Morning all:

” Never explain — our friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway.” Elbert Hubbard

Who woulda thunk that this week I’d be whooping it up for being one of the last to ‘only’ pay $3.09 for a gallon of gas. Who woulda thunk that this week our beloved Reds would be stuck in the cellar of the majors with an 18 – 34 record. Who woulda thunk that this week our dear Bengals coach, Marvin Lewis, would be in hot water with our police department for accusing them of profiling his young and exuberant players; causing Marcia to warn me while I am out on my Citizens on Patrol. This whole week is playing out like a Stevie Nicks song. Maybe a little more morning coffee is needed to begin to lift this veil.

Ok, ok, I guess that I am no better. Too quick I look down my nose (quite the nose to look down) at those others, those little people, those ‘lemmings’, who make up the vast majority . In fact I am no better. Let me tell you why.

Monday I picked up hints that gasoline was going to spike upwards for the weekend. A quick check showed a nearby Meijer store selling gasoline 7 cents below the average of $3.16. At lunch I was off to the races. The area around the pumps was completely packed with cars and they were streaming out onto the street. Without so much as one second’s worth of hesitation I piled into the lineup.

Just like the fifty or so of my newfound best friends in line, I too sat patiently while at the same time, ever so slightly, took advantage of every opportunity to outmaneuver the next guy trying to gain that modicum of an advantage to reach the pump a little quicker.

I did reach that magic moment thanks to the design engineers at Isuzu. See, my filler is opposite to that of just about any other car out there. And, since it is a boxy SUV I cannot loop the hose around far enough to complete the mission were I to stay in one of the snaking lines. Finally I saw my moment, an empty pump on the other side. Breaking rank, I looped around the outer perimeter on the Meijer fuel station, then backed past a line of six cars on either side of me and started gassing up.

Leaving, I had to also back out the other way past a pump which I had now blocked out. I got past about six cars before the lines narrowed to a point where I was stuck. A bit more waiting and the line on my left inched forward and I could cut through and escape. On the way back to the office I could see newly posted gasoline prices – $3.50. It was a sweet moment.

I too am a ‘lemming’.

People are different. Marcia is hooked on any show where the word “reality” is inserted into the title. She can ‘cruise’ through the remote – all 8 channels since we do not have cable – and will come to an immediate stop when she hears an audience screeching. I hate the stuff.

This week it was the grand and climatic finale to “Dancing with the Fools” and, even better, “American Idols“. Actually her watching this stuff is no problem since I time my evening walks around these shows. This means that, even though producers managed to drag these shows on for most of the week, I was immune to them. All went as planned until that final night – it was a 2-hour event.

I walked into the house just as the announcer proclaimed “Sgt Pepper”. Now, the fact is that Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is one of my favorite Beatle albums. I just knew that this was going to be good.

Wrong.

A lineup of singers previously canned from the competition tried their darnest-and failed. Watching the audience react, on-screen and at home, it reminded me of going to a viewing of someone recently deceased and hearing people say, “doesn’t he look good”.

No, the person is dead and no matter how you spin it, it doesn’t look good.

They killed Sgt Pepper and no, it wasn’t good.

Marcia loved it. This week I also talked to my brother – he loved it too.

People sure are different.

Make it a great week everyone. Stay safe this long weekend. And, do take at least a moment to remember those who gave their all so that people like you and I can write and read and speak with all the freedom in the world.

Now, best get ready to head for Findlay Market. Then this afternoon we’ll be a at friend’s wedding.

Cheers,
Dirk