Shaking Out The Notebook

It started in college. The fraternity brothers would get well-oiled and say something outrageously funny/stupid or a professor would say something profound or I'd hear a song lyric that made me think...then I'd grab a napkin or the back of the notebook or my shoe. I carried a pen everywhere just in case. You could always find something to write on. The best ones made my "board of fame"...the 2x4 that framed my homemade bunk in my dorm room.

I still do it.

The problem is very few are enough to write an entire blog entry...but a whole bunch of them together might make one. So, here goes:

* At the Barnes & Noble in Birmingham I saw decks of UNO cards that had football logos of Auburn & Alabama--the rival schools in the state. On the other side they had photographs of scoreboards from big games or landmark buildings around the campuses. I immediately thought Santa Claus could use stocking stuffers and made a mental note to contact him closer to Christmas so he wouldn't have to use my attic for temporary storage.

* I already finished an enjoyable summer read about a guy who got left at the altar and subsequently got a demotion at work (as did his brother) and they sold everything they had and decided to travel the world together and figure it all out. Two interesting notes came from it:

First, they met a guy who'd been doing this for a quarter of a century and, since they seemed to be gaining a life perspective by the month, figured this guy had lots of wisdom. They asked him what one piece of advice would he give them based on the wisdom he had gleaned. It was "Do the right thing." That really is good advice.

Second, they noted that their parents kept asking them "What are you going to do for work when you get back?" And the folks at the nursing home where they visited their grandmother kept asking them, "Where are you going next?" It's interesting how the folks at the end of their lives seemed to be more about enjoying life rather than fitting American views of living the good life.

* I've gotten into the TV show "Arrested Development" at the nagging of Nathan and Steve-O. Well, not so much the constant, "You gotta see this show, you'll love it" but more the fact they were quoting lines constantly. They lent me the DVD's of the first season and Tracy and I are about 7 shows in. It was NOT oversold. A couple of items:

Laughing out loud a couple of times every 20 minutes with your wife is one of the most enjoyable things to do in life. Growing old with her is so much fun.

The "smart" shows rarely get past the first two years. It's hysterically funny because it's smart. Yet, the great karaoke parade of America or a game show based on pure luck featuring gorgeous women opening suitcases have huge audiences.

* iPods are great for mowing the lawn, working out, or letting others know you don't really wish to be bothered. If I rode a bus or plane more often, if I didn't want people to talk to me, then I might just put the ear buds in even if I wasn't listening to music.

* My mom wears turbans and wigs and won't let anyone see her bald head. She doesn't use her cane or her walker even though she's fallen about three or four times a week. It seems to me that her priorities are backwards a bit. Her nurse lectures her on it...and I could think of 100 reasons that being a hospice nurse would be one of the hardest jobs in the world.

That should do for now...