On the Other Hand....

If you happen to be an individual who has read most of my stuff you might be surprised to know that, No, I don't spend most of my waking hours reading the news, gnashing my teeth and punching the walls. I just tend to get a little "excited" at times. Usually over trivial non-issues. I don't know how many times I have written out these huge rants about stuff, only to discover while re-reading before posting, that even I don't really care that much about what I'm trying to say. Or, sometimes I realize just how stupid it makes me sound. And the stupid factor plays a significant role in what I post, because of massive self-consciousness issues that I won't get into. At least not today.

There are actually a lot of things that I enjoy about this messed-up world we live in. Things that always put a smile on my face whenever I am lucky enough to encounter them. And yes, I am going to bore you by writing them out in list formation. With explanations for each. Why? Because I can dammit. Let's see....

Stuff like:

The smell of bacon cooking. AKA: The Ultimate Food Product. It's like beige clothing, it can be matched with just about anything. Bacon and beans. Bacon bits on baked potatoes. Even salads come with that wonderful, fried goodness sprinkled on top. I've even heard of places that wrap a hot dog in bacon, and then deep fry that sucker. If that's not a golden key to the Cardiac Ward I don't know what is. Yes, it's succulent, sizzling death, but I will cut into any line for that awesomeness.

The smell of gasoline. This is probably attributed most to my fondness of my early childhood, a portion of which was spent in either the junky old pea green[interior and exterior] Caprice Classic, Dad's old GMC flat-bed truck, or the junky old Chevy van. Any time Mom or Dad gassed them up, the fumes filled the car. And speaking of that friggin van, surprisingly, I do NOT get nostalgic and wistful whenever I have to pull-over and wait because my car is overheating. Which happened 2 or 3 times during every road trip in that thing. But, yes, memories do flood my mind anytime I see one of those small dash-mounted oscillating fans.(The van didn't have AC.)

Going out four-wheeling. Or as we used to call it: Jeepin'. I remember when I was a wee lad, and Dad owned this Jeep that was built way back in 1942. Man, I loved that thing. Skinny little tires, no roll-bar, tiny little 4 cyl. engine, and a gun rack that stood between the seats. It was slower than molasses in winter, which is why we towed it places usually, but we used to crawl that sucker up and down hills, around trees and sometimes over small trees. I think I'm gonna have to chat with Dad about why he ever got rid of that thing. Later in life, Dad bought another one. And I had my first real driving lesson in it. Trying to learn the art of the stick-shift, late at night, and on a dirt road. Oh, did I mention that the aforementioned dirt road was winding up and down the side of a mountain? Yeah, that was fun. Especially the part where I almost dumped it into a ravine from not realizing you have to slow down a lot on sharp corners. Even more so for sharp corners on a friggin dirt road. Yeah, Dad took the controls back shortly after that fiasco.

Shooting Guns. Not at people, of course. I'll admit I'm an angry person at times, but I'm not violent or bloodthirsty. Cripes, sometimes I get icky chills when dicing a chicken into portions. Which is probably why I never really got into hunting. Killing stuff just isn't my thing. Blasting inanimate objects into tiny little pieces on the other hand.... Now, that's stress relief that even drugs can't match.

Playing with the nieces and nephews. Anyone who has any, knows exactly what I'm talking about. I don't have any kids of my own, and I'm not really sure I'm daddy material. I don't know if I could handle the whole  "having kids around 24/7" bit. But when I do get to see my siblings' kids, and the big smiles on their faces, it's about as awesome as life can get.   

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Do I really need to explain this? No.

Dinner at the parent's house. Everyone knows why this is great. Spending time with the family, getting a chance to eat the food you loved as kid (instead of the usual pizza, wings and Dr Pepper), and an excellent time to pick up any mail that may have been sent there. Admit it, there's something that your folks made that you really wish you could dig into right now. Whether it was your mom's fried chicken, tuna casserole, or beef-a-roni. Or maybe it was your dad's BBQ chicken, tacos, or Spanish rice. There's always something that never tastes as good as when you get to eat it at your true home, and when it's made by the folks.

Watching Football.  Shhh... it can wait until the commercials.

There's more stuff that I enjoy, (romantic dinners / watching the sunset / long walks on the beach... etc, etc...) but I've grown weary of straining my brain and fingers. So I'm gonna stop for now.

(Here comes the obligatory sign-off...)

I'm done for tonight/today.

Goodnight/good morning

-B-


 Here's some Funny that'll hopefully brighten your day.... (For those of you still using 56k:  Later tonight, after it's finished downloading, you can enjoy it as well.)