Sprinkled throughout tis week’s rumination you will find samples of odd signage, supplemented by equally strange pairings of absurd names and terms.
Just stuff I’ve tripped over in my linguistic jogs.
For example:
Is the Gutter Master a cousin of the Back Door Man?
* * * *
Fairness is impossible in most human situations because some will not want fairness. They’ll want to get the best for themselves, regardless of consequences to others.
And what is fairness anyway?
It’s not giving everyone absolutely equal shares, which ignores the differences of individual need.
It’s not giving each their preferred choice if that choice will negate the choice of others.
There are no cures – physical, social, political, environmental – that will fit the needs of everyone in every situation. We are each an individual, a member of a local group, and a statistical point in the overall scheme of things.
And when you’re dealing with people, there aren’t only the individual and the general population to consider; between and around them lie the variable (determined by change in need or situation) and the cyclical (the historical repetition).
Though some suggested cures will work more widely and effectively than others, for the most part we can’t expect to fix or even define anything “human” on a broad scale, only raise the likelihood of comfort or acceptance somewhat higher.
* * * *
Funniest award of the year!
Seen on a plaque in the reception area of the hospital where Linda and I waited for her annual ophthalmology exam:
“Total Knee Replacement Five-Star Recipient”
Well, knee me in the groin!
* * * *
When I first heard of neatsfoot oil, I had a horrifying vision of the poor little neats, footless, bleeding to death in the snow.
* * * *
Why do archaeo-geologists give our poor planet so little credit for its role in its own evolution?
They’ve made a recent claim that attack by massive asteroids was necessary for our planet to develop hydrogen cyanide and thus release atmospheric oxygen, a necessary basis of life. It’s as though Earth could not possibly be responsible for its own progress without the help of huge, extraterrestrial aliens.
Instead, I propose that we consider what was going on right along at the bottoms of our oceans, which produced, among other things, Ancient Sulphur Spewing holes.
Without these ASSholes, there would be no life on earth.
* * * *
You know that ubiquitous road-sign-from-hell, “Road Work Ahead”?
Did you ever consider it would mean almost exactly the same if the sign read, “Road Work Afoot”?
* * * *
When Linda turned onto Lick Creek Rd. the other night, a doe and two fawns turned away from the verge to run back into the field.
For the first two decades we were up here, the deer preferred to dash straight into the road (in one case, directly into our car) and get obliterated.
But in the last couple years more deer are scampering off to live another day. They may have actually learned something important about survival.
You think there’s any hope that humanity might reach a similar level of revelation ?
Oh, roll over, howl with laughter, and kick your feet in the air!
* * * *
You ever wonder:
Is Jack Shit related to Peter Out?
lickhaven 