A mind is a terrible thing

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Having been single just a short while before discovering Trixie, I nonetheless perfected passive living --- life without agendas or expectations.

Men generally go along day-to-day with nary a care except for the immediate task at hand. Women on the other hand have this built in Tickler file system that tracks everything to be done for not only that day but years ahead too. They also have an uncanny ability to file away past experiences for quick reference should they need it.

This comes in handy for them when discussing something we men forgot to do or some faux pas we committed in the past. The things that we men have long forgotten are somehow kept in amazing detail in the female brain.

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Where's my Moo Cow Milk?

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Having exhausted my milk supply, Trixie and I headed up to a local gourmet store to get some more. Entering the store, a glazed look came over Trixie's face as she saw the most wondrous display of delicacies since leaving California and she disappeared like Black Beard on a treasure hunt.

Left to my own devices, I went to find what I came for, thereby reaffirming the notion that men go to buy and women to shop. Being a man, I had to ask a young clerk where I would find the milk, to which she replied, “What kind of milk do you want?”

I could not imagine what she was talking about. I just wanted the standard White Moo Cow Milk. She led me to the dairy case where my senses were overwhelmed by what I saw.

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Class Reunion Lacking in Class

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This time of year brings an avalanche of reunion invitations, usually from bored old classmates intent on bringing together friends and enemies from past school years. 

For some it’s a time to go and brag about all of their accomplishments but for others it only brings back all the fears and shortcomings they may have felt in their formative years.

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Character is lacking

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It seems like in the last few years, there has been an increase in the numbers of people both in public and private life who lack what we used to call “character.” It is defined as “the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.”

Traveling across the great USA, I have noticed another kind of “character” that seems to be prevalent wherever you may go, though.

I think referring to a slightly eccentric person as a “character” probably goes back to my grandparents as I recall any time the conversation turned to someone of unusual traits that word was used. I think it’s probably a polite form of someone being called “nuts, crazy, wires crossed, screw loose, touched, batty, different or looney.”

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Raising the syn"tax"

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Even though we have seen the government intrude into many aspects of our lives by taxing us on our “sins” such as alcohol, cigarettes and now of course marijuana use that's not the kind of “syn tax” this column is about.

Over the past 100 years, we have seen the English language evolve into a twisted morass of mixed up phrases and slang that changes so fast, it’s hard to even keep up.

New words come along as fast as new products come to market. Words like hashtag, pixel, iPad and Instagram all have been introduced to us in a rush of products and daily applications.

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The art of doing nothing

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Up until about 1950, both men and women worked so hard there was little free time to be had. When people began to move off the farm en masse, the days of producing their own food and daily chores ceased. Well, at least for the men.

After 30 plus years on the job, I was forced to quit work due to an injury. Unlike most men, since I was divorced and didn't have a wife to drive crazy, I had to become a world renowned expert on “doing nothing” on my own.

My skill in this drives Trixie absolutely nuts as she is the ultimate planner and being a CEO type person, runs a tight ship.

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Resolve to dissolve

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The new year is here and many folks are probably feeling the after effects of too much celebration. All too often, this is an annual occurrence and it seems that over the course of a year, we tend to forget just exactly what the morning-after feels like.

 

Of course no one wants to stifle New Year celebrations with their positive outlooks, hope for better days and time with friends. How else will we ever learn the lessons of over indulgence such as beer goggles, DUI's, close inspection of the porcelain throne and a maybe a compulsory fight or two?

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Sasquatch Walks Amongst Us

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Native American legend is filled with stories about a mystical creature known as Sasquatch.

According to the people who have seen him, this tall, hairy, man-like creature roams the forested areas of this country. Ever since the 1967 Patterson–Gimlin film of the Bigfoot in California, there has been an increase in not only reported sightings but actual pictures of this beast.

I always thought I would be the last person to see a Bigfoot until a summer day just outside Creede when both Trixie and I saw what we believed to be the elusive creature.

Now you may guffaw and look askance at us for claiming such a thing but her tee-totaling parents were along and the photo shows that we were not imbibing in local spirits. The sighting was also far in advance of the legalization of marijuana, not that I have ever done any of that either.

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