Just some random thoughts on a Sunday morning. Sometimes I get an idea but then I think, “I can’t make a whole column out of that.” That’s when I file them away and, after awhile, the file grows and I decide to post them.
Why do people walk in the street when there’s a perfectly good sidewalk? I wondered this just yesterday as my wife, Priscilla, and I were going out to lunch. A woman was walking in the road so that we had to swerve a little. There was a perfectly good sidewalk just a few feet to her left. As a person who struggles with balance at times I thought that maybe the sidewalk was uneven but it looked fine. On top of that, she had her head down looking at her phone which was another issue.
Do you ever use someone else’s coffee mug in your house? It just feels wrong.
In my house, my son Matt and I are the biggest coffee drinkers. I have a few mugs that I’ve collected over the years. One is a Miami Dolphins mug that the Patriot fans I live with never use. I have a Tigger mug, a “Navy Dad” mug and a “Pete Braley Show” mug. Matt collects mugs so he has quite a few. One with his initial, another with a guitar, a mug from the “Avengers” movie and one with his face on it. It was a gift from his sister who is also a big “The Office” fan.
Well the other day I went for a late-morning cup of coffee and —- all of my mugs were in the dishwasher. When I went in the cabinet I had a choice of Matt’s mugs. It just seemed so wrong! I couldn’t use the one with his face, THAT’S NOT MY FACE! I opted for the one with his initial but having am “M” stare at me while I enjoyed my coffee just didn’t seem right.
Am I the only one who struggles with this? I know that since my stroke I have had issues with over stimulation. If we have a few people over the house and there are several conversations going on at once I can get overwhelmed. In a noisy, crowded restaurant I can sometimes have issues. A couple of months ago I was sitting in a sports bar with some friends. There were six tvs in my view, each with a different game. There was also crowd noise and arcade games going on in this place. To say I was overwhelmed is an understatement. I guess I need to work on my focus.
Have you ever been behind a car where the driver up ahead is talking with their hands? I sometimes sit and wonder what in the world are they talking about.
The other day I was stopped at a red light. It was a warm day so the car in front of me had their window down. I noticed that the driver was, I believe, telling a story but they were really animated with the hand motions. It was a slow light so we were there for a few minutes. They were really getting a workout with the arm movements. It must have been a great story!
This one goes back to before I got TSA Pre Check which I will talk about in a minute.
A few months ago I wondered, “Why can’t TSA (Transportation Security Administration) have ONE set of rules?” I wouldn’t call myself a frequent flyer but with family in Virginia we do travel a bit. Plus we have been able to take a few vacations over the years and it never seems to fail that no two airports are alike. Sometimes I have to take my tablet out and sometimes I don’t. Taking shoes off is common but sometimes I was able to keep my belt on. The issue is when you think you can do things one way only to have another agent in another city get rather forceful telling you to do something different. Why can’t there be one set of rules? Priscilla guesses it’s all in how you interpret the memo.
Speaking of TSA Pre Check: best decision I ever made! True, it wasn’t cheap, but if you do any amount of traveling it’s definitely worth it. It cost $78 but it’s good for five years. I went online and made appointments for me, my wife and son. The closest office was in Buzzards Bay. We drove down, answered some questions, gave fingerprints and had our picture taken. After they do a background check we were approved in a week or so. Now we get to go in a smaller line at the airport and we don’t have to take our shoes or belt off. A big time saver and definitely less of a hassle.
Finally some thoughts about the weather. These 70 degree November days have been quite enjoyable. I’ve seen a number of posts from friends saying, “I could take this all year!” While I agree that would be nice, I’ve also had a bit of experience with New England weather to know that ain’t gonna happen. Our luck will run out and it appears it will tomorrow. Monday’s high temperature is expected to be thirty degrees colder than Saturday and Tuesday morning could find temperatures in the 20s! Oh and don’t get excited when you see posts about snow coming this week. You have to remember that television stations in Boston like WBZ and WCVB cover all of New England. If you look closely at their maps and graphics it might snow in New Hampshire, Vermont or the Berkshires. I think it’s safe to say we are going to be snow free for a few more weeks here along the coast.
There. I think that empties out the writer’s notebook for now.
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