June 14, 2016 - Distress-Full Situation

I was re-purposing a wood pallet as an American Flag for a patriotic yard display for Flag Day. 

After painting the flag, I accidentally mounted it on an A-frame upside down.  This is the international sign of “distress” which subconsciously probably describes my choices in the coming election.

I fixed my error and remounted the flag correctly.  It now stands proudly with some old Riverfront Stadium seats. 

Now if we could only correct the major political party nominees as easily.

June 6, 2016 - PPM - Graduation Gift Grabs

This week's PET PEEVE MONDAY (PPM) is High School Graduations.  Specifically, it's the Graduation Announcements.

Every year, I dread going to the mailbox to retrieve the seemingly endless supply of HS graduation announcements.  Some are legitimate.  They are the sons and daughters of close friends. I know of them and quite possibly remember their names.

Others come from long lost acquaintances who I didn't even know had children.  These are nothing more than a straight Graduation Gift Grab.  At least when you invited to a wedding, you bring a gift because you are getting a nice meal and possibly an open bar.

I've developed a "Gift Scale" that is indexed on the geographic proximity of the friend, the length of the friendship, and the frequency of our interactions.  Some make the gift cut.....others do not.

Either way, when asked to deliver some advice to new grads, I'm always reminded of the below:

Please contact me when you get a diploma from a college or a trade school or spend a few years in the Armed Services. I have a much more generous "Gift Scale" for real accomplishments.