I nip across the road to unload the washer and it is full of water and agitating. What? Then I notice the dials are set differently, but set the same as the adjacent four dryers. Aha, somebody in a rush mistook my tub their own and put money in for a second wash. (And that I am compelled to mention as it meets my criteria for unique.)
To considerably shorten the story, the guy who made the mistake wanted me to remove my clothes so he could redistribute his laundry among more tubs. No way, my stuff was now soaking wet and I had to be at band practice in an hour. I watched him as best I could for the 45 minutes, but it was impossible to watch anything that long. When I got home, my newest pair of $60 skinny jeans was missing. Once again, the system hands the advantage to the scumbag. But I grew up on a farm, so I’m used to it.
This next item I cannot be specific, but shall we say there is nothing like personal experience. You know how some people, while not outright calling you a liar imply that they have a hard time believing some things you say. And worse, it is usually not the person you were talking to. Well, shall we also say that when I reported my hair turned white, not grey, after my heart attack, I got an incredulous look from one direction. I would not wish a medical condition on anyone, but shall we say recent events have made at least one new believer. Yep, whiter than Santa Claus.
What’s this making headlines these days? Why, it is some of those people with nothing to hide. It seems the latest abuse is using computer files to go back in time and see if anyone ever fudged on an application or a form, and firing them from their jobs. Ask the mayor in the next town over. Didn’t I warn everyone? The reality is that most people who say they have nothing to hide have something major to cover up. But they hope by depriving all others of any right to privacy, their wrong-doing will be covered up by time as the authorities bog down chasing newer crimes.
Hey, you loudmouths, it don’t work that say. And I never said the computer files would be used only for criminal investigations. Now, people are losing their jobs. Myself? It could never happen to me because the records either do not exist, or exist in several different forms. I saw this one coming from miles away. It seems the mayor just mentioned lied over a question about ever being arrested on his application form twenty years ago. And now he’s out on the streets.
If he was like me, he would have left the box blank and later claimed it was an oversight. A blank space is neither false nor misleading, though that is hardly the point here. He may still have lost his job, but not automatically and in disgrace.
Band practice brought a revelation that I’ve always suspected. Others are no faster or better at learning new music than I am. You see, up until now we have played only music on the established list and the onus was on me to learn it. Mostly, I did. But the new lady singer means everyone has to learn some of her material. Aha, now we can make a direct comparison. Nor do the others have any more time than I to devote to th project. We’re doing fine, I’m just pointing out that in a band, things are rarely as they seem. The potential with this band is very good. We could probably play the Hard Rock.
Trivia. For money, the Indians near the Great Lakes used wampum. But what is wampum? Most contemporary history books falsely portray the North American tribes as a great culture destroyed by the white man. No mention is made of the source of the shells. Instead, the historians hand you great details of the beadwork and its quasi-religious story-telling powers. The fact is, North American Indians were savage cannibals perpetually at war with one another. They regularly engaged in torture, murder, and slave-trading.
According to Martin Frobisher, the explorer, the most valuable wampum was made from white river clams. To get the shells, enemies, prisoners of war, or victims were killed and their skins tattered by hundreds of slits. The bodies were then anchored under water where the clams could enter the slits. In time, this is where the whitest shells grew. Great culture? Civilized? You decide. Myself, I’d rather know the whole truth and I’m getting it in patches reading the book about the search for the Northwest Passage.
ADDENDUM
It was in the newspaper this morning. Begging on the streets. What is my take on that? Controversial, that’s what. I think it should be outlawed period, but certainly on all public property. It is a misconception that disabled people beg. The disabled already get all the money they need to live and eat comfortably. It is these able-bodied beggars that I don’t like. Those who condone begging mainly do so out of guilt and misguided, outdated preconceptions. (Don’t agree? Why don’t you talk to them?)
Yes, we’ve all heard the story that one can make more by begging than at a job. That is not a valid defense and in fact is the biggest reason why begging should be outlawed. Obstructive, aggressive begging is not socially inert and it harms most people who come into contact with it. If one is so useless to society that begging pays better than anything they can do, I won’t finish that sentence.
Another thing, I agree with the guy who posted the meme that he does not donate money to charities that help only women and children. He was turned down by them all when he needed help and I know exactly what he went through—I was once a homeless teenager myself. This is not a world that helps single white males in any meaningful way. (It doesn’t really help childless women either.) At the same time, I recognize most male beggars are scam artists. They could work if they had to. One must remove the all-too-convenient option of not working via panhandling.
I’m not talking about street performers. They should be allowed to operate in designated areas with a tin cup at certain times, without any type of license—but they may not outright ask for money. Entertainment is different than begging because there is a valuable service involved. I’m talking against those who are outright begging with nothing but a hard luck story. One could argue his performance is that of “acting” a beggar, but that fools nobody. Since empty-handed begging is too hard to regulate, outlaw it.
But if you can’t outlaw it, at least get it off the streets and parks. So the people who pay for the streets and parks can use them in peace and quiet.
