Here at the Cabin in the Woods, things have been hectic and busy. I did this week's posts two weeks ago because I knew that the Worldwide Web is a little sparse out here in the forest. This is a pretty short visit and Farmer Mark is out in the fields so taking care of some projects and doing things that are more drudge than fun. I will be taking a couple weeks off for Thanksgiving starting next Monday so brace yourselves.
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Progress is not always better.
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Once I said to my mother: 'You would be happy if I just kept well-dressed and had good manners,' and she said: 'What else is there?'
Cy Twombly, American Artist
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I uttered a major faux pas a couple weeks ago. While visiting the nearby bar to get a feel for things, the guy behind the bar, who, by the way, seems to think everyone needs to be as sports nerdy as he is as he is bouncing from patron to patron talking ONLY sports. Gee. Anyway, he finally turns to me and says, are you an NFL fan? I say, yeah, OK. He wants to know what team. This is where everything fell apart for me. Knowing he judges everyone by their sport fanaticism, and when in Rome, and since I don't follow a team, I glanced up at the TV replaying Sunday's games and the Bears are on so I say, "the Bears".
I have to make amends here, folks. I hate the Bears. My whole family hates the Bears. My father's last words to me on his deathbed were, "Don't forget, Son, to hate the Bears." This is simply a case of a dimwit in public attempting to "fit in". Dim witted and slow thinking. Dear Dad in heaven, as Karma is my witness I shall try to regain my honor, and your trust in me. Needless to say, I'm devastated.
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While walking to the airport I heard this guy taxiing for a take off at St. Pete-Clearwater Airport, which provides space for the local Coast Guard Air Unit.
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Just in case you wondered how they handle all that stuff after flights.
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Something that might be better than ice cream: being cold and climbing into bed at the Cabin with an electric blanket.
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Back when we had the big old Victorian two-story in G-Burg, one of the more daunting and time consuming maintenance projects was keeping it painted. If memory serves you could get 15 year paint from Sherwin-Williams while other inferior brands might offer 10 years. I wasn't overly fond of the job as it would take up most of two weeks to accomplish and was hard moving that heavy long ladder around, too. I was more than happy to buy the quality SW paint, if only because I'd get another year or two more than the others.
Anyway, with some exterior area to paint in Kitschland I stopped by the G-Burg store thinking it may be nice to find that old index card with the formula we used for about three repaints. Blythe Gray - a custom mix that we came up with along with a dark blue accent strip and muted maroon trim. But my excitement was dimmed by the knowledge that digital and bytes invade information everyday. Throw the old out, type the new in.
A nice kid (at my age most people are kids nowadays) comes out of the office are and I give him my spiel. He immediately, out of reflex goes to the computer. Then, after striking out and thinking all the old cards have long been tossed, he walks back and opens a drawer in a 4 drawer case. He brings it over and grabs the "B"s. I stand watching for 5 or 6 minutes as he rifles through. The hand-length of cards keeps getting smaller as he scans each card a millisecond and then moves to the next.
And then the pile is gone.
I'm heading over to see an old family friend at Rosewood Nursing Center and tell the kid, "It was worth a shot. Thanks anyway. Say, if you ever have an extra few minutes sometime you might check again, I'd appreciate it." I gave him my phone number, resigned that the formula was lost forever. This was not a sale and there was no big payoff in finding the card. I figured that was the end of it.
While talking to Dot and Lance at Rosewood I got a phone call but since I had my phone on silent I only noticed the call when I left. The call was from the kid at Sherwin-Williams. He found the formula.
The story ends with me expressing my thanks for a job well done to the kid and expressing the same to the kid's boss. SW not only has the best paint, they have the best people, too.
Anyway, with some exterior area to paint in Kitschland I stopped by the G-Burg store thinking it may be nice to find that old index card with the formula we used for about three repaints. Blythe Gray - a custom mix that we came up with along with a dark blue accent strip and muted maroon trim. But my excitement was dimmed by the knowledge that digital and bytes invade information everyday. Throw the old out, type the new in.
A nice kid (at my age most people are kids nowadays) comes out of the office are and I give him my spiel. He immediately, out of reflex goes to the computer. Then, after striking out and thinking all the old cards have long been tossed, he walks back and opens a drawer in a 4 drawer case. He brings it over and grabs the "B"s. I stand watching for 5 or 6 minutes as he rifles through. The hand-length of cards keeps getting smaller as he scans each card a millisecond and then moves to the next.
And then the pile is gone.
I'm heading over to see an old family friend at Rosewood Nursing Center and tell the kid, "It was worth a shot. Thanks anyway. Say, if you ever have an extra few minutes sometime you might check again, I'd appreciate it." I gave him my phone number, resigned that the formula was lost forever. This was not a sale and there was no big payoff in finding the card. I figured that was the end of it.
While talking to Dot and Lance at Rosewood I got a phone call but since I had my phone on silent I only noticed the call when I left. The call was from the kid at Sherwin-Williams. He found the formula.
The story ends with me expressing my thanks for a job well done to the kid and expressing the same to the kid's boss. SW not only has the best paint, they have the best people, too.
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If you could be remembered three hundred years from now would you choose it to be for a painting, music, book or invention?
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