October 3, 2007
 

And The
Answers Are?

“So what have you learned?” wondered a daughter.  Mile marker 68 looms just ahead in life’s journey and the question was posed in and among the “What do you want, and don’t dare say socks, for your birthday?” queries. 

Never given the subject much thought.  Just exactly what absolutes have been retained in the cranium, outside the usual bromides i.e. buy don’t rent, pass on purchasing the extended warranty and always wear clean underwear in case of an automobile accident? So what truths have been revealed in the many decades spent stumbling around the planet? 

Don’t play golf or poker with people you find aggravating.  The intense desire to beat their brains in causes emotion to cloud the ability to make either good decisions or smooth swings.  But in contact sports, and business, some disdain towards the competition leads to much better results.  

Very few ever fess up to losing in Las Vegas.  One of life’s true wonders is how casinos pay off winner after winner yet still seem to afford the humongous neon signs out front. 

No matter the purchase, be it house, car or wide screen TV, a minimum of five folks will volunteer how they received a much better deal. 

It’s ok to overtip. 

Never accept “no” as the answer from anyone not possessing the authority to say “yes.”  

When it comes to satisfying your inner carnivore, pork chops rule. 

Much attention is given “comfort” food.  There’s nary a mention of “comfort” clothes.  Yet that description fits perfectly when describing a hooded sweatshirt.  Be it in the football bleachers on a fall afternoon or curled up with a book in front of the fire after a day of skiing, just wearing a “hoodie” makes life feel incrementally better. 

In any business deal the other guy also deserves to make a buck. 

Don’t get too “up” or too “down”. Nothing is ever as bad, or as good, as it seems.  Except for Emmylou Harris and Allison Krauss songs plus the Broncos Super Bowl win over the Packers. 

Nutritionists and food editors pay not nearly enough attention to the delight of pie for breakfast.  Starting the day with a steaming cup of coffee, the morning paper and a slice of apple, pumpkin or rhubarb truly does give credence to the “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” theory. 

There’s not a single reason, outside of an intense desire for an agonizing death, anyone with an IQ higher than room temperature, smokes. 

Equal pay for equal work has always been available.  It’s called a straight commission sales job.  Finding folks with the cojones to work straight commission? That’s an entirely different story.   

Be it stream, lake, river or ocean, food always tastes better when dining at a table near the water. 

When hearing the words “over-rated” bottled water, tofu and Congress come immediately to mind. 

Miracles do happen.  How else can one explain both the Rockies and the Cubs still playing after the end of the regular season?