Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Musings from the Minibus 5

If I am going to sit for 10 minutes


waiting for an extremely long train to go by,


I fully expect the train company to reward me with a guy standing against the rail of a caboose, waving and smiling and apologizing for the long wait.  You know, because a smile just makes everyone happier. 



AN ABRUPT, UGLY END TO THE TRAIN DOES NOT MAKE A LATE PERSON HAPPY!!!!!!!!!

(Can't tell you how much thought went into the correct way to make "caboose" plural, except to say it was too much.  Way too much thought.  Is it like moose, where plural and singular are the same?  Or is it like goose, thus making it cabeese? It went downhill from there.  I even googled "words that rhyme with goose".  Surprisingly, there aren't many.)

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I will never go to this foot spa



no matter how many times it opens.  Grandly or otherwise.

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A street nearby is being widened, and all of the trees along the route have been cut down.  My heartbreak at seeing the destruction of so many lovely trees was only made worse by the sight of the poor, fake, now- homeless deer left alone by the stump of his tree.  


But then, sadness turned to laughter, as all I can picture now is the deer when the tree came down.  I imagine him doing the Bugs Bunny scream when his hiding place was suddenly exposed.


Bugs Bunny always makes me laugh.

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Fundraising is getting out of hand. 

In case you can't read this perfectly focused and not-zoomed-in photo my mom took, it says, "Mattress Fundraiser" for a local high school's band.

My first thought when I saw the sign was, "Man, I thought those cardboard boxes of crap I had to carry around door to door was heavy.  Can't imagine having to carry a mattress."

Now, I know the kids aren't carrying mattresses around, but the thought of that happening made me laugh.  

Really, though, how are you supposed to sell mattresses?  Are there that many people in the market for a mattress?  Will people see this sign and think, "You know what, I could use a new mattress.  I will mark my calendar to go to the high school to buy one on Saturday."

And what about those poor parents who always feel obligated to buy every single thing their teams/organizations/schools are hocking?  Especially if they have more than one kid in the band.  

And what about Grandma or the budget-conscious neighbor?  What is the band kid supposed to say when the lady asks, "What do you have for $5 or less, Sonny?"

If I would have been in town that weekend, I would have been there.  Not to buy a mattress, of course.  Ours isn't even 20 years old yet.  I just wish I could have seen how this all went down.

So, what have you seen around your town lately that made you do a double-take?

Have a lovely day!

Other Musings from the Minibus posts:


I won't bore you with all of them.  :)

18 comments:

  1. Your musings sound very much like some of mine. After seeing some mongooses at a zoo I did wonder why the plural isn't mongeese :) Another one of mine - how deep does a puddle have to be before it becomes a pond?

    Poor homeless deer, I hope someone relocates him to somewhere nice :)

    The thought of loads of kids carrying mattresses around made me laugh - just wish I could be there to see this fundraiser :) :)

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    1. Hahaha! We are so similar. I have often wondered what size a pond has to be before it is called a lake.

      The deer has been there for over a week. I really hope someone does something with it before the bulldozers move in.

      Me, too!

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  2. I've seen a sign for a mattress fundraiser for a high school band, also, last year when I was in Utah. I thought it was ridiculous, too--although I hadn't thought about kids going door-to-door with mattresses. That is funny!

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    1. FOR REAL!!?!?!??! There is a company that does this nationally?? How do that many people think it's a good idea?

      My mom was with me and took the photo, yet it wasn't until she read this post that she thought about the door-to-door thing. That made me laugh even harder, because it is the first thing I thought of. She's glad to know she wasn't alone. :)

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  3. Quite funny I wish i had your humor.... things like this pass by me cause I'm always fretting or thinking about too much....my husband witnessed a traffic fight with a man on a motorcycle and a person in a car and it ended with the man on the motorcycle yelling to the guy in the car to get lost his exact words was take your democratic sticker car and go to.... LOL!!! Thought that was funny!!!

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    1. I'm in the car a lot, and see lots of things. It might be just habit from having little kids constantly pointing things out. Now I just point things out myself.
      That is funny! I would have been watching that exchange closely. Not very smart on the motorcycle guy's part, though. I'm thinking he could have easily wrecked that thing mid-yell.

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  4. Your musings are way more interesting then mine. Way more. I do get stopped by trains all the time though. Happened to me today, but I wasn't late getting somewhere.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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    1. Trains don't often make me late for things, but when I'm in the car as much as I am, I get frustrated by long, slow trains. I just want to get out of the car!

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  5. Today I saw a lady who looked like a pea.
    And a ?sikh temple I didn't know existed.
    And a van which nearly killed me as I cycled across in front of it (not looking, my bad)
    And a man driving and talking on his phone.
    And a tiny cute boy who watched his Nanna having her eyes screened
    And a really, REALLY messed-up eye (in photographs - someone else's patient)
    And I didn't think much at all.

    But I wrote about the SURREAL thing which happened to me on Friday, and it's going to be on Beth's blog SOON

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    1. Ha! How does a lady look like a pea?
      Shoot, every third person on the road is talking on his phone around here.

      Watch where you are going when biking, please. It's a bit dangerous not to.

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  6. Soooo, how are those pain meds working for you. Pretty nice, hmmmm?

    Seriously, though, the train pictures? You could have told me you took them in Joplin, and I would have believed you. Our town is criss-crossed with train tracks and very few overpasses. The good news is you always have an excuse for being late ANYWHERE by saying you got stopped by a train.

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    1. Ha! I had to stop taking the strong ones. I need to drive, and I really couldn't with those. Now I'm just taking Tylenol and anti-inflammatory meds.

      Ha! We have a train track which goes by close to our house. It basically parallels the two roads I drive on to get everywhere. I cross that sucker 10-20 times a day. Fortunately, the train doesn't stop me too often.

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  7. Today I noticed a door at work that said "fire exit" that was bolted and nailed shut from the outside...

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    1. Yikes! Someone out there not exactly happy with the people at your workplace?

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  8. When my high school band went to the Rose Bowl a few years ago, they sold $1000 shares and the winner got a house. Except they didn't sell the 100 tickets that the builder put as a minimum so they had to refund the money.

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    1. I have heard of those types of fundraisers before. I never thought it was a good idea, and this scenario is one of the reasons. How fun would that be, to march in the Rose Bowl! Did you get to go despite the flopped fundraiser?

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  9. yes, what is with the mattress fundraisers? I've seen a few signs around my town this past week as well! Are they selling them or collecting old ones to recycle? Who knew there was so much money in mattresses? Or perhaps they're hoping to find a stash of cash that someone left in an old mattress?

    Trains...argh!....you're right, that a smiling face at the end (or some sort of signage thanking you for your patience) would go a long way!

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  10. HAHA to the mattress fundraiser. Almost every time we see a mattress store, my husband comments wondering how they all stay open, how often other people buy mattresses, and why there are so dang many mattress stores. That's the most times I've ever typed the word mattress in a single sentence, ever, I bet. And I think the kids should have to carry them around because that would be funny. Plus, you know, they're spoiled with Google and cell phones and stuff these days so it'd probably be good for them.
    Goose, caboose, juice, moose, deuce, noose, and fancy foot loose. Wait. What? Sorry...

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