A SECOND LOOK AT “THAT AIN’T RIGHT”

What’s a second look at this garage arrangement tell you?

What’s missing: a fitness area with a treadmill, squat rack, work bench, maybe a couple of cars stacked on a lift, and a designated music area with guitars, drums, and amps all ready to go.

Not to say this garage is lacking anything, but it looks more like a storage unit than a daily use area to build on, play in, and break a sweat.

This is a great set-up for people ready to move. Loading time in three, two, one . . .

I saw a guy’s garage in Washington that had an epoxy painted floor, a higher degree of organization, and the cleanliness of an operating room.

Whatever happened in that garage stayed in that garage.

The thing about a baby boomer’s garage is the timing.

They’ve had time to sort and file everything away.

That’s one explanation and it’s a good one, like an aspirational goal.

On the other end of things is the shit-pile of the accidental hoarder with this excuse, “I’ve become a dumping ground for generational clutter.”

That’s what people say who lose control of their crap and it ends up stacked and packed with little trails winding from room to room.

The solution? Find a happy medium and make a priority, like an everyday thing, for the stuff you need to stay on track, stay strong, and make it all make sense.

 

Making Sense Now? OK Boomer

My favorite guys are those who justify everything with a load of horseshit.

“I need surgical cleanliness in the garage so I can go in and out without taking a shower.”

Who among us doesn’t enjoy a good shower? It’s hygienic, therapeutic, and warm. A good winter shower keeps a lot of people from moving to warmer climates.

“See, it’s not that bad here.”

From junior high through high school I wasn’t the only one taking three showers a day.

Get up and shower off to start the new day.

Go to PE class and shower afterwards.

Go to team practices and shower afterwards.

Non-sports people don’t get it, but they do know about rashes and infections.

You’d expect them to stay as pristine as humanly possible.

Now boomers go to the gym.

 

You have boundaries; naked gym guy needs boundaries. 

Who sets the boundaries?

Two normal people join a gym: one of them works out and goes home, the other works out and showers at the gym.

Then it breaks down further.

Two people shower at the gym: sweaty guys and those who like to shower with sweaty guys.

It’s all in the same package, (excuse the pun.)

A current trend explains why so many people, like millennials, are uncomfortable in the gym locker room.

There’s good reasons why everyone feels a little, shall we say, exposed.

 

A Second Look At Food Pictures 

What’s the bad news? If you know, you know.

I only know from what I read: 

 

The steak-and-lobster legend functions less as official policy and more as a shared cultural signal within military communities.

Service members frequently interpret the appearance of premium meals as an indicator that leadership anticipates demanding operations or seeks to boost morale ahead of difficult conditions.

 

While we age into old baby boomers, the experiences of our younger selves take on new meaning.

I was at a gathering at a friend’s neighbor’s house and watched my wife get chatted up by the host.

He was a good looking man with a wife and adult kids in the house so I wasn’t too worried they might make a break for it.

When they left the room of people a little longer than I anticipated, I sent my pal to find them.

They came back before he went on his mission and my wife was a little shook.

The guy was telling her war stories about his time in the jungles of Vietnam and took her back to see his uniform hanging in the closet.

He’d said the hardest part was writing letters home to the families of the fallen.

She told his kids they ought to be very proud of their dad.

 

Kid: He told you about Vietnam?

Wife: Yes.

Kid: He never went to Vietnam, he just likes talking about it.

 

Later on the drive home:

 

Wife: Why would someone go on and on about something they didn’t do.

Me: I’ve got some bad news for you: he had a willing audience. Did he put the move on you?

Wife: What move?

Me: That’s a good answer.

 

A Second Look At A First Impression

This is Mt. Hood, the Portland Mountain, a volcano that could erupt at any moment.

We’ve had experience around here with volcanoes ready to erupt after Mt. St. Helens.

The problem: From the record of volcanic eruptions, Hood could smoke Portland under the right conditions because it’s so close.

The solution: Don’t live in the blast zone.

I love Mt. Hood from a distance, which would shrink in a hurry once the big blast sends half the mountain my way.

 

Heading out for a mountain drive also includes the incredibly recent history of the area from the Hudson Bay Company to Kaiser to Intel, and stops in between.

Once clear of the big town the road curves along the Columbia River on one side and the green hills of Washington on the other; I was in between water and the sort of forest that grows in a high water region.

Long story short, we got to the mountain museum fifty two miles away from the crater, found a camera showing more clouds up there than the low ceiling outside, and made new plans.

Northwest Travel always makes new plans, even if the old plans don’t change.

 

PS:

How often do you take a second look at your life and try to make it better?

 

 

PSS:

Better? Better than what? Better than me? That ain’t right. Boomer, please.