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."