Stuff & Nonsense - Sunglasses Required - Post 60

One Very Shiny Truck

While driving to the grocery store this afternoon, my attention was caught by the sun's rays reflecting off the immaculate and highly polished surface of this tanker truck. "My," I thought, "that's a photo op, for sure!"

I drove up behind the truck and found the clever, and so true, sign; that's photo #1. Driving to the side of the truck, I maneuvered myself so as not to be blinded and took a shot. That's photo #2. For the safety of the viewing public, I did not capture all the dazzling glory that met my eyes. If you enlarge the second photo, you can see how clearly the almost empty expanse of the parking lot is reflected.

I wonder how often the driver runs this behemoth through the truck wash? And, if s/he worries about low underpasses. Not only was this truck long, but it was very high!

I've Been Tagged - Post 42

One of my faithful readers (bless you, rhymeswithplague) received a Tag from one of his faithful readers yesterday. As things like that go, it went around, and came back to rest on his lady wife, Mrs. Rhymeswithplague. She doesn't (yet) have her own blog (come on, Bob, help your sweet wife get her own place in the Internet world), so she used his blog to answer the Tag questions, and then (bless you, too, Mrs. R.) passed the Tag to me.

Actually, I think that they read my post just previous to this one, and decided that I needed something to write about. So, here goes.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? That was 1998. I was a self-employed Human Resources Consultant working with small banks and financial companies. I traveled a lot within Arkansas and all the contiguous states excepting Oklahoma. I wrote personnel policies, job descriptions, Affirmative Action Plans, and designed and implemented salary administration programs. I was on the cusp of turning 64 years old and hoping I could hang on financially long enough to draw my Social Security.

2. Five snacks I enjoy. Anything crunchy (celery, nuts, carrots, chips, crackers); that's five but I have to add dark to bittersweet chocolate.

3. Five things on my to-do list today. Pull nutgrass and other grass/weeds from the flowerbed outside the east wall of my den while the soil is still damp from yesterday's rain (only partially completed - I got too hot and had to retreat); make a big pot of soup (completed - I now have enough to last me for four or five meals); put the ingredients for a loaf of Portugese Bread (no fat) into the bread machine (rising even as I type); launder the church linens from the last two services (now soaking); make a few birthday cards.

4. Things I'd want if I were a billionaire. Several of these are altruistic, but as the Lord has a way of providing for my basic needs if I'm reasonably careful, if I had a choke-wad of money there are things I really would want to do.

The first thing is to pay off my church's mortgage and fund the construction of an adequate Christian Education wing and a church library.

Secondly, I'd set up trust funds to assure the further education of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren so that they could attend, without financial constraints, any institution of higher learning to which they would be admitted (they would have to have the smarts and drive to be accepted, otherwise they're on their own.)

Third, I'd anonymously send a humongous check to the Episcopal Relief and Development Fund.

Fourth (no longer altruistic here) I'd hire a two good companies to A. add a modest extension to my home (I don't need to move to another house, it's small, but I like it here) with a nice-sized bedroom and another bathroom, and B. landscape my entire lot and provide maintenance for it until the money ran out.

Lastly, I'd buy a whiz-bang state-of-the-art digital SLR camera and all the fixin's, hire a bearer, or two, to carry all the stuff, charter a flight to Melbourne, Australia, and plead with/ cajole/ bribe/hire or otherwise convince David McMahon to teach me how to take great photos -- and stay as long as it took (or I died of old age/David throttled me, whichever was the first to occur), then, assuming I was still alive, I'd come home via an around the world trip, taking photos at every opportunity! (I stretched this one out, big time.)

5. Five jobs I've had. Telephone switchboard operator, bank teller, bank bookkeeper, VP of Human Resources for a large bank, self-employed HR consultant. (Did I mention I worked for one bank for 29 years, 6 months and 27 days?)

6. Five of my bad habits. Procrastination; not getting enough sleep (caused staying up too late at night); spending too much time on the computer (but I learn such interesting things and it's so much fun); crunching ice (I'm addicted); being a paper pack-rat!

7. Five places I've lived. El Paso, TX; Albuquerque, NM; Clinton, AR; Harrison, AR; Pulaski County, AR (with several stops in between).

Now, that a whole heap more than you ever wanted to know, isn't it?

Now, the question is: Who am I going to tag? Well, I'm an admitted procrastinator, so I'll sleep on this one. I still have to pass along an award I received last week. Making choices is *so* hard.