Monday Musings...
It definitely was an "interesting" weekend around the old homestead.
And I want to relate some of it before I get into the meat & potatoes of today's post...
Friday is Missus Bobby G's day to "cook", and that means she stops by somewhere on her way home to get dinner.
So, last Friday, she surprised me with GYRO DAY.
Having worked in downtown Philly for over a decade, I got to partake in a LOT of different foods, and gyros was always on my short list.
The ones at King Gyros here in Fort Wayne do a bang-up job of providing some tasty victuals.
Then on Saturday, we get up (as usual), go to the grocery, and in the checkout line, Wifey finds that her wallet in missing from her purse...
(*blink*-*blink*)
I run out and search the car...nothing.
So, with limited options at hand, I pull a General Custer and CHARGE away...no biggie.
We get home...still no wallet. We notified the grocery store to BOLO for it, just in case some good Samaritan found it and turned it in.
In the meantime, Wifey and I are out again, driving around to get her LICENSE replaced (a must, AND they were OPEN on Saturday) as well as her calling around for a new credit card, gas card, and ATM card. I used my ATM card to get gas money...again, no biggie.
During the time she was doing that, I was wondering if she dropped her wallet at the GYRO place...?!?
Just had a "feeling"...
I mean, that WAS the only other place she was at in the interim (and my investigative skills were chugging in high gear).
The gyro place didn't open until 11AM, so the missus took the time to call the companies to get replacement cards.
At least she only had $20 in the wallet, so anyone that might have boosted it didn't get much, plus all charges against the card had been halted as a precaution.
When the gyro place opened, Wifey drove over, and came back within 15 minutes...WALLET IN HAND!
(Yeah, I know...I like happy endings, too)
The only thing missing was the ATM card. (which needs a PIN number to use it...go figure)
But, I suppose the angst was worth it, because the missus learned something about keeping your "life" a lot closer to yourself (especially in today's world), and it was also nice to know that someone FOUND it and didn't walk away with it, especially in the ghettohood. That's remarkable in it's own right!
The moral of this story is simple: It NEVER hurts to be a bit OCD when it comes to your personal life, and the items that define it.
In other words...always KNOW where your wallet is, and never let it get beyond arm's reach.
I am getting the missus a personal anti-theft device (called a "screamer") for her wallet/handbag...just in case.
It could have been worse, but I guess our Guardian Angel decided to put in some O/T Saturday...kudos!
We both dodged a bullet on this one, but I'm not as spry as in decades past, so we'll take any help we can find...just to be safe.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world...
This article in Sunday's paper peaked my interest, because it goes so well with the whole "technology" (doing everything for us) gig SO damn well:
*** This is from the Associated Press.
Here's the link to the entire article (a damn fine read for anyone, trust me):
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jmP7fh_SNw-D41DtcgiqOKRMKy4gD9IGGGK01?docId=D9IGGGK01
Here are some related reading materials.














Now YOU know, and I know we've got (way too much) technology out the ass these days...and for what reason?
To make OUR lives "easier"?
How easy is YOUR life when the computer crashes because of a virus?
How easy is YOUR life when your car has an ongoing problem with the electronic "brain" inside of it?
How easy is YOUR life when your teen spends more time playing Grand Theft Auto III, instead of homework?
You get my point, right?
It could always be WORSE, though...
Oh, wait...it IS worse.
We have 2nd graders that can't tie shoes or zip jackets!
And this problem is of the "trickle-UP" kind.
We've got TEENS that can't figure out a CAN OPENER (thanks to "zip-top" lids), or what to do with an ICE CUBE TRAY (because of ice dispersers in fridge doors)....astounding!
And. we've also got COLLEGE KIDS that have NEVER done LAUNDRY, or ADDRESSED an ENVELOPE!
Seems, that if there's no "APP" for it...they're pretty much lost in space.
How about a teen that can't figure out the "mechanics" of a simple thing like a CLOTHES HANGER?
(well, they are too busy using hooks or just tossing clothes on the floor)
How many kids today are being taught about all those SIMPLE household tasks anyway, hmm?
I know when I was growing up, I found out PRONTO...and was summarily compensated for it along the way (it was called an ALLOWANCE).
I was cleaning the bathroom, running the vacuum, and doing dishes before I even got into high school...among other things.
I knew HOW to tie my shoes, HOW to use the (manual) can opener, and what the hell a HANGER was for.
And I was immediately "lectured" if I had a lapse of memory...
It makes me wonder HOW many kids, teen, and adults can safely navigate the DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM in a freaking LIBRARY.
Yet, through all this technology being tossed at us on TV and at every store, is someone trying to tell us something?
Are they saying: 'You're too dumb to figure things out, so we're here to do it FOR you"?
Makes a pretty good case, when your teenager can't look up anything in a THESAURUS...or doesn't even KNOW what one is, right?
Sure, just jump on the Internet....and have the answer at your fingertips.
Now, I admit to using the Internet in THAT manner, but at least I can tie my shoes as well as use a can opener, too...LOL.
A while back, I mentioned about the "lost art" of LETTER WRITING...as in using a PEN, some PAPER, and sending something via snail-mail to someone else.
Much easier to email (well, it DOES save on stamps) these days.
I believe that this explains a LOT of the reasons behind why people cannot manage a household, yet find themselves living in a HOUSE, without one frigging clue as to what goes INTO maintaining a house or the family within the walls.
If we deny the simple things, it gets so much more difficult to reason out the HARDER things, simple because we've no experience at dealing with all those little things...That never changes. Think of it as the "broken window" theory applied on the home front.
The "experts" are now saying that certain learned skills are no longer "useful", such as counting in ROMAN NUMERALS (tell that to a 3rd year Latin student), CURSIVE WRITING (mandatory when I entered the 4th grade, and an RPIA for any 8-9 year old), or using that dusty THESAURUS (Poor Mr. Roget).
Many people look at anachronisms such as I mentioned as that "last gasp" of the ANALOG era (which really wasn't so bad, come to think about it - at least THAT worked about 99% of the damn time).
So, maybe we (as an older, more analog generation) shouldn't just kick back and simply say "Kids will be kids...they'll grow up, and thereby figure out ALL these things...EVENTUALLY".
Maybe we SHOULD be arguing with them, and SHOWING them how the simplest of things NEEDS to be done...and done properly.
Kids won't grow up until and unless you give them all a nice, swift kick in their HUBRIS...once in a while.
Time to polish up those boots, because they ain't just made for walking THESE days, eh?
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.