Month: August 2012

Brave

I was at a party last month and deep in conversation with a friend.  As we were leaving she remarked that she admired Mark and I and thought we were brave.

Brave???  I’m terrified of the dentist, heights, merging traffic, runny eggs, any envelope from the state, crickets, yeast, the Visa bill, pain that lasts longer than ten minutes………..

I had to turn around and ask her what she meant.

“You guys put yourself out there and go for it.”

Oh, so that’s how it looks to somebody else.  Be it writing or biking or whatever else we pursue, we may have lost some of our fear, but I’d hardly call that brave.   If we were to fall flat on our face in any of these endeavors it would not be but for the thousandth time, and lookie here, we’re both still standing.

This week I took Mallie Bee to the pediatrician..  The doctor’s kids and mine went to school together and she is one of my favorite people.  I had heard she was working a retail job on the side and asked her about it.  “Oh yes,” she said, “I love it.  It’s always been something I’ve wanted to do.”  A doctor selling handbags?

“Next,” she said, “I’m going to try waitressing.  I’ve already talked to somebody who’s willing to show me the ropes.”  A doctor waiting tables?

Mallie Bee got some advice on her beat-up feet and I got a booster shot of the failure immunization.  It was a good day to be amongst the doctor and the dancer…………….

The ones who stuck their toe outside the box and changed the way they thought about everything.

Chick-Fil-A

When Chick-Fil-A came to our area, I had no idea what it was and even pronounced it wrong.  Chick-Filla.  There was a lot of buzz about the place, so I went there and then I really didn’t get it.  I pitched half of it in the dog’s bowl and never went back.

The owner has recently declared that the wrath of God will descend upon us Americans for our evolving stance on gay marriage, and while you’re free to voice your opinion about anything, it’s not exactly the best business strategy.  In his case, he didn’t have to do damage control because when you’re speaking for the Lord what can you possibly damage?

Wednesday was the day that like-minded people lined up for hours to support his business and his stance on this issue.  As an anonymous gay employee of a Chick-Fil-A in Atlanta said, “It’s Hate Appreciation Day.”  In the you’re-wrong-I’m-right-you’re-liberal-I’m-conservative world we live in, it got covered by the news complete with helicopter shots of the throngs of people waiting in line.

What a cross in life it must be to bear to be threatened by people who are in your family, your church, your neighborhood, your school, your hospital, your grocery store and your military.  What a cross in life it must be to bear to give up half your day, fight traffic, stand in the heat and spend money to support somebody you’ve never met but is as God-fearing as you.

Wow.

That’s a big commitment for something so utterly craptastic.

A Good Foundation

In this summer of extreme heat and drought, there was a news story about protecting your foundation.  For some time and a little bit of money now, you can make sure that you don’t have major foundation repairs at a later date.

We’re usually later date people.

I mentioned this to The Big Daddy and he said he was on it.  He always answers really fast when he’s not going to do something.  Tonight, he said, while you’re gone I’ll do it.

The next day I asked him how it went and damn if it didn’t slip his mind.  Tonight, he said, I will do it.  I also told him that they suggested you put more dirt around the foundation.  Not top soil, but a good clay dirt that holds moisture.  On it, he said.

The next day I asked him how it went and geez, oh man, tonight’s the night.  For sure, but first he had a better plan.

If holding in moisture around the foundation is the idea, he said, instead of getting dirt I’m going to put kitty litter there. BA. DA. BING. BA. DA. BOOM.  Helloooooooo, people, moisture holding.  Am I a genius or what?
 
What.

I thought about going down Argument Road with him, but since we both know that there will be no watering of the foundation, no moisture holding dirt, no proactive steps taken to protect that upon which our house sits, I nodded dumbly.

Just like the Tidy Cat idea.