Whoa, stop!

Have you ever found yourself going so fast in one direction, especially the wrong direction, that you just could not stop? When I was a kid acting on impulse, my engineer father would say, "Hold your horses and think about what you are doing." I never quite understood him until I watched cowboys "bulldog" at a rodeo.

So often we act impulsively and jump headfirst into a project, activity, or decision without thinking about the consequences -- good and bad -- but nevertheless, consequences. We trip over the details to move ahead because we know, "It's the right thing to do," at least in our minds.

I'm not sure why this image and thought come to mind right now. Perhaps, it has something to do with the upcoming political conventions, the presidential election, and all the verbal attacks by, and on, each candidate. Sure, I could join the forray with a barrage of cynical remarks, but why add fuel to the runaway verbal fire. It really is time to say, "Whoa, stop. Hold your horses." Think about the issues, the policies, the details, and the consequences, then make your decision.

Times Square tourist trap

I always wondered what "M&M" stood for. Now I know, "Monster Merchandiser."

We met our daughter and her family in New York City last month for a day of sightseeing and fun. We ended our day at the M&M store on Times Square, truly a monument of "gotcha" merchandising.

They had every toy, shirt, puzzle, car, truck, and hat that ever bore the M&M logo, even boxer shorts. As usual, I set off all the sirens on the toy police cars and fire engines, just like I do in Kmart at Christmas, but my family has learned to ignore me when I do that -- then I spotted the M&M dispenser wall.

The dispenser wall was actually about one hundred or more ten-foot long clear acrylic tubes with a nozzle at the bottom, similar to a coffee bean dispenser at the grocery store. It was a chocoholic's delight, and yes, I was in candy-coated peanut heaven. There were plastic bags conveniently located at the end of the wall just waiting to be loaded. My son-in-law and I both missed the small print $13 per pound sign and just started loading our bags with our favorite colors.

We got to the scale at the end of the wall and figured we probably had about ten dollars worth of M&Ms each. He was several places in line ahead of me so I couldn't see his total, but I did see him put his cash away and whip out a credit card. I chuckled until it was my turn, yikes!

Suffice it to say, we counted out a portion each day, just like vitamin pills, and savored every last one as we let them melt in our mouth, right down to the peanut.

Fiat dot car

As we took a break from our “dot com” world this week, the first thing we spotted as we drove into Falls Village, Connecticut was a “dot car” in front of the local library. It seems we just can’t get away from every kind of “dot.”  A local resident who restores Fiats and Alpha Romeos lent the 1959 Fiat to the David M. Hunt Library for kids to cover with dots during two days in July.

We stopped at the local cafe and community gathering spot for lunch. When we finished, the owner sat down with us to have one of those “you’re new in town aren’t you” talks. I don’t think we have ever been so warmly received so fast, especially in Connecticut, not only by him, but other business owners as well. Although we plan to go back in September for a more in depth Main Street photowalk, we photographed the Fiat “dot car” just in case it wouldn’t be there when we returned. 

By the way, speaking of our dot com world, here is a link to a time lapse video clip of the two-day dot-a-thon. Hope it hits the spot.