Idle Ramblings of a Slightly Mad Man

I say that with complete seriousness!

And I have good reason to make that observation too. 

My daughter is in the Brownies and this morning was their cookie sale at the Wawa.  For those that don’t know what a Wawa is, it is a convenience store, like a 7-11.  But better.  It originated in the suburbs of Philadelphia.  In fact, around here it is required that you live within walking distance of a Wawa.

Anyway, I was with my daughter at the Wawa because my wife’s grandmother passed away the other day.  I wanted her to rest and sleep in so I took my daughter.  At the Wawa we had a small table set up and the girls politely asked if anyone wanted to buy any Girl Scout cookies.

There were a lot of people walking past and lots of people to ask and I was beginning to notice a trend throughout the morning.  White people would very rudely and very purposefully, ignore the girls.  It was  very shocking that White People could not take a moment to even speak to the girls a no or a no thank you.  Some were on cell phones and tried to use that as an excuse not to talk and others just looked away.

Black people, Indians, and Asians were all polite enough to at least respond with no’s and get off their cell phones and respond but White’s would rather snub a child.  It was embarrassing and it was making me angry. 

White People, you need to wake up and get your heads out of your asses!  These are little girls that don’t deserve to be ignored and snubbed.  You embarrass your race with your actions.  It takes a second to say no or no thank you. 

To those that were polite enough to talk to the girls, Thank you!  Remember that even if you don’t want to buy a box of cookies, at least acknowledge the girls asking and politely say no or no thanks. 

My Wife’s Grandmother passed away early this morning.

 She is taking it hard.

Her mom is taking it hard.

I have not told the kids yet.  I will wait until they come home from school.

Death sucks for those left living.

This time it is about one of my Compulsions.  When I load the dishwasher I have to have it loaded a certain way.  If it is not, I will take everything all out and then reload it the correct way.  My wife and I have had major arguments over this topic and it has been  really ugly at times. 

My biggest peeve is how the silverware is loaded.  I have to have all the spoons in one section of the silverware basket, all the knifes in another, and all the forks in yet another.  They also have to all be handles down.  This makes it easier to unload too.  Then I can grab a handful of spoons and BAM! they are away.  Grab a fistful of forks and BAM! they are away.  Quick, easy, simple and efficient! 

So last night, my wife approaches me with a huge grin on her face and in her right hand is a rolled up magazine.  I thought that I was about to get hit for something and I get ready to take evasive action when she tosses me the latest Consumers Report. 

She told me to turn to page 41 and read the bottom about loading a Dishwasher.  As I read through it, everything I know about loading is holding true until I get to the last 2 items.   “… mix spoons, forks, and knives to prevent them from sticking together.”  As I get done reading it all I look back up to my wife who starts yelling, “See!  See!  I am not an idiot!  The silverware is supposed to be all mixed up!  You have been complaining and reloading for years for no reason!  Don’t you feel stupid!” 

So I am wrong.  Again.  And I don’t feel stupid about it.  I guess that this is one compulsion that I can scratch off my list and get over.  No more stressing about how the dishwasher is loaded. 

Now about that toilet paper…………………..

I was wrong.  I can admit to being wrong.  I am man enough to cowboy up when I am wrong.

As I reported before, just a few days ago, I was not into watching this years Super Bowl.  I really did not have much at stake nor did I have a team that I really wanted to win.  I said that I was uninterested in the game and that it would be boring.  But as the game played on it was becoming more and more clear that the Giants just might have a legitimate chance to pull a win. 

The Giants first possession almost told the tale of how the game was going to play out.  By taking nearly half of the first quarter time off the clock, the Giants offense showed that they can control the Patriots defense. 

Fast forward to the fourth quarter and the Giants are still within striking distance of a win and an upset, the final drive of the Giants had me out of the kitchen and sitting on the floor in front of the TV.  It was one of the most exciting finishes to a Super Bowl in a long time.  Congrats to the Giants on their win.

Why can I not get into the Super Bowl this year?  In past years, I would be excited and pumped up, looking forward to partying and getting into betting pools, but this year I can not psych myself up for it.  I am going to a party but I have not put any money into any pools.  By this time, I am usually about $200 deep into the pools.  Not this year. 

Is it because one of the teams is the Giants?  Being from Philly, the Giants are a division rival and we hate the Giants.  But I would like to see the Giants beat the Patriots because they are going in as the underdog.  I don’t like the Pats either and I do hope the Giants beat them.   The Pats are going into this as the favorite and this is the last game of what would/could be a “perfect” season.  Of course there are some that will see this season marked with an astrisk (*) due to the filmgate scandle from earlier this year. 

The reality of it all is that I am totally uninterested in it at all.  Around friends and coworkers I am playing it cool and making like I am into everything Super Bowl but the reality is I would rather not bother. 

Where usually I would be plopped in front of the TV, in the best seat I could find, at a party, at a friends, not moving except to use the bathroom (there are others that will gladly bring the beer and food to me like my wife and kids), yelling at the TV and laughing at the commercials, I will probably be found in the kitchen or den, where the food is, and socializing with all the other uninterested Super Bowl watchers and party guests.  This group mostly consists of women and the geeks.  The geeks are usually the husbands that have no idea about the game of football, or any other sport for that matter, and they are just there trying to fit in or because the wife dragged them along.  At the very least I will probably pick up a good cooking tip or recipie from the ladies and learn how to better manage my 401k from one of the geeks. 

On the brightside, I don’t see waking from a hangover and missing a day of work this year.    

We’ve all bought bought some slightly green bananas and layed them out on the counter at home to ripen or cantaloupes that had a few days to ripen before eating it.  In face there are many fruits we buy at the store that we leave waiting around our kitchen before cutting or eating into them. 

Not Grapes.  I have never seen anyone leave grapes laying around the house waiting to ripen.  Not once have I ever reached for the grapes on the kitchen counter and have my mom slap my and and tell me “No, you have to wait a few days until they’re ripe!”

Why?  Why do I have to wait for my Kiwi’s to ripen but not my grapes?  Why do I have to wait for my Pineapple to ripen but not my Grapes? 

It’s just Odd.