Shave and a Haircut Two Bits

     Getting haircut is not my favorite thing to do. It's the amount of time it takes not the cost. Many years ago my wife, Mimi, bought an inexpensive hair cutting kit. She offered to cut my hair or trim it up on occasion, which was fine with me. I didn't have to drive to the barber and wait my turn, which took valuable time out of my day. She has been cutting my hair for years now, but insist that I go to the barber every three or four cuts just to straighten things out. Although I haven't noticed anything wrong with the haircuts she has given me, but it's a reasonable request, so I complain but comply.

     I will frequently ask for a haircut like George Clooney, Brad Pitt or Matt Damon but she said "I'm cutting hair not doing plastic surgery."

     "Ok, point taken." I said, "What style would be best for me?"

     "Professor Irwin Corey, might work well for you."

     "No, I think that would be hard to maintain." I said.

     "I could do a Telly Savalas cut on you." She said, "Who loves you baby?"

     "Thanks, I'll pass, just cut it exactly like it is, but smaller."

     "Ok, I can do that." she chuckled.

     I try to bring the real barber experience to each cut by asking Mimi, if saw the game or has an opinion on the new trades but she seems uninterested. I have given other innovative suggestions like, serving wine or beer, offering a massage with each cut. Alas! All my suggestions were rejected. So, I guess any exotic request would also be dismissed. Mimi's shop provides the true no frills economy barber service, which requires cleanup by the client.

     Recently Mimi added a new scissors to her barber kit. It's called a thinning scissors. I'm not sure why that would be needed since my hair seems to be thinning naturally, but she's the barber. Had it been my choice, I would have picked the thickening scissors. 

     I asked, "Do you know how to use this new scissors or am I the test dummy?"

     "You are the dummy." She laughed.

     I hope this doesn't result in a black and yellow symbol on the side of my head. My haircut turned out great as usual, but maybe now that she has a new scissors I can get that George Clooney cut.

Making Small Problems into Big Issues

     In this country we seem to excel at turning small problems in to big, no gigantic issues. Maybe it's in all countries but my experience lies in the USA, so I'll confine my comments to my home country. I've noticed this for some time now. It happens at schools, all grade levels including colleges, which is particularly disturbing since college students are about to enter the real world.

     You frequently here a news report about a school identifying a derogatory note posted or unkind word used toward another at school. These are problems but they have been problems since the beginning of time. In the past they were dealt with by parents/teachers addressing the problem not the Internet world. As you may have noticed I listed parents first because teachers are meant to teach not raise your children, but many times they are forced to intervene in the parents behalf.

     Many times these derogatory notes or comments are unnecessarily brought to the attention of the police or news media as hate crimes. These are kids doing stupid kid things, which should be handled by those closest to the problem, parents and teachers. Running to the police or local news to show them a note that was posted upon the cafeteria bulletin about Muslim's, blacks, gay's, etc. inflates the issue instead of deflating it. This is not to say it should be ignored or handled like it was 50 years ago with fist fight in the schoolyard or back alley, but raising every issue to the national level is not helping.

     Now, it's possible that many parents and teachers are resolving some of these problems in a low-key fashion. There's no way for me to know. So to those adults working out these kid issues quietly, I would like to says congrats,. You're making a difference without shinning a spotlight on a problem that only needs a flashlight. Unfortunately, there still seems to be far too many people that are anxious to shine a spotlight on every problem that crosses their path.

     Is this a good lesson for our kids? We seem to be teaching them to run for help whenever they encounter any problem. Isn't it our job to teach our kids to handle daily problems and stick up for others that need their help?

     Children are like sponges, they learn by watching, so if they see the adults whining about every problem in life, that will influence their adult life. One last thought, don’t use social media as a parenting tool by shaming your child on line when they act bad, that’s not parenting. Know the difference. “Just Saying….”

Protesters or Protectors

     Protesters in our nations capital were throwing bricks and rocks to show their displeasure with our new president. This is being covered by the news but what you won't see on the news will be what I saw today.

      I was leaving the hospital after work. As I pulled into the left lane to head home, I saw a car in the  right turn lane with the flashers on. This young girl was standing by a man laying on the ground. I pulled over to ask if could help. She said "I believe everything is covered. I called the police and they are on there way."

     She was driving down Mexico road when she saw a guy on the side of the road, collapse. She turned her car around and pulled on to the street to help this stranger. The man was walking to the hospital when he collapsed. I didn't get the girl's name or take her picture. I'm 68 and that's not what I do, but I want to recognize this young girl as a protector. She has re-enforced my belief of the good people in the world, that you won't often see on the evening news. We need more protectors like this young girl and less protesters like those in Washington. "Just Saying..."

    

Blue Cheese and Hard Salami

     This morning my wife, Mimi, asked me. "How do you know when blue cheese goes bad?" That's a good question, I thought, it comes with mold, so how do you tell good mold from bad?

     My answer was, "I think it's like hard salami, it never goes bad." We both laughed, but think about it. Does hard salami look or taste different the day you bought it versus six weeks later? Now, many of you might say that you would throw salami away before it was 6 weeks old but I know there are a few like me that don't. To those people that toss the hard salami in the trash after a few weeks, I ask, does it look any different?

     In my house I'm the taste tester. Mimi will say. "Check to see if the milk is good or smell this." That means, taste it to see if it's gross. I will do that if it doesn't smell like feet. Tasting aged hard salami and blue cheese are less intimidating than milk. I don't usually have a problem taste testing either unless they are fuzzy. That's never a good thing.

     I checked the Internet to see what was said about long shelf life foods, but a lot of them were just condiments or dried foods, not very substantial. Since it was on the Internet it could be fake news, but I have personal experience with blue cheese and hard salami so I know what I speak.

     I guess at the end of the world all that will be left will be hard salami, blue cheese and cockroaches.

    It’s getting close to lunch and I seem to have a taste for aged hard salami and blue cheese. What a coincidence.

Living for the future or Living in the past

     I hear many people say, "I can't wait until I get a new job, a promotion, move in to my new house, buy a new car, loose some weight or fill in the _______ then I'll be happy."

     On the other hand I hear some say, "Boy, I sure miss the old days when things were simpler. I was so happy then."

     I have no doubt that the future will bring some happiness in to your life as the past did with others, but the way I look at is the future isn't here and the past is gone so why wait. I choose to live now and get the most happiness out of every day. If I do that I will create a memorable past and a challenge to build the future of my dreams.

     Looking forward to the future is good as long as you don't ignore the present. The same holds true for dwelling on the past. Plan for the future and enjoy the memories from the past but don't let that cause you to forget about the joys of each day in the present.

     Build a better past and brighter future by living in the now. Learn to appreciate the privilege of living in the moment. "Just Saying...."

Puzzling Stories

     I see many stories on the news that puzzle me. That's not to say that everything happening in this world needs to make sense in my world but it makes me question the logic or common sense used at the time. At my age I say things that others only think, but last I checked we still have the freedom of speech. I don't mean to offend anyone but I feel I've earned the right to state my opinion. I'm also happy to listen to your opinion with an open mind.

     Recently a woman walks 26 miles through deep snow to get help when her family became stranded at Grand Canyon North Rim, which was closed for the winter. I understand why people seek challenges to enrich their life but common sense seems to be getting overlooked. 

     This family of three, which included their 10 year-old son were driving to the closed North Rim. They got stuck on a forest road but found an alternate route to reach the rim. They got stuck again and the Mom went one direction for help and the dad went another. They were rescued after the dad was able to get a cell signal and call for help. The mom walked 26 miles and ended up finding a cabin to take shelter. There are almost too many bad decisions to count that were made in this journey to the North Rim. The North Rim was closed, an alternate route was taken after they got stuck, a 10 year-old child was endangered, etc. They had many chances to turn around but ignored them all. Thankfully, due to the dedicated searchers of Coconino County, the family was saved. Their mom is being praised for her bravery in walking 26 miles to save her family, which I commend her for that. It's being called a Christmas miracle but it should be called a Christmas mistake. Common sense and logic are undervalued.

     A few years ago a guy was rescued in the Caribbean when he tried to run in a bubble to the Bermuda islands for kids charity. What was the main focus, the charity or the publicity for the stunt? If he had donated the money that he spent on the bubble event, the charity would have been just as well off, but he would not have received any notoriety.

     One important question is. Who pays for these rescues? Just Asking....?

     These are just a couple of things that came to mind. It's hard to keep track of all the crazy selfie stunts where people risk their lives to get the perfect picture. I say again, common sense and logic are undervalued.


     Last but not least is the news item about the 8 year-old transgender boy that was rejected from the boy scouts. His mother was dumbfounded by the rejection. She said her daughter decided at age 2 that she felt she was a boy so from that point on she was raised as a boy. When I was 2, I wanted to be superman but my parents decided not to take this too seriously; after all, I was 2 years old. My brain was not fully developed. Although, sadly due my stubborn parents, I feel, I missed my opportunity to be faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

     What does a 2 year old know about anything? They still poop in their pants so why are they given the power to determine their sexuality. One more time, common sense and logic are undervalued. "Just Saying..."