it out of the garage was problematic. I did finally get the driveway cleared.
This Toro snow blower deal took on a life of its own. It seems as though a TV camera crew showed up just as we were getting it loaded. My current wife, Sue, took cover in the SUV when they started looking for someone to interview. I looked around and I was it. I gave them an extensive interview covering my blower needs, tips and tricks for would-be snow blower people. It was about a ten minute impromptu interview. To my dismay, they aired most of the interview throughout the day. I started getting autograph requests. I ended up signing autographs at our Men's Breakfast at church. A guy has to make the most of his 30 seconds of fame – right?
We were a little late getting started to our birthday luncheon. I got to drive the current wife's Mazda as it had all wheel drive. That doesn't help much when you are in a hurry and the d%$#m garage door won't close. Fiddle, fiddle and it will not work. OK. Make sure we have keys to the front door and we trip the garage door so it would close by hand. Off we go. The luncheon was a real hoot except for the part of the birthday greeting the wait staff shouted at the top of their lungs. I unsuccessfully tried crawling under the table. Yep, thoroughly embarrassed. They brought what seemed like a pint sized lump of vanilla ice cream slathered with chocolate syrup. My embarrassment disappeared almost immediately. We had a good time.
We arrived home with just enough time to get everything setup for the Super Bowl party. This was really a great occasion for us. We struck a coup by getting Dr. Football to attend. It was just fantastic until the last 30 seconds of the game. What a horrendous mistake Seattle pulled off. Yuck.
Did I mention just how great it was to be back on the blog beat? May have been an intentional oversight. Today is Carrot Cake Day for those curious about those things. Carrot Cake has been made since the Middle Ages, when sugar and other sweeteners were rare and very expensive, and so people used sweet vegetables to flavor their puddings. This technique became practically obsolete for several hundred years, but resurfaced in the 20th century.
With my month off, I had time to ponder many things. Many of which I will share with you through out the year. The first thing that confused me was when I heard the word "Service" used with these agencies: Internal Revenue 'Service', Postal 'Service', Telephone 'Service', Cable TV ' Service, Civil 'Service', Municipal, City, & Public 'Service'. This is not what I thought 'Service' meant. But today, I overheard two farmers talking, and one of them said he had hired a bull to 'Service' a few cows. BAM!!! It all came into focus. Now I understand what all those agencies are doing to us.
I read somewhere about a unique sales promotion conducted by a regional airline. Around the first of the year the airline ran a special promotion to increase ridership of business travelers at a notorious flat business travel period. The special promotion introduced a package for the businessman. Buy your ticket, get your wife's ticket free. It was a huge success. The company sent letters to all the wives asking how the trip was. All of them gave the same reply..."What trip?"
From the “I should have known” Department
A young brunette goes into the doctor's office and says that her body hurts wherever she touches it. "Impossible," says the doctor. "Show me." She takes her finger and pushes her elbow and screams in agony. She pushes her knee and screams, pushes her ankle and screams and so it goes on, everywhere she touches makes her scream. The doctor says, "You're not really a brunette, are you?" She says, "No, I'm really a blonde." "I thought so," he says. "Your finger is broken."
It is time to get to moving along it seems. The French Roast continues to be my brew of solace if that is even possible. The day just isn't right without it. It wasn't that long ago that I didn't even drink coffee. I only started when it was free at the office. Now I have “graduated” to the $12.99 a pound bean that I grind myself every couple of days. Humph, elitist you say, you bet when it comes to my coffee. Remember, there is no need to thank me for this valuable information: I'm doing it as a public service. (Refer back to the story above). Now, until we meet again. -TA!
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