Last month I bemoaned the fact that it wouldn’t be too long before we started to see decorations popping up for the upcoming holidays. When I penned that comment I really had in mind the celebration of Halloween. Well, just this week Mary and I wandered into our favorite lunch haunt, namely, the Cracker Barrel Restaurant and lo and behold, it was as if someone had read my column and wanted to retaliate. There in the kitschy display of T-shirts and candy and hams was a huge table of Halloween items! In another corner, Thanksgiving paraphernalia leaped out at us and to complete the triumvirate – a Christmas display along with a festooned tree.
As our minds raced through the holidays contemplating how we would have to prepare for each event, I grew weary. So only a fresh turkey sandwich on sourdough toasted bread with a side of slaw and onion rings could relieve my holiday tensions. Frankly, I can’t remember seeing decorations displayed this early. When a Cracker Barrel staff member approached us I asked where the Valentine’s decorations were and she indicated I should come back in a month or so. Wow!
Just completed a ten-mile race in Flint, Michigan known as the Crim Festival of Races. There were close to 7,000 participants in the ten-mile race and I finished 60th out of 81 in my age category (65-69). This was my 21st year for this race and it was 78 degrees at race time, which was 8:00AM – not great racing conditions! As such, many of the participants walked the course while others, perhaps not properly prepared for the weather, ran out of steam literally, and had to be carted off by an ambulance. I quickly determined that finishing the race even walking was better than spending the afternoon hooked up to an IV! My next race will be a 10K (6.2) and hopefully the weather will be cooler!
Having some interesting conversations with employees at a major coffee urn manufacturer. Our combination coffee grinder/brewer gave up the ghost and we called for a replacement since it was under warranty. Much to our surprise we received a carton the next day but it was the wrong coffee pot. We called the company and were told that a replacement would be forthcoming. Well, over the next couple of days we received two new coffee pots. Somehow we ended up with five coffee pots. The company then said to place two on the front porch for pickup. We did so but only one was retrieved. What with the closing of some Starbucks stores maybe we will go into the coffee business!
The Ruby Tuesday Restaurant chain is looking at changing their theme by eliminating the 1980’s décor of black and white checked tablecloths and Tiffany style lamps with brass rails. There will be a new menu and a more contemporary look. Let’s hope that the consultants who are working on this project are not the same ones who changed the theme and focus of the Bill Knapp’s restaurant chain that, in my opinion, ultimately put them out of business! I’ll leave it up to all you Texans who frequent the Ruby Tuesday restaurants in your area to be the judge of those changes. Oh, how I miss those chocolate birthday cakes from Bill Knapp’s. Anyone else out there remember those great Knapp’s cakes?
Read something interesting the other day about social security payments. As many of you know, if you apply for social security at age 62 the payments are less than if you had applied at a later date. Guess what? After you have been receiving benefits for a number of years and say you are now 66 years old, you can apply for the higher monthly benefit for that age. Here’s the catch. You have to pay back all the money you received from age 62 to age 66. And believe it or not there are actually forms for this transaction. The downside of course is that after you repay the government for those years it will take you an almost equal number of years to regain that money even with the increased monthly payments that you will be receiving. It makes for an interesting discussion but not worth pursuing, at least in my opinion. Any thoughts on this?
Went to replace a light bulb in my garage door opener the other day. You know the one that goes on when the garage door is activated. Did you know that there is a special bulb for this, which costs $3.50? Why so much? Evidently the filament is larger than in a normal bulb. It has to do with the vibration from the garage door opening, which tends to break a thinner filament. And all along at age 65 I thought I knew everything there was to know!
This from Career Builder - - 8% of employees admit to stretching the truth on their resumes. And here are just a couple of the classics that have been documented:
+ invented a school that did not exist
+ submitted a resume with someone else’s picture
+ claimed to be a member of Mensa
+ claimed to be Hispanic when candidate was actually Caucasian
Good news for Detroit Lions fans! The Dallas Cowboys are not on our schedule this year! After watching the Cowboys resounding win on opening day and being subjected to the dismantling of the Lions by the Atlanta Falcons, we in Detroit are ready for another lackluster year. And frankly I was hoping to place a couple of wagers with all of you in Texas but lucky for me I will be able to save my money at least for this year!
Well, until next time excuse me while I retire to my hammock in the woods. While there maybe I will start to think abut Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas – yeah right! If you want to respond to any of my rants and jab me a bit about our Detroit Lions, contact me at jheuvers@matureadvisor.com
