oddities, observations & ?'s, #8

oddities, observations, & ?'s...#8

         

  It is hard to imagine there is one single person in America who doesn't believe there have been social injustices in our country.  The notion that an individual can rewrite history to his or her specifications and then advance those thoughts as factual is (choose one) a. crazy  b.  farcical  c.  laughable  d.  a, b, and c

  It would be a tough job to be a Social Studies teacher in Florida or any number of other states.

  A week or so ago, I placed a merchandise order (in person) with a sales rep at my second Encore Performance. The order included Little Tree Air Fresheners.  Five days later, I received a text message on my personal phone from Amazon promoting Little Tree Air Fresheners.  

  HUH?  What's up with that?

  I can’t imagine there are many Police Pursuit Vehicle Dealerships in the country, but, Salem, Indiana can claim to have one within its city boundaries.  We saw dozens and dozens of black, white, and gray cars and trucks on the lot on Highway 62.

  Former president, Donald Trump, has managed to appear on network newscasts almost every night since his job ended.  The only other personality to garner that kind of attention in my lifetime is Richard Nixon during and after the Watergate years.

  I am still waiting for a moderate presidential candidate who could win either party nomination for next year's election.  

  Food executives say the only way to avoid Bio Engineered Food is to buy 100% organic foods.  Reminder: if the label just says, Organic, it still has about 30% GMOs.

  A Congressional Veto Override is what allowed ultra-conservative talk show radio host, Rush Limbaugh, to become king of talk shows (1988).  

  Congress passed a bill in 1987 that would have abolished the Fairness Doctrine.  President Reagan vetoed the bill, but, the legislature had the final say.  The override ended the requirement that all broadcast radio and television stations had to grant equal time to opposing political viewpoints. 

  Today, 35 years later, the money and ratings lie in extremist language that borders on hate, mistrust, conspiracies, and other right wing and ultra conservative ideologies. 

  The Top 10 rated radio talk shows in America are all hosted by extremists.  Moderate and liberal viewpoints are non-existent except for NPR.

  Not sure what that says about today's listeners of radio talk shows. 

  The Walgreen's pharmacy tech, Ben, was searching for a product I requested.  

  Ben couldn't find the familiar blue and white box, so he approached the pharmacist.  Christy told Ben the store was out of the product. 

 She also instructed Ben to tell me to...Get it from Amazon.

  Whatever happened to, We can order that for you? Or, Do you want me to check another store?

  Regina and I attended the annual St. James Art Fair in Old Louisville the first weekend in October.  The three-day event drew over 300,000 people.  Not sure how many booths we visited or walked by, but, I chalked up 5,729 steps.  

  My brothers and I have some great memories of relatives from our Wonder Years.  We had five uncles who have to be considered true characters.  I classify one in particular as unusual to say the least.

  We saw Uncle Jim frequently.  He had a perpetual smile no matter what was going on around him.  If any one of us asked him how he was doing, he had a standard answer, Boy, if you see me fighting a bear, you'd better help the bear.  I had no way of knowing those words would be one of my favorite memories of him.  

  In 1955, Chrysler produced a car called, Dodge LaFemme.  It was tri-colored and uncle bought one for his wife. This first-of-its-kind vehicle was white on top, black in the middle, and pink on the bottom.  I later learned Chrysler only produced 2,500 LaFemmes and ceased production of the model in 1957.

  One summer day, the same year Uncle Jim bought his new ride, he pulled into our driveway at our home in Broad Ripple.  I was in the front yard. 

  He threw the gear shift in park, opened the door, kept the engine running and raised the trunk deck.  He appeared to be in a hurry as he yelled for me to come over to the car.  

  I saw dozens of pants stacked on top of each other in the trunk.  Apparently, he had acquired these high dollar pants from a street hustler in downtown Indianapolis.  He told me to take some and to take enough for my brothers.  Imagine four boys, ages, 14, 12, 9. and 7 wearing expensive men's dress pants. 

  Enough is enough.  Every business and service thinks the patient or customer must take a survey immediately after leaving.

  I donated a bag of clothing to Goodwill and received a receipt.  On the flip side of the piece of paper was a website for a survey asking me about my experience with Goodwill.  

  Ford isn't producing enough of the new Mustang Dark Horse to keep up with demand. A salesman for a Louisville Ford dealer told me the car is selling for $30,000 above sticker....if I can even find one.

  Coming up:  another POS; an interview with a Korean War Vet, and; another oddities, observations, & ?'s. 

  And, finally. NBC's Chuck Todd writes: Right now, fear of primary voters is the single biggest driving force dictating why elected Republicans do what they do when it comes to Trump. 

  HUH?  What's up with that?