Are People Really that Bad?

     If you believe the news, whether it’s on Facebook, national news or some magazine it’s depressing. You’re led to believe the world is filled with scumbags. There’s no denying that this world has it’s fair share, but I believe there are far more good people. The thing is good people doing good deeds or just living an upstanding life aren’t news worthy. Well, except for three minutes on Friday night when the national news has an uplifting story.
     People put most of the blame on TV news, but that would be a mistake because social media sites publish news all day long. The problem with that is people can post virtually anything without being monitored, so there’s a lot of fake news. To call it fake news is mild, because much of it is just outright lies.
     It would be impossible for Facebook, Twitter, YouYube, or any of the hundreds of other sites to protect against the many fake news post made on a daily basis. It doesn’t take a cyber expert to make fake news post look legit but just because it looks legitimate doesn’t mean it is. The main purpose of these fake post is to get a click or even better a share which promotes the lies.
     To be honest, I’m not always sure which stories are true and which ones are false, so I rarely click or share them. Even the heartfelt stories about animals or children could be fake, because it’s really all about the clicks and shares. Many people become accidental promoters of fake news, because they believe what they’ve read. We have been raised to trust others until they prove their self to be untrustworthy which is a good characteristic. However, the Internet social media sites are not trustworthy, because much of the information posted is fake. This is the reason I have trust issues with information posted on social media sites.
     Getting back to the main topic of, how bad are people. In my experience the people I meet on a daily basis are friendly and in some cases kind and generous. Am I just lucky? I don’t think so. I believe if you have positive expectations it will increase your chances of interacting with similar people.
      The bottom line is that I believe there are many more good people than bad. You meet them everyday, look around. “Just Saying . . . ?”

Soup - Meal or Side Dish?

     I like soup, I really do but I’m not in love with soup. Many of the women in my family love soup. I get that, it’s comfort food. But, I think of it more as a side dish, to go with a grilled sandwich. Chili and any hearty stew-like soup are different. They are a meal, not a side dish. Cornbread is the side dish in that scenario.
     My wife makes a number of different soups, all good, but her question is always the same. “Isn’t this soup delicious?” If she asked, "How do you like the soup?" That could easily be answered in a positive way.
     Her wording of the question begs a one-word answer, yes or no. Well, no is definitely the wrong answer, because the soup is good, but delicious might be a stretch. Hot apple pie with a scope of French vanilla ice cream is delicious. Do you see the predicament?
     Thin watery soup can be good, in some cases really good but delicious? So a one-word answer to that question makes you feel like your being questioned by a prosecuting attorney. Any elaboration beyond a one-word answer is unacceptable.
     “Your Honor, can you please direct to the witness to answer the question with a yes or no. An explanation is not needed or desired.”
     A detailed explanation would help prevent the following response. “No soup for you.”
     I believe the best way to enhance the flavor and enjoyment of the less hearty soups is the use of bread heels. Dipping the heels in the watery soup is the best way to drive the flavor toward delicious. But if you really want to ramp up the game have a slice of apple pie ala mode sitting next to your soup. “Just Saying . . . ?

Pie or Not

Take a look at this list and tell me which one isn’t a dessert. “Apple pie, peach pie, lemon meringue pie, pot pie, chocolate cream pie, pumpkin pie, moon pie, cherry pie, and rhubarb pie” I’ll set my watch. “Go ahead, I’ll wait. Num, num, num, num, num, num, num, num, num, num.” That’s me waiting.

            “Times up, I need your answer.” If you chose pot pie, you have my support. All the other pies on the list are desserts. Chocolate syrup, Carmel topping, and ice cream pair well with any of these pies. Pot pies are not a dessert. The toppings listed above would not enhance their flavor. I know it’s hard to believe that ice cream or chocolate wouldn’t enhance the flavor of another food, but think about it. Pot pie isn’t a dessert. Drizzling chocolate over any pot pie does a disservice to the chocolate. 

            Despite what Wikipedia may say, I believe the true origin of pot pies goes back to the days of yore when no food was wasted. Everything was thrown into a pot and cooked for hours. Some marketing guy decided if they put it in a pie crust they could call the dish, pot pie. Likely, the same guy that negotiated the deal with the Native Americans to buy Manhattan for $24. The pot pie name worked for many, but some us have not been fooled. It was the first marketing scam; maybe we’ll call it Piegate.

            Sorry if I have offended all the pot pie lovers but it’s better to know the truth. No matter how you dress up a pot pie, with lobster, shrimp, salmon, chorizo it’s still made in a pot and it’s not pie. It’s considered a comfort food but I receive no comfort from it.

            If you have chosen moon pie, I have to disagree with your choice. It’s a dessert, dipped in chocolate, well not your high-end artisanal kind, more like plastic chocolate, but it still qualifies as a dessert.

            If you selected Rhubarb pie, I can’t put up a good argument to call it a dessert. Rhubarb is a vegetable that is used as a fruit or another way of thinking about it is a vegetable that identifies as a fruit. We have all heard that phrase thrown around recently. I’m not qualified to answer whether this is truly a pie because I’ve never tried it. It’s just that Rhubarb is a harsh word and doesn’t feel like it has pie like qualities. 

            Your thoughts?

Bread Heels and Other Foibles

             I know it seems like a weird topic, but we all have odd thoughts now and then. 

I like bread heels. That’s just the way it is. I make no excuses. 

There are a lot of people that don’t. They would prefer to feed them to the birds, which is nice, but I like bread heels, so sorry birds their mine. No, not sorry, not at all. I like them enough that I think one of the big bread companies should produce a loaf with only heels. It wouldn’t be a big market, but a loyal one.

My wife is in the other camp. She’s not a fan of the heels. She won’t eat them and doesn’t even like the slice next to the heel because of its close proximity to the heel. She claims that slice has heel-like properties because of its neighbor. Those slices are mine without dispute.

I’ve seen bread sold that has no heels. How can that be? When bread is baked it has a crust on all sides, so I guess that means it was sliced off to appease all the heel haters. The birds win, but all the other heel-lovers and I lose.

When I toast bread I want it to be a crisp golden brown, but a little char is not a bad thing. My wife’s preference is tan colored toast with some white showing but absolutely no char. If there is any char at all it’s my toast.

What can I say? Opposites attract. 

* * * 

The scariest phrase in the English language is “Come here I want to show you something.”

            Not a phrase that sounds like it would send shivers down your spine. But it’s a dreaded phrase in my house and I’m sure other husbands may feel the same way when they hear those words. It’s a phrase my wife uses on occasion when she wants some supportive words from me regarding a problem she discovered. 

Never followed by, “Honey, I found some gold coins in the attic,” or “Look, I have the winning numbers in the lottery.”

     Other troubling phrases that bring me some concern include:

     “Here, taste this.” After the spoon enters my mouth I hear, “I think it’s spoiled.”

     “Taste the milk . . . it smells bad.”
                                                                            * * *
      I could go on but it’s time for breakfast.
     “ Toast would be good . . . Umm! Maybe there’s a bread heel left.”

First Car - Latest Car

     The first car I bought was a 1958 Chevrolet Delray. I paid $275 in 1965. It was I sad shape but I was thrilled to get it. The previous owner was a young driver. This was apparent because the hood was bulldozed (chevy emblems removed). It had been repainted a maroon color.
     The three speed shifter was removed from the steering column and relocated to the floor, which was cool but it was installed backwards. First gear was on the top left where reverse would normally be and there was a 4-speed knob on the gear handle. It was important to know the weird setup so you didn’t follow the pattern on the knob and shift from 1st to reverse. Can you say janky?
     It didn’t run great but my Dad had a buddy that jumped in to help get it in good running order. Thanks Mr. Berkel. I learned to drive on my Dads 1959 Oldsmobile 98, eight cylinder with an automatic transmission. It was pretty fast. The drive selections were P, D, S, N, R. I ask my Dad what S meant. He proudly said. “That stands for super.” I guess that was like Tesla’s insane mode, nah, more likely it meant 2nd gear.
     My ‘58 was the first stick shift I drove but that’s what I wanted. I took me quite awhile to master it but with all the hills around St. Louis I had no other choice but to learn. I still have a shift car today, a 6-speed, Mini Cooper. It shifts much smoother than the ‘58 Chevy.
     Those were fun times, just owning a car was a privilege then. Nothing high tech on the cars back in the 60’s which is quite different from today. This week we bought a 2019 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid. It’s the base model but it’s got more bells and whistles than I ever imagined a car would have. We’ve only had it for two days but so far the gas mileage is 85 mph. I like the car and all the gadgets so it’s all good. Back in the 60’s no one even checked gas mileage. “Just Saying . . . ?

Give me a Dollars Worth

     How many people have said this? Who understands this reference? If you know what that means, you’re probably 70 or older.
     When I was a young driver, I didn’t have a lot of cash like most young people but it didn’t stop us. It was different then, less complicated, we didn’t live in the high-tech society like today. But, on the plus gasoline was cheap, we didn’t appreciate it or even realize it. At 30 cents a gallon, a dollar would buy you a little over 3 gallons without a gas war. It was not uncommon to pull into a service station and get a dollar's worth.
     Wait . . .What . . . gas war? What’s that, young folks may ask? Well, gas stations used to compete for business by lowering the price of gas to get the consumer to fill up at their station. During a gas war, the gallon price could go down to 20 cents or lower. So for $1.00 you could get 4 gallons of fuel. Hard to imagine today.
     Just as surprising was the fact that there was no need to get out of your car because an attendant would fill the tank for you. They even washed your windows, checked your oil and, this will blow your mind, put air in your tires. Air was free then. All for the privilege of having your business, even if you only spent $1.00.
     If you had a motorcycle, a dollar's worth was more gas than the tank would hold. A motorcycle rider could go to a gas station in the 60’s and ask for a fill-up, hand the attendant a dollar and get change back. Whoa! Mind blown.
     You can still go to a gas station today and buy a $1.00 worth of gas but you’ll pump it yourself, wash your own windshield, check your own oil and tire pressure. Since you will only get 1/3 to 1/2 gallon for that amount, it’s probably not a wise move. Also, you’re likely to hear a few comments about camping at the pump for an extended period of time. “Just Saying . . .”

The Shutdown

     Non-Essential that's the term used for the 800,000+ government workers that aren’t getting paid during the shutdown. Who in the government determines those jobs that are non-essential? I’m not sure, but I’ll bet their not on that list. I’m sure the families of the unpaid federal employees believe they’re essential.
     Being a Democrat or Republican or your belief in reason for the shutdown is not as important as the impact it has on the families shutoff from their wages. There’s probably not many people that would dispute that fact . . . except our elected officials.
     Let’s talk about fairness. There’s many things that are not fair in life, but we understand that and deal with it in our own way. We the citizens of the USA elect politicians to represent us, so any decision they make that affects us. In truth that makes sense but for some reason it doesn’t affect the elected officials. Why?
     I’m not just talking about the shutdown, social security is another hot topic for a later discussion. Here’s an approach I can get behind. In any governmental shutdown pay the 800,000 employees that are essential to their families well being, but suspend salaries of all elected officials. That seems fair to me, after all their the ones that can’t come to an agreement.
     Isn’t it possible that a resolution will come quicker if the elected officials are required to work without pay? “Just Saying . . .”