I can't stand country music anymore (5/1/2022)
We used to live a few miles away from a Dairy Queen and occasionally my wife and I would treat ourselves to something good. She would usually get a blizzard and I got a banana split. And if we were lucky the comfortable leather armchairs were available.
The whole experience was overshadowed to some degree by the music coming from the ceiling speakers. It seems the manager was a fan of country music and had tuned in to a station specializing in contemporary country.
It was not very loud, but as far as I’m concerned country music is too loud at any volume. In other words: I can’t stand it.
And this is coming from someone who used to listen to it all the time, but that was decades ago. I even made a trip to Nashville and enjoyed performances of great artists in the Grand Ole Opry. I also have fond memories of concerts by Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and others.
No Buddy and Barney for me (4/27/2022)
Years ago my wife and I lived in Tombstone Arizona for about 6 months. As you probably know this little town is of historical significance, after all, who hasn’t heard of the famous gunfight that took place there.
Now it is a major tourist attraction, people from around the globe come to check out the OK Corral, the Birdcage Theatre, the cafés, and gift shops.
One of the attractions is a ride in a replica of an 1800’s stagecoach. It takes you past the most important places with narration of the driver. The introduction just before departure always was, and may be still is, exactly the same including the introduction of the horses: “On my left-hand side is Buddy, and on my right-hand side is Barney.” One day he had two different horses, and he still referred to them as Buddy and Barney. He corrected his mistake, but it showed how he was used to those same opening sentences.
Wait till I get there (4/25/2022)
The man on the phone sounded very impatient while he explained the situation to me.
“My father-in-law is moving into an assisted living facility,” he explained. “And I have to clear out his house. He is an old cantankerous and contrary person, and I’m sick and tired of the whole thing already. You can come over if you want and see if there’s something you can put in one of your auctions. But you have to be here soon because there is a dumpster on the way and I’m liable to throw just everything in it and be done with it.”
I quickly assured him that he should hold off and I would be there as fast as I could. I grabbed my jacket and headed out the door. The project I was working on could wait.
When I arrived half an hour later the dumpster was already there, right at the front door. A designer glass punch bowl set was in thousand pieces on the bottom of it. In good condition it would have been worth about $250.
Shop Frustration I (4/22/2022)
From the days when I was trucking.
What do truckers like to do best? The obvious answer: they like to drive. After all, that’s how they make their money.
And what do they dislike most? I’m sure you will get different answers from different drivers. A likely answer would be unnecessary waiting. Sure, they are used to spend time waiting, waiting for a load, waiting at the dock, waiting in traffic.
There are many scenarios where a trucker can do nothing else but wait. As far as I’m concerned, I can deal with waiting, over the years I have learned to be patient.
It’s a whole different story when I have to wait for no apparent good reason, and it gets even worse when it happens at a facility owned by the company I work for. I always get somewhat scared when I have to take my truck or trailer to shop, especially in the middle of a run.
