...And a Side of RIDICULOUS, Please...
Okay, so most of us are in the middle of getting everything looking "Christmasey", what with buying gifts, decorating the house (inside and out for all the Clark Griswolds among us), and yes, even sending Christmas cards (albeit a tad fewer in number, thanks to the ever-rising costs of the USPS - another government program run amok).
Still, I have to acknowledge the "grunts in the trenches" of the USPS....the carriers.
They get the nasty stuff...the weather.
(God bless 'em)
And they deal with it all in good dispatch.
My beef is with all the top-heavy bureaucracy running the show. (isn't that always the way?)
Right now, here in the Heartland of America (including Indiana), we're suffering the effects of all this GLOBAL WARMING with temperatures in the TEENS, wind gusts from 25-40 MPH, and a wind chill in the MINUS range...
(wow, feels just like Thule AFB...on a "warm" day...LOL)
And I have to admit that this freeze has been playing havoc with the outdoor decorations (Wifey has seen them scattered around various neighborhoods - not the BEST way to "spread" Christmas cheer).
Thank God the boomers and thumpers in our area have been relatively QUIET...they can't share their "music" with the windows down in sub-freezing temps...poor babies...I'm LOVING it. Nice to get some UN-interrupted sleep for a change down here.
'Ya know what the weirdest thing is about weather like this?
I didn't seem to MIND it at all when I was a kid...how about you?
I mean Mom or Dad had to all but DRAG us in from such cold weather...we wanted to stay out and play.
Sure, we were bundled up so damn much that getting back up after a fall presented it's OWN challenges. And walking about like Neil Armstrong did on the surface of the moon wasn't anything we were aware of at the time...that came about TEN years later.
It was the type of cold that hurt to breathe through your nose...that stinging, ice-cream-brain-freeze type of hurt.
But if there is one thing that still makes me wonder why I do it, it's when I pour a drink, and then dump a few ICE CUBES in it to keep it COLD while I enjoy it...!?!
I mean it's 12 degrees OUTSIDE, and the last thing you want to do is feel COLD, but there you are...trying your damnedest to get that soda DOWN to UNDER 40 degrees Fahrenheit!
I suppose that an ICE COLD glass of Dr. Pepper is better than a nice WARM one, hmm?
THIS is the kind of morning where you "amend" your coffee with your liquor of choice, be it bourbon, whisky, or scotch.
I know...it's ridiculous, right?
(no, Bob...it's called warming one from the inside out...LOL)
And this is also the type of weather where DRIVING becomes a study in patience, persistence, and perspicacity.
Fortunately, many cities are adopting laws against those who ONLY scrape small slits on their vehicle windshields to see out of..and about time, too. I hate people like that...can't see a damn thing (especially YOU) when they're driving.
If you've got pets like dogs and cats, they're not liking to go outside all that much either.
In our neighborhood, with the advent of colder weather comes those nasty CROWS.
That's right...in side the city limits...on residential streets...FLOCKS of crows.
But there is a reason for that, and it hasn't anything to do with the birds losing their natural habitat.
They're carrion feeders...they'll eat damn near anything, so they go where the "pickins" are plenty.
And what better place to seek out some free grub, than in an urban area where thoughtless morons toss fast food trash out their damn car windows, right?
And there 'ya go...the buffet IS open.
The nice thing about it, is I get to practice my shooting skills with my BB pistols...LOL
The down side to that, is that I think these crows KNOW me, because as soon as I come outside, they take the hell off.
Well, that gets rid of the crows for a while, and I get to feed the cardinals, and the sparrows, and the blue jays, and the wrens, and whatever other small avian creatures come by to feast.
The squirrels also like to dine at our patio...fine by me, as long as it doesn't become a territorial thing.
The good thing this year, is that there are no roaming dogs in the area. A few years back, we had about FIVE that came through almost daily, and my heart went out to them...
It's disgusting when people have NO regard for a pet, and just turn it outside in the winter, simply because they tire of it, or are too damn lazy to be responsible. Now THAT is totally ridiculous.
Over the years, people have become more insulated from one another, while at the same time embracing technologies that cause us to reach one another with ever-increasing ease. Now if that isn't something to call ridiculous, I don't know what is.
We will not bother to help a fallen person in the street...BUT, we will stop to take pictures to put on YouTube with our cellphones, when we SHOULD make an earnest attempt to aid the stricken individual.
We will not stop a fight by calling the police, but we WILL call our friends to come see the beat down.
Thank God such cold weather as we have today, pretty much negates the possibility of this happening.
Our world has become ever more complex, while we, as complex creatures to begin with, have not adapted accordingly.
We seek much of the wrong things in life such as instant gratification, power, wealth, prestige, however undeserved they are, simply to say "we made it". Many embrace the "something for nothing" mindset, and pursue it to the ends of the earth.
But that is NOT what made this country great.
Having things handed to us, while expecting more is NOT this nation's hallmark, nor should it ever become that.
We, as Americans enjoy the struggle, believe it or not. We take on the challenges, the tasks and the difficult things in life, because we know we have done so in the past...and come out a bit smarter and wiser for it.
It may cost us much, in terms of sacrifice, but to achieve the greater goal,.such things are required.
We work for what we have. We are good stewards of those things we have, and we are always striving to be better.
Well, that's what I remember...
And there are still others out there who feel likewise.
So, no matter how cold it may be OUTSIDE, take a moment during your holiday preparations to think about how much colder it can be "inside", and why we should never allow that to happen...to any of us.
Stay warm and bundle up.
Do some good today...somewhere...for someone.
And above all...
Stay safe out there, America.