Day 212 - Oct. 29
Listening to: It’s an all 80s weekend on Jack FM. eeeeeeee
Thought for the day: ....like gag me with a spoon

Most of us make contributions when someone is in need. We donate when there is a catastrophic event or give food/clothing/money to the less fortunate. I call this charitable giving. Then, there is the person that randomly contributes something that is unnecessary ………….. just because. I call this unconditional giving. Paying for the order of the person behind you in the drive through at Starbucks is a beautiful example of unconditional giving I was the recipient of an act of unconditional giving this week.

For years, I have been hunting for a DuPont employee gate pass from 1918. Last week, a good friend emailed me to tell me there was one for sale on EBay. I immediately put in my bid. I couldn’t babysit the auction because I had to go to my daughter's marching band rehearsal. While I was gone, the auction ended and I lost by $1. ONE FREAKIN’ DOLLLA’!!! Like a little kid not getting a Malibu Barbie for Christmas, I was distraught. I emailed my friend the next day and told him I had lost the bid. He emailed me back and told me I had an angel. It turns out his brother, who I have never met, is the person that outbid me. He ended up giving me the gate pass. I offered to pay him back and he declined.

I played show and tell at DuPont today with my prized possession. Everyone was fascinated with it. There were thousands of these gate passes produced back in 1918. Very few survive today. It just goes to show that you never know what will be of value to someone 80 years from now.

I don’t know who the man is in the photo, but I feel like he is a long lost friend. I’m so thrilled with this gift…………..the material gift and the gift of a stranger. I now feel the urge to pay it forward!

Old Hickory history: http://www.dupontalumni.org/articles/article28.htm

Day 216 - Oct. 25
Listening to: Sleigh Ride of the Headless Horseman
Thought for the day: On Halloween night, the Great Pumpkin rises from his pumpkin patch and flies through the air with his bag of toys to all the children.

Dear Great Pumpkin,

It looks like you are now an official victim of this great recession perpetrated by the Republicans……..wait no……….the Democrats…….wait not………….Wall Street……….WHATEVER……. this is your notice that you are now being replaced by the utility tree or what I'd like to call the tree for all seasons. My neighbors are the first to bite the economy in the buttocks by placing a tree in their front window and decorating it with orange lights and pumpkins. Once the last "trick or treat" echoes in this great neighborhood of mine, I’m sure the Halloween utility tree decor (or daycor as we say in the South) will be replaced with turkeys, cornucopias, and Indian feathers. It is possible they’ll skip Thanksgiving all together in an attempt to squeak out one more dollar. At least it’s a tree and not a festivus for the restofus pole……… we can’t have a stripper-holiday pole in THIS hood!

Please accept my condolences for becoming a statistic in the line of unemployment.

Sincerely,
EbenezeKris Scroogette

Day 225 - October 17
Listening to: Life is a Highway
Thought for the day: The air today felt like swimming in sunny, warm, beautiful water.

Pearl is representin’! This is her Octboober breast cancer awareness campaign photo ………………….or Phyllis Diller costume for Halloween.

Yes, we all know that this month has been declared PINK with an intent to get women to woman up to the boobie pressin’ machine. I read an article this week that made me question having an awareness month. The article claims that studies show that having an awareness month has not significantly improved the breast cancer death rate. The article also claims the awareness month was created by a drug company that manufactures breast cancer drugs. hmmmmm. Despite it all, I’m grateful for the awareness month. I mean, who is to say that the awareness month can’t be just as much about getting enough vitamin D and avoiding toxins like the article suggests as it is about getting my boobs smashed between two glass plates?

Check out the article yourself.
http://www.naturalnews.com/030056_breast_cancer_awareness.html

Day 226 - October 16
Listening to: Rapper’s Delight (no joke)
Thought for the day: well it's on n on n on on n on the beat don’t stop until the break of dawn

My Dad is being honored as an outstanding alumnus by the department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Tennessee this week, so he and his wife, Pauline, came through Nashville to visit with us beforehand. The added bonus was getting to see Wes, my son. I haven't seen him since August...............and he has matured!

Dad and Pauline live in California during the winter and England during the summer (she is British). When he comes to Tennessee he often wants to eat at Cracker Barrel to get his homeboy fix. From the get-go he teased Pauline about eating fried okra. He wanted her to try it. He jokingly said, “If I can drink your crappy English tea, you can at least try some fried okra.” You’d think a Revolutionary War part 2 might break out, but Pauline managed to shut him up with more class than I have in my pinky finger. The British and Americans are still at peace.

My dad and I both ordered fried okra. I almost had to whoop out my 4th grade attitude on our waitress, however. There was more fried okra on his plate than on mine............. I ended up getting a grip before my inner childhood monster consumed me……………I LOVE FRIED OKRA!!! Fried okra is just one letter away from being friend okra.

Day 228 - Oct. 14
Listening to: If You Ever Have Forever in Mind
Thought for the day: Bread and butter taste good no matter what side you put the butter on. ~David Baker

This sign screams old school at me. It is plastered on the oldest building gracing the sprawling acreage where I work (circa 1920s-30s). Who says “off standard” anything? The lack of a hyphen seems kinda off standard to me. If the sign was made today, it would probably say “watch your step” since that is the intended message. I did Google “off standard steps” out of curiosity. Google gave me four pages of companies that build off standard steps. I suppose off standard steps are for off standard areas……….which is not an off standard assumption.

Possible “off standard” signs that might be attached to me ……….if I needed a sign that is ………would be “off standard brain” or “off standard cookie consumer.” What would yours say

Day 229 - Oct. 13
Listening to: Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog…………… dun dun dun
Thought for the day: Reaching out for God……….

I didn’t get to join my Wednesday night dinner group tonight (sad face). The plan was to go to Hermitage Steakhouse and get my Fred Flinstone on by ordering a big chunk of nasty meat. However, a battle of brontosaurus proportions broke out in my life around 15:30 CST. By the time I was supposed to depart for dinner, my battleship was SUNK (sad face).

Despite it all, I did manage to capture a photo of an absurd situation that caused me to experience some absurd thinking. This photo is of the guy's restroom where I work. The door has been off of the man-cave toilet entrance for the past two days. Sure, it’s not a big deal ………….. not really…………….except all eyes that pass have a clear shot of the urinal. I’m not attracted to anyone I work with physically………nope………nuh uh……..blech……….. so I can’t figure out why I rubber neck every time I walk by the gaping door. Am I being human? What if I did see a male coworker peeing? …………………I’d probably scream.

I have some other stories about public restrooms that I will share later. First, I need to figure out how to get my battleship off the bottom of life's ocean.

Day 230 - Oct. 12
Listening to: Working My Way Back to You
Thought for the Day: Channeling my inner Phileas Fogg.......or looking for his equivalent in another.

Hey look! There are 80 more days until January 1. We have enough time to go around the world!

This whiteboard is hanging in the main thoroughfare where I work. The message is about working safe. Although I strive to work safely, I have no enthusiasm for this countdown. My apathy lies in the fact that in 80 days people will be packing up their plastic baby Jesuses and putting them back in their attics both physically and mentally. The week after Christmas is depressing for me for that reason............among a few other personal reasons. If a well-meaning coworker is going to bust all up in my life with this cheerleader-like ad nauseum countdown, then I need to come up with a concurrent countdown that brings me joy.

Maybe I should go on a cruise.

Note: I had to look up the plural of Jesus. I saw one memorable response that said, "there is only one Jesus...........no plural."

Day 231 - Oct. 11
Listening to: Watching the Wheels
Thought for the day: Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted. ~John Lennon

My name is Kris and I am a doughnut-aholic………..recovering one, but nevertheless.

Tonight was doughnut night at the McGavock Band Booster meeting. No, this is not my plate. However, when I was in college I routinely would and could eat this many doughnuts in one sitting. My college freshman extra 10 lbs did not come from beer or pizza. The extra poundage came from Kroger’s 10 for $5 deli doughnuts………..elephant ears included. By the end of my freshman year, I wore a couple lbs of doughnuts on each thigh. I only took one doughnut tonight. Good job Kris, good job.

When I stepped up to this plate full of colorful sin to pick one out for my very own, I immediately felt like my brain was on training wheels. There were people talking to me. I didn’t hear a word. The feeling lasciviously lingered. When the meeting began and I sat down to assume my responsibilities as recording secretary, I discovered I had forgotten how to write.

I need to identify a doughnut sponsor so that the next time I fall off the doughnut wagon I don’t land so hard.

Day 234- Oct. 8
Listening to: She’s Gone
Thought for the day: Go Big Mac!

J. David Hazlett (Mcband director extraordinaire) took this photo at the end of rehearsal today. We are all listening to announcements. The band rehearsed instead of going to the football game because they have a brutally long day tomorrow. They will board a bus at 5 a.m. in the morning to go compete in the Bands of America regional in Jacksonville, Alabama.

I really can’t explain why I like this photo so much, but I'll try. I am standing at the top of the hill on the right facing the camera in the light blue shirt. Christian, my daughter, is the only one standing in the pile of kids (black shirt/red shorts) close to the camera. Something about where and how Christian and I are standing defines our relationship right now. We are very close, yet very distant. We love each other, but don't like each other. She's good at math, and 2+2 equals 5 to me. You get the idea. What gets me through this mother-daughter antithesis is that I honestly believe some day we will stand next to each other in life.

Day 235 - Oct. 7
Listening to: Witchy Woman
Thought for the day: There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it. ~Alfred Hitchcock

This is Keith’s house. He lives down the street from me. Sometimes I have a brain fart and call him Kevin, so I have renamed him “Keith not Kevin.” Keith not Kevin's yard is always perfect. He has won the Historic Old Hickory Village “Best Yard of the Month” award so many times that they should rename it after him. I’m a Keith not Kevin yard hater……….pure jealousy. I hate his perfect flowers, grass, and shiny silver grill. They always seem to mock me and my crabgrass, no patio with bling yard.

I see Keith not Kevin's house every time I leave my house. The first time I spied his subtle Halloween decorations I thought, “Are those birds on the chair real?” Then I thought, “Good heavens, Keith not Kevin's house looks rather Hitchcockian.” Then, I started thinking about the movie The Birds. Then I started thinking about the movie Psycho. Then I kinda got scared. Hitchcock was the master of subtle horror. Keith not Kevin is the master of subtle Halloween decorations. He’ll probably win an award for it.

Disclaimer: The truth is Keith not Kevin is a super nice guy and his yard is a credit to the neighborhood.

Day 236 - Oct. 5
Listening to: Takin’ it to the Streets
Thought for the day: I wouldn't describe myself as lacking in confidence, but I would just say that - the ghosts you chase you never catch. ~John Malkovich

Halloween decorations have changed since I was a child. Several of the houses in my hood are already lit up like it’s an orange and purple Christmas. Purple? When did purple become Halloween-ish?

Like Christmas, I am an Ebenezer Hallowooge. Boo Humbug! My poor children. They use to have to prod me with sharp objects to get me to do anything Halloweeney. I did muster up a few typical pumpkin scooping goo moments. One time I went all out and buried an illuminated zombie. The grass is just now returning to normal. I bet my kids were wondering where their real mom was that year.

Despite it all, I will confess to enjoying being a Halloween yard voyeur. From the yards that look like Party City vomited on them to the more simple and tasteful decorations, I enjoy living vicariously through others.

Thanks neighbors for jackin' up your electricity bills purely for the hood's enjoyment!

Day 237 - Oct. 4
Listening to: Old Days
Thought for the day: Why does everything smell like apple cider?

I absolutely love this picture. I am not the photographer of this gem, nor was this photo taken today. The talented photographer behind this shot is Terry Dotson.

Every time the McGavock High School band attends or hosts an event, he takes photos and sends them to me to post on the band’s website. This photo was taken this past Saturday at the Traveler’s Rest Invitational and sent to me today.

Terry has no children in the band and hasn’t for some time. His children graduated a long time ago…………..like……….seriously…….. BACK – IN – THE – DAY. Yet, Terry still selflessly volunteers his time to provide something uniquely special every year. I always feel like a kid at Christmas waiting for his pictures to be emailed to me after an event (btw - this week's photos are now online).

Wonder what this child is thinking? Is he thinking, “hmmmmmmmm pretty feather.” Is he going to pick up the hat in an attempt to emulate an older brother or sister? Or, is he just trying to help out by retrieving a fallen hat?

Thanks Terry for all that you do!

Terry has a professional Facebook page if you’d like to peek at his talents.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nashville-TN/Terry-Dotson-Photography/121350991231763

Day 239 - Oct. 2
Listening to: I Can't Go for That
Thought for the day: Staying awake until 3:32 a.m.? ummm....... I'm too old for this!

3:32 A.M

I'm tired. Long day. The McGavock High School Marching Band competed at the Traveler's Rest Invitational Saturday at Overton High School. I really didn't care where they placed as long as they had a good performance............and they did. They ended up second overall and first in their class.

While I was watching the contest, I noticed this child in front of me. How could I miss her. She was ZONKED. How does anyone sleep through the noise that is marching band? Not only that, but she is on a cold bleacher and in an awkward position. ahhhh........ the beauty of childhood. Anyway, I just thought this moment was too precious not to include in my 365. I wonder how many younger siblings have to go to marching band competitions or sporting events against their own will to support an older sibling. It's good to see some make the most of it.

Day 243 - Sept. 28
Listening to: Faith
Thought for the day: Cleanliness is next to impossible.

I am currently participating in a Japanese methodology at work called 5S. It stands for sort, straighten, shine, standardize, and sustain. Basically, I have to clean Cubicle Caverns and keep it that way. I started the process last Friday..... as seen in today’s photo. Yes, I’m only showing you half of the cave because the other half isn’t 5S-ed yet………….and no I didn’t shove everything to the other side to take this photo. I actually 5S-ed ya’ll.

Five S-ing is very difficult for me because I am the DuPont-Old Hickory historian which means I am the keeper of photos, magazines, newsletters, memorabilia, memorabilia, and memorabilia dating back to 1918. I am always conscious of what I throw away because items that may seem insignificant now will have historical value 20 years from now. We don’t have as much from 1918 as we should because no one thought it would matter 92 years later. IT DOES!!!!!

Back on topic…….

The objective behind 5S is to instill ownership and organizational skills that theoretically improve the day-to-day operations of the business. I wish I could 5S the people in my life! Fortunately/unfortunately it’s not as easy as throwing a pile of papers in a recycle bin.

Curious about 5S?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5S_%28methodology%29

Day 244 - Sept. 27
Listening to: The Beat Goes On
Thought for the day: This mess is a place!

We had a safety audit at work today. One of the auditors decided to visit the maintenance shop. I probably don’t need to tell you that the maintenance shop is comprised mostly of men…………. who act like men………..but I still love them. I walked into to the shop at break time only to discover they were all giggling like 6th graders who had been busted for throwing soap balls on the ceiling. One of them said, “The auditor opened the microwave (everyone - giggle, giggle). It looks like a rabbit blew up in there (more giggles).”

I use this microwave and have become so accustomed to it looking like a Hazmat team should be involved in its cleanup that I don’t even see the blown up antifoodmatter anymore. I’d die if my microwave at home looked like this.

There’s no telling how many bowls of chili have graced this baby uncovered. AND BTW………..the photo………..does…………..NOT……….do it justice.

Day 246 - Sept. 25
Listening to: Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Thought for the day: I ♥ my college peeps.

The Birth of the Beater-Waver Party

Warning: I am about to throw down some words that may sound Greek to you if you’ve never had anything to do with marching band.

I went to a marching band competition today. Obviously, I love going to competitions to see kids I adore perform. I also love going because I have so many dear friends involved in the activity and some of them I only get to see during marching band season.

I’ve talked about my college affiliation with the Loser, Loser, Loser (LLL) club before in the 365. The LLL club was comprised of Middle Tennessee State University Band of Blue colorguard members: we were all broke and had no idea if we’d ever make it out of college to establish a career. The LLL club spent a lot of time trying to convince the percussion section (Beaters) that they were a bunch of losers too and that we, the colorguard (Wavers), were a better section than them. We taunted them constantly and would occasionally give them the LLL salute (as seen in this photo). When I began college, the Beater-Waver rivalry was already intense and very comical. Two years prior, the Beaters decided they’d had enough of the Waver's provocation and challenged the group to a game of quarters to settle the matter of who was the better section. Thus, the Beater-Waver party was born. The Wavers even had shirts made every year for the event. One of my favorite shirts had the picture of a snare drum on it with a big red X through it. My first Beater-Waver party was the third-annual one. The MTSU Band of Blue still holds the Beater-Waver party some 27 years later. I don’t think today’s Band of Blue participants have a clue as to how the party was birthed……………but I’m glad I do.

You are looking at moi, Bo Brown, my colorguard instructor at MTSU, and Katherine Cox, one of the colorguard captains. I photo shopped Melissa into this photo because she was with us tonight, but not present for our official LLL photo session (no she was not there in a wedding dress….heee heee heee).

Day 247 - Sept. 24
Listening to: Release Me (a little Englebert for my Granny)
Thought for the day: When I want to talk to someone intelligent, I talk to myself. ~Granny Sally

Today is my Granny Sally’s birthday. She was a majorette in high school…………….no, I did not originate the family marching band gene. This photo was taken 20+ years ago on a Christmas Eve. G. Sally had been into some liquid Christmas cheer and decided to demonstrate her majorette moves for me. I think I split a gut laughing that night. It was one of those priceless moments that will stick with me forever.

G. Sally has been bed ridden for over five years, is completely blind, and suffers horrible dementia. Last time I went to see her, she didn’t know who I was and mistook me for Christian. I was devastated and depressed for days. I haven’t been back to see her since. I am ashamed of my lack of visitation and know I am a selfish coward, but I just can’t go back. Thankfully, my mom goes to see her almost every day and says most days G. Sally lives in another world of imaginary relatives, children, and people. It helps to know she isn't alone, but that doesn't change the fact that I am a failure as a grandchild. I hope some day, somewhere, my Granny will forgive me and that somewhere in that imaginary world of hers she knows I want to tell her Happy Birthday.