The Canary in the Cave

 

You’re going to think I’m making this up, but I’m not.

 

Our TV would not function properly this morning, so we ran through all the little things we knew to do, in our attempt to solve the problem.  Even though, we had no clue what the problem was. 

Unplug and plug back in.  We did that a few times.  Check the batteries in the remote.  We did that and they tested low, so we replaced them, but it didn't solve anything.

Then we noticed the outside temperature was not showing up on our gizmo.  Then we noticed the small camera we have in our mailbox was not working.  That dings and shows us when something gets put into the box.

Seeing that had failed, we checked the nightlight in the laundry room.  That was not working, so we went out into the garage and checked the small fridge.  It was off.

I pushed the reset button on the outlet where the fridge was plugged in and everything sprung to life.

So, I have to ask…  Why is our television, which sits across the house from the garage fridge, connected to things like our mailbox and the outside temp gizmo and the nightlight in the laundry room?

 

Maybe the dryer vent was clogged.

 

 

 zc

Opposing views welcomed

 

Our postman drives a van.  It is not a government vehicle, but their own.  I’m not sure how all that works, considering the price of gas and the general ware and tear on the van.  It must work out to be cheaper for the post office or they wouldn’t do it.

Our mailboxes are lined up along the curb, in front of each house.  What this means is the driver must sit, not in the driver’s seat, but close to the middle, so they can reach out of the passenger window to deposit the mail into the box.  Still, they must have their foot reach the gas and brake.

Add to the uncomfortable position, stopping every few feet at the next mailbox.  All day long, day after day.  

It would seem this constant repetitive activity would have some long-term effects on the body, not to mention diminished control over the motor vehicle.

And why?  People no longer write letters.  The cost of postage has seen to that.  Email and texting has taken over, so what is so important that the mail gets through?  Phone books have disappeared, newspapers have dried up and blown away, catalogs are now electronic, so the Sears catalog is nothing but a heavy memory. 

That leaves the Vote for Me nonsense, and marginal companies mailing out lame advertising to residents and occupants.  Hardly worth the effort.  

 

 

 

 zc

 

 

 

 

 

All Picasso's in the forest are hanging straight

 

I tend to pay close attention when walking through the woods.  I wish to avoid tripping or stumbling, and I also don’t care to walk into branches or spiderwebs.

Each animal within the animal kingdom has a different footprint.  Most have claws, allowing them to grab or dig into various surfaces.  With the exception of bears, most of their feet are smaller than the human foot.

These factors allow them to travel at a higher rate of speed than we can and without mishaps.  Also, with some exceptions, many are closer to the ground and need not concern themselves with low hanging branches. 

The animals walking through the forest are like us walking through our living room.  They might brush up against a tree, just like we could possibly bump into the coffee table.  To them it is a normal and familiar environment.   Whereas a deer clomping through our house might not work out well at all for table lamps or pictures hanging on the walls.

 

 

Snakes and fish seem to be the exceptions.

 

 

Note:

I should also mention that any flowers you might have sitting around will most likely be eaten.

 

 

 

In search of a cure

 

Sometimes a thought will come to me, but it will pass by so fast, like it only flickers and then it’s gone.  Now what’s the point of that?  I can’t really do anything with it.  I don’t recall enough of it to assemble it into any cohesive intelligence.

Imagine if the companies who put those puzzle pieces in a box and sell them, well… what if they didn’t put a picture on the cover of the box.  You’d have no clue what it should be.  Is it a bridge constructed completely of Navel oranges?  Is it a litter of puppies chewing on someone’s phone bill?  Who knows?

Much of the time I feel like my level of knowledge is like that.  I know and understand so little of the world that I have no idea what to do with the pieces I do understand.  I sit here and fiddle with words and sentences when maybe if I were smarter, I could be off somewhere in a lab coat coming up with a cure for stupidity.  Wouldn’t that be grand?

I wonder…  Could it be the lab coats that make us smarter?  I know it is the men in tuxedos that are more prone to walk a bride down the aisle.  And there is an old saying that says, clothes make the man.  Could it have been this simple all along?  Are the things in my closet holding me back?

 

Then again, maybe some thoughts would have been better off as just a flicker.

 

zc

I Have My Reasons

 

I find that keeping pliers in a kitchen drawer is essential to surviving everyday life.

1.    The companies who utilize machinery to screw caps onto their bottles, always fail when it comes to monitoring the amount of pressure used to tighten the caps.  Consequently, normal finger pressure is woefully inadequate when it comes to loosening them.  Pliers are required.

 

        Number one is the primary reason, however, in addition to that they are used for pulling tabs, holding things too hot for hands, tightening things that have worked themselves loose, twisting things that require twisting and reaching into places that may be too dark and scary for fingers. You never know…  (Not toasters)

        And don't forget pretzel twisting.

zc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quiz

 

Don your sleuth fedora

and decipher if you can.

 

Side Note:

 

 

I love macaroni salad.  I could eat macaroni salad until it was coming out of my ears.

 

Someone might see me on the street and say, “Hey, you’ve got a little something coming out of your ear.”

 

Of course, I’d say… “It’s probably just an elbow.”