Today’s brisk southerly wind helped to keep us from feeling the higher temps, and as much as I wanted to go out and spray weeds, it definitely wasn’t the time to be doing it. For various reasons, I’ve always been extra careful whenever using weed-killing sprays. Of course most don’t read every bottle and can of that stuff warns against over-spraying.
Most of my day was spent following up with phone calls to clients and customers, along with making a run to the bank, along with several other stops, and just about every time I was out, there’d be a text message sent from someone needing information from me which was at my office, so back to my desk I would have to drive.
Unfortunately I did get a little hot under the collar over a mis-communication which created a very embarrassing situation with both myself and a client, but fortunately it was all rectified, and hopefully such a think won’t be happening again any time soon. One thing I did discover, is the fact that Realtors who’re working in various areas of our State which are far and away from our group, follow different protocols which in my book, can create un-necessary problems, so I guess I’ll have to start watching for those differences more closely from now on.
My long-time friend who lives out of State called today, just to see what’s been happening on my side of the fence. Somehow or other, we ended up on the subject of critical forward thinking which I believe he’s a master at. We both agreed there are fewer of such mindsets to be found in our general population which I find a bit on the scary side. Of course he also agreed that we must never underestimate the stupidity of the general public, and especially now that we have all those online chat ‘groups’ which are promoting the most outlandish propaganda, and for whatever reason, people are eating it up.
Since he’s been following these Republican candidates more closely than I am, he’s of the belief that not one of them is presidential material other than Chris Christie. Of course wicked me had to agree, but then add, “Thin may be in, but fat’s where it’s at.” Yes, he’s a big guy, but at least he’s more on the side of reason. I still can’t believe Trump was making fun of his weight. Oh well, it looks like the name-calling is back in full-swing again.
While reading the news over the lunch hour, I happened upon an article which caught my eye, so I gave it a good read. After I finished it, I sighed a deep breath of relief when having discovered there’s also grass-roots movement with a large segment of our population who’re getting back to the basics by re-purposing, re-furbished, and fixing components in various mechanicals rather than going out and buying new, which makes perfect sense because our society has got to get out of this mindset that new is always better, and you can thank all our corporate giants for promoting such money-wasting ideas. Just remember, nearly everything we buy, has built-in life expectancies.
Back several generations ago, companies promoted their goods by insisting they’d out-last their competitors. Just think how many mid-century stoves and refrigerators there are that are still working properly. Of course Alliant Energy has been on a burn to get people to switch from their old ‘energy hogs’ and buy brand new energy efficient models. Well, if you compare the extra cost of electric with an old unit to the front-end cost of a new model, it would take years to recover the initial out-lay. I don’t even want to ‘go there’ about the fiasco I had with a brand new washer and dryer I had which created numerous repair calls, and in the end, I sent them to the appliance grave yard and went out and purchased an older set which created zero problems.
Since I came from a farm family, I can distinctly remember my mother taking apart clothing she’d received which was in near-perfect condition, and then rip out all the seams, and make clothing for her children which when finished, looked just like new. Of course just about every housewife and some of their daughters would be gathering old clothing which they’d rip apart and make the most beautiful quilts, which over time became collectors items. A client of mine who was very old at the time, gave me a quilt that was her mother’s which has the tiniest squares and triangles of fabric which were sewn into a repeating pattern. Every time I look at it, I shake my head in wonder, because that must’ve taken many months to create.
I now have another mantra I’ll be spreading around whenever the opportunities arise which’ll be, “Learn to mend so you can make do.” When you really stop and deeply reflect on those words, you’ll come to understand the broadness of it to where you can even mend relationships which have been broken. Keep in mind, there are those who’ve purposely crossed every imaginable line to hurt you, who’d not be worthy of any ‘mending’ of fences. It’s good to remember that old saying, “Hurt me once, shame on you, hurt me twice, shame on me.”, just so we’re not allowing ourselves to be pulled back down into pits of venomous snakes.
My last appointment of the day was to meet up with the seller of the home which I’ll be closing this coming Friday, just so I’d have all the transfer documents signed and notarized. After getting everything signed, we had a very good chat about how we’ve had to modify our thinking since the pandemic arrived. One thing she said which hit a chord with me, was how much more the crazy things we’re seeing on our televisions, are starting to happen right here in River City, and to the point it’s creating all the more fear in the workplace. My only answer was, “Yes it’s happening, but I’ll not allow my life to be ruled by fear, but rather continue to remain steadfast and ever-watchful.
Tonight’s One-liner is: It is the property of fools to be always judging.
