Day 317 – July 13
Listening to: Make Someone Happy
Thought of the day: I am approaching the age where I can boast about roaming with dinosaurs. Why do I still burn my mouth on pizza?

QUICK! Answer the question on the sign in the photo. If you’re anything like me, your knee-jerk response will not be representative of what you really think and feel. When I first saw the sign, an answer erupted from me like Eyjafjallajökull ………you know that volcano that tied Europe air travel up tighter than a………than a……….ooooh can’t say what I want to say!

The answer that burst forth from my whimsical brain was, “God and pizza.” Hmmm…….pizza isn’t even my favorite food. It’s about 8th on my list. Where on Earth did this answer come from? For kicks, I Googled “God and pizza.” Google tossed two pages of websites back at me. Most sites advertised a pizza and church event. There was one site loaded with Bible verses reworded to included pizza. Anyway, I decided to give the question some real thought.

Is this a trick question? It appears on a church sign………..my denomination no less. Obviously they want you to answer God and Jesus. Right? I don’t know!!! What about the Holy Trinity? The HT is three things, or does it count as one? TOO MUCH THINKING! My final answer would be the HT and the people in my life. That’s my final answer Regis! Does that count as more than two loves?

You don’t have to have a belief system to answer this question! Hopefully, if you don’t believe in God, you at least love something.

Day 318 – July 12
Listening to: Through the Fire
Thought for the day: If only people came with pull down menus and online help.

Behold! Easter Island has come to Old Hickory. If you drive through Lakewood, you’ll see this yard. If you haven't noticed it, umm...... I'm not sure what to think! Originally, there was only one of these statues in the yard (it is still there). It is a larger statue. Somewhere, somehow, another large statue showed up and they procreated LIKE BUNNIES to have these baby statues. The parent statues (not pictured) stand guard nearby. I want so badly to knock on the owner's door and ask about their aberrant yard art. My fear of being sacrificed keeps me from doing so (joking). I was a little nervous about taking this photo. The things I do for the 365 journal!

I’m not so sure these particular statues are replicas of the Easter Isle statues. BUT IF THEY ARE………..here’s the 411……….. No one knows for sure what purpose the giant island heads served. Archaeologists suspect that they represented the spirits of ancestors, chiefs, or other high ranking males. Maybe the occupants of this house lost a loved one and are trying to channel an ancestral spirit. Hey…..if these heads bring them comfort, more power to them.

If you want to peep the Easter Island statues, visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/easter/civilization/giants.html. I love me some Nova!

Day 323 - July 7
Listening to: Franz Schubert
Thought for the day: I'm so gangster, I'm so thug........phhhhhhhhhffft.

Eastland Cafe'

This was the view from my seat tonight during dinner. Check out the book. Dessert Fourplay. Hmmm. Foreplay, fourplay, let’s call thing off and just have dessert. I’d love to know why this book intentionally misspelled foreplay in conjunction with dessert. Alas, it was not meant for me to find out as a chef’s plastic wall held me back. I do know I had a bite of a blueberry beignet tonight that had When Harry Met Sally – the diner scene potential. I’m sure my friends were glad I didn’t act on the urge. Fourplay, foreplay, the beignet was GOOD. I did see one of the sous chefs pick up the book and peruse it. I wonder if my photography moment prompted him to do so.

Anyhoo, I go to dinner with a group of wonderful peeps every Wednesday. Each week we choose a different restaurant. From this point forward, I will feature something about my Wednesday forays into the restaurant world in my 365 photo blog.

This week we went to the Eastland Café in East Nashville. HOLY COW!!! This was a good pick. Most memorable for me was the fried green tomatoes and the blueberry beignets. They did have this bizarre drink on the menu………..can’t remember what it was called……….but it consisted of Pabst Blue Ribbon, St. Germaine, and lemon juice. BLECH. A happy fellow sitting next to me at the bar ordered it. He said it was, “refreshing.” Yeah, whatever. My compadres had something called “chicken and waffles.” Three peeps out of the group had this dish and all three were smacking there lips by the end.

HIGHLY recommend this restaurant, and let me tell you East Nashville is no joke these days. I haven’t made a trek to this hood in probably 15 years. The place is right spiffy.

Day 328 - July 3
Listening to: Sweet Love Hangover
Thought for the day: Give me liberty or give me death!

BEHOLD! Ye old fireworks stand. This is one of five firework stands that lurk along the Davidson-Wilson County line. Fireworks are illegal in Davidson County which is absurd since most of us Davidson Countians makes the trek across the county line. This particular firework stand sits on top of a water main (see sign to left). If a firework stand is gonna blow, I wanna be at the one where the water is!

I am a Scrooge about all holidays except for Thanksgiving, duh there is food involved. I am slowly coming out of my Ebeneezerness concerning July 4th. I am working on being less bah humbug about the 4th and more woo hoo about it all. For the third year in a row, I will attend a party at a friend’s house. Tradition. I need them. Back in the day I use to spend every July 4th with my Granny Sally. Sometimes it was just the two of us. Sometimes family would make an appearance. Regardless, she always threw down the bills to make sure I had fireworks. When I married, I stopped going to her house. Thus, the ghost of “I hate July 4th” descended upon me.

Just like Christmas, we all need to stop and reflect on what July 4th means. If it weren’t for July 4th, we might not be able to celebrate December 25th……….. not that the British are anti-Christ……….but you know what I mean. Happy 234th Birthday America!!! God Bless us Everyone! Thank you to those who continue to preserve our freedoms…………..especially the freedom to write and say whatever we want without persecution!

Sidebar:
What good is a July 4th without a useless factoid.
Since 1916, Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City supposedly started as a way to settle a dispute among four immigrants as to who was the most patriotic.

Day 329 - July 1
Listening to: some top 40 schmack
Thought for the day:
CHRISTMAS IN JULY!!!! WHOOO HOOO……….
177 days 'til Christmas!

I always get depressed around the 4th of July……………..about Christmas. It is pretty much a guarantee that I’m going to be depressed on July 4 and December 25. These two holidays totally bite when it comes to being single. Granted, the reason for the season allows me to survive (with a smile) the perilous pity parties in December. Each July, however, I forget that I did okay the previous December.

Anyway, this is the infamous leg lamp. I won it in a vicious game of dirty Santa last Christmas (Thank you Jim Bryson). If you were friends with me back in December, you might recollect my musings about whether to make the lascivious lamp a year-round fixture or to make it a holiday thang. I asked Wes, that absentee son of mine, what I should do. He said it would be tacky to leave it out all year. Tacky I must be. It’s July 1 and this baby is still putting out the glow. The thing is the lamp gives great visceral warmth to my humble abode. I just couldn't extinguish the glow in the name of having some class (putting the lamp in storage for 11 months of the year).

Speaking of the movie, last year I excitedly called my best male pal (RAM) to share the news of my spoils of dirty Santa war. I was dejected to find out HE HAD NEVER SEEN THE MOVIE!!!!!!!!! COMMUNIST, I SAY!!!!! So, I’m curious. Who else out there has not seen the movie? Look, I haven’t even named the movie. If you know the leg lamp, you know the movie………..

Day 333 - June 27
Listening to: I’ll be Loving you Always
Thought for the day:
Did you know that true love adds to nothing
Her acceptance is a winning gain
Did you know that life is giving love again
to last you forever and another day ~ Stevie Wonder

Being a thinker of whimsy, I often let the concept of bad luck slip into my thought process. Being a Christian, I should know better. What can I say? It happens. The fact that there are so many broken things in my house both materially and emotionally begs the question, “is it bad luck or is it life?” Some days it is easier to say Que Sera Sera than others.

Yesterday, I went to get my hair cut. As the stylist was finishing, she started sweeping hair out from underneath the char that I still occupied. She gasped and said, “Do you know what it means when someone sweeps under you?” I said, “no, what?” She said, “it means you’ll never get married!” I was SUNK. I think I was depressed a good two hours afterward. I love my hairstylist, so I’ll get over it. However, the incident is still plaguing me. I’m wondering if never getting married again would be good luck or bad luck. I could choose to look down the good luck path, but the bad luck path has locked on me like a mad Medusa.

The whole experience led me to think about how many black cats have crossed my path, mirrors I have broken, salt I’ve spilled......superstition in general. Then, I saw this guy standing under the ladder today. It’s bad luck to walk under a ladder. Supposedly, back in the day, Christians would label you a witch for walking under a ladder because the action signified a disbelief in the Holy trinity? Wow. I’d say never marrying again is a much better lot than being labeled a witch. Then again, being labeled a witch would improve marital prospects if the witch could whoop up a big-screen tv and a pot roast dinner! At least there is some poor chap out there at the Piggly Wiggly who has broken a superstitious rule that is worse than mine!

The guy standing on top of the ladder may be the luckiest person alive since he didn’t fall! I’d get fired if I stood on the top of a ladder at DuPont! If I was this kid's mother, I'd have a flat out STROKE if I saw this. I guess that makes me lucky to not be his mother!

Day 335 - June 25
Listening to: Michael Jackson
Thought for the day: Faith, where are you?

The wording on this sign is definitely not stellar, but that’s not why it’s the photo of the day. It is the photo of the day because it is a deviant and poetic representation of the events that unfolded at DuPont land this week. The sign is located on company property (near yesterday’s featured manhole actually).

Yesterday, for the third time this year, the company announced a layoff. This time the corporate ax will whack approximately 40+ jobs at our site (there are many DuPont sites ‘round the world). Some employees will get to stay with the company, but they will have to transfer to other locations (most out of state). Others will be outright unemployed.

For now, it looks like I’m safe, but after three chunky layoffs in the mere space of one year, I am starting to think I have Post Layoff Traumatic Disorder, PLTD. My stomach is wrenching. I may hurl up my dinner tacos any minute. I’m so exhausted from saying goodbye that I don't think my lips can form the word anymore.

Emotional responses have covered the gamut. One man praised God and gave Him credit for saving his job. Another scoffed at the hand dealt to him. I asked the man praising God if God was any less present for those who had lost their jobs. He looked at me like a deer in headlights.

For those coworkers of mine whose futures are uncertain, I am praying for you. I also am praying for those of us who remain. We all need it.

OHHH……….btw, the sign is warning you to not ride on the side of a rail car unless you want to become a flat Stanley real quick-like. They should let the technical writer (me) choose the wording for the sign eh?