5 Random Thoughts for the New Year

Once again, it’s the beginning of a new year, a cold beginning here in Tassanoxie after quite a wet ending. Which leads me to my first random thought in a blog of random thoughts that have hit me as I mosey through life.   

What about Water Pipelines?

With all the rain the southeastern USA has been getting during the past few years and the extensive drought suffered in the western states, I’ve been thinking that this oil pipeline idea should be shelved for a pipeline that moves water from the wet side to the dry side of the continent. Truth is, you can’t drink oil and you can’t grow anything in oil. Face it, humans lived millions of years without oil, but without water, our bodies dry out, shut down, and die.

Seems to me it’s about time we put on our thinking caps and figured out a way to move water.

Wealth Management Advisor

I haven’t the faintest idea how long this job description has been around but it finally caught my eye. I like the way it assumes a regular ole bank customer like me has wealth that needs managing. Then again, I also keep wondering if a person who is really good at managing wealth would need a job in the first place. Wouldn’t she be rich enough not to work?

Kids Dressing for Outdoors

I’m not sure if this is endemic to the South or if today’s youngsters have no idea how to dress for cold weather. I realize Tassanoxie winters can be mild with sunshine and  sometimes hit 75º F in December which makes it hard to know when to drag out the heavier clothes. But the South does get cold weather.

Just last Thanksgiving I was in North Carolina in a city located a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean. A cold front came through one night and the next morning there was a 12° F windchill factor. Here I am, bundled up like Charlie Brown in a Christmas special taking Jocko for his morning walk. And yes, Jocko had on his cute little doggie coat. 

Sure enough, we walk past a a teenager wearing shorts and a tee shirt waiting for the bus. 

It must have something to do with the “cool” factor and nothing to do with common sense.

Sudden Stops

The other day I was following a pick up truck owned by one of the local pest control companies. There was a big sign on the back that said: Sudden Stops Do Not Follow Closely. 

Hmmmm. Why would a pest control truck have to make sudden stops? So the driver can jump out and kill large cockroaches? Douse fire ant hills? Chase runaway rats?

Just wondering…

TV Prescription Drug Ads

I am not a fan of televised ads for prescription drugs because they show a smiling person who is taking the drug while a voice softly explains how many ways you can die while taking said drug. I think the Federal Communications Commission should tell the drug companies not only to list all the possible side effects of their drugs, but also show these side effects.

How many people would ask their doctor for the the drug if they saw footage of the guy who took the drug and ended up on dialysis? Or the woman whose hair fell out? Or the guy who had to go to the emergency room because something lasted longer than 4 hours?

Since I did five random thoughts and that’s what I named this blog, I’m done for now.