Small Town Fun

I live in a town of just over 6,000 people, and my home town is just under half that size.  I know there are towns that are smaller, but both my hometown and my current home are really close knit communities.  That's what makes my story for today so much fun.

When I got home yesterday the mailman had left me one of those "Sorry I Missed You" notes on my door.  It was to let me know that I had a letter from City Hall that required a signature. Those are never fun. 

My guess was it was one of four things:

1. My building permit for the garage enclosure is coming up on it's one year anniversary and was about to expire;
2. The pickup in my side yard with the expired tags had been complained about by a neighbor. (You can't see the tags from the street, so what the hell were they doing in my yard?);
3. The disassembled parts truck in the back yard; or
4. My car hauling trailer needs to be moved off of the street. 

The note also said that the party who was to sign for it had to be 21 years of age or older.  Well, everyone in my house that qualifies works M-F when the mail runs, and neither of us want to sit at home and wait for the mail to run on Saturday.  That left me with the option of designating someone else to sign for it or go down to the Post Office and pick it up.  I chose the latter option, and that's when it went kinda left.

I was waiting eagerly in the lobby at 7:25 this morning. Waiting for those blinds to go up and the door to open, so I could get my letter and get on my way to work.

The very lovely lady who works the counter there opened the door and met me with a smile (something you really only see in small towns...a smiling postal employee). I handed her my notice of attempted delivery, and she set about tracking down my letter. Her search was diligent and thorough, but alas she could not locate a registered letter for me. It had up and vanished. She took my name and phone number with a promise to call when the letter was located.

As I dejectedly walked back to the car, I decided the only course of action left for me was to call City Hall (cue ominous music) at 8:30 when they opened.

Turns out it was the trailer, which is the easiest of all of the things to do.

Now, here's the funny bit. Remember how I said it is a close knit community? I know most of the folks who work at City Hall. In all honesty they could have just called me on my cell phone and said, "Hey Tole...could ya do the thing?", and I would have done the thing.

Oh well, it is a little comforting to know that bureaucracy is alive and well and functioning as intended...even in small town Texas. 

Y'all have a great weekend.

-Tole

What I Did This Weekend Instead of Writing

Part of the fun of having a large family is running out of space as the kids get older.  Because getting rid of a kid is apparently off the table according to my wife, I am left with two options:

1. Buy a bigger house

2. Add living space to what you already have.

Since option 1 is not viable due to student loans and what not, we decided to enclose the garage. Also since we are poor we are forced to do the work ourselves which means it's taking even longer than if we'd hired it done. We've been at this since March, 2018. Needless to say everyone is getting antsy to have it done.

My brother was in town last week and this type of stuff is right up his alley, so he gave me a jump start. (Thanks Bro), and this weekend I got quite a lot done.

The unfinished room is the laundry room we're also adding.  Yes, I know there's no drywall in there, but there's still plumbing and electrical to do in there.

As an extra I learned that this light is great for seeing to dig out splinters and metal shavings from poorly manufactured drywall screws. You're welcome.

Now it's Monday and the ibuprofen has kicked in and I am at my desk at work.  Have a good week, I'll try to get this damnable story finished this week around the mud work that comes next...Lord willing.

-Tole

A Few Things to Ponder

My brain is ever so slowly letting the story I'm working on ooze out onto my keyboard. It's like waiting while cold motor oil drains out of an engine. Unlike an engine though I can't start my brain and let it run until the story warms up to make it flow faster. All of that being what it is, I was feeling bad for not posting anything the blog, so I thought I'd throw a few personal updates out here.

First, I filed paperwork yesterday to start my self-publishing company. Now if I can just get myself to sit down long enough to polish something into a form worth publishing.  Baby steps. As much as I grouse about it, I am kind of excited.

Second, Lawdog and and OldNFO drug me out yesterday and I got to meet Larry Correia. Super nice guy.

Lastly, I get to round out my week with a jazz concert tonight featuring my oldest progeny on the piano. Hearing/watching my kids do what they're passionate about makes me feel lucky to be their dad.  All three of my kiddos blow my mind on a regular basis.

Well, that's about all I've got to say about me for now.  Guess I should see if I can squeeze another couple thousand words out of my brain today. In the meantime, here are some ponderables I got from my dad.

-Tole

Do twins ever realize that one of them is unplanned? 
 
What if my dog only brings back my ball because he thinks I like throwing it?
                                                       
If poison expires is it more poisonous or is it no longer poisonous? 
 
Maybe oxygen is slowly killing you and it just takes 75-100 years to fully work. 
 
Every time you clean something, you just make something else dirty. 
 
The word “swims” upside-down and backwards is still "swims".

The word "nun" is just the letter "n" doing cartwheels.
 
Intentionally losing a game of rock, paper, and scissors is just as hard as trying to win. 
 
100 years ago everyone owned a horse and only the rich had cars. Today everyone has cars and only the rich own horses. 
 
The doctors that told Stephen Hawking he had two years to live in 1953 are probably dead. 
 
If you replace "W" with "T" in "What, Where and When", you get the answer to each of them. 
 
If you rip a hole in a net, there are actually fewer holes in it than there were before. 
 
100 years ago a Twenty Dollar bill and a Twenty Dollar gold piece were interchangeable. Either one would buy a new suit, new shoes and a night on the town. The Twenty Dollar gold piece will still do that.