Shameless joke stealing + Holiday spirit + Wall Drug + There is no place like NYC?!

WHIMSY

Shameless joke stealing from "Go Ahead & Smile in Norfolk Daily News (12/14/15):  "He went to the park yesterday & played Frisbee w/his dog. But it wasn't all that much fun. He thinks he needs a flatter dog." [Key word . . . "Shameless."]

Excerpt from Omaha World Herald (12/12/15):  "Loaded gun found inside coat donated to Goodwill. "A fully loaded handgun has been found inside a Goodwill clothing donation bag in Georgia." [Peace on earth . . . ] *
* Actually, if you're going to donate a handgun, including ammunition is the right thing to do. I'm just sayin'.

Also from OWH (12/14):  "How to keep kids safe as hackers target toys. Parents around the world have been understandably shaken by the hacking of a VTech database containing information on some 6.4 million children who use the company's toys. But what's a parent to do?" [Here's a thought . . . BUY YOUR KID A BOOK, NOT AN INTERNET-BASED GAME!]

Also from OWH (12/14):  Secret Santa brings gifts of cash, hope to Ferguson. Gherica Lewis expected the worst when 5 squad cars, sirens blaring, stopped suddenly as she walked w/her 10-month-old daughter & the girl's father along the street in Ferguson, MO, where riot police clashed w/protesters 4 months after Michael Brown's shooting death, making widespread arrests & deploying tear gas to control sometimes violent crowds. 'I thought I was going to jail,' she said.
      "Instead, Lewis, 24, & Kimoni Griffin, 23, received several $100 bills from a secret Santa who chose Ferguson for last week's holiday cash giveaway to help the community recover after the AUG '14 fatal shooting of Brown . . . " [Politics aside, I like the story.]

Excerpts from Parade Magazine (12/13/15):  "Wall Drug Store. They're everywhere. Bumper stickers that ask, 'Where the heck is Wall Drug?' The answer is Wall, SD, population 876. That's home to the 76,000-sq-ft emporium that sells everything from upscale Tony Lama boots to jack-alope hunting licenses & a Christmas ornament for every state. You'll find buffalo burgers, an old-fashioned soda fountain, lots of Western art & a place for kids to plan for gemstones . . . " [Some of you know that I have somewhat of a love-hate relationship w/Parade Magazine, but KUDOS to Parade Magazine for this item. I LOVE Wall Drug. I used to keep a Wall Drug bumper sticker posted in my office. Any time we're in the vicinity of Wall Drug, we stop there. Any chance I have to eat a bison burger there, it's almost 100% guaranteed that I will.]

And:  "Cruise-in' with Tom . . . (Tom Cruise's) 1st career choice:  Catholic priest. [Scary thought? Funny thought? You be the judge.]

There is No Place Like . . . 

New York?

Excerpt from Omaha World Herald (12/15/15):  "In NYC, it's one big sidewalk sale of trees. In New York City, even sidewalk space is coveted real estate. Street vendors sometimes spend a fortune or languish for years on waiting lists to acquire one of the permits that allow them to sell goods in tightly regulated locations. But once a year, there's an exception, laid out in an artfully worded city ordinance:  During the month of December, anyone may sell 'coniferous trees' just about anywhere--no license required.
      "It's a rare tree-for-all. Peddler flock in from across North America. Big trucks carrying huge loads of trees arrive in the dead of night. Stands selling coniferous trees (some people, but not the city, call them Christmas trees) sprout just about everywhere." [No red tape to sell coniferous, "holiday" trees on the streets of NYC? Truly amazing!]

Nebraska!

Also from OWH (12/8):  "Coffee shop fills out loft space. A coffee shop w/roots in Nepal is coming to downtown Omaha's 16th St, taking the last commercial spot in Limelight Urban Apartment Lofts building." [Roots in Nepal? Go Big Red!] *
* But can it be as good as Seattle Dark Roast #5?

Criminal Minds

Also from OWH (12/15):  "Manger stranger was DUI. The tableau in Tadcaster, England, had all the necessary components of a good Nativity scene. Infant Christ? Check. Mary & Joseph? Check. Three wise men? Farm animals resting on a bed of hay? Check & check. It was the drunken driver who seemed out of place.
      "The North Yorkshire Police Roads Policing Group said that a man tried to hide from police in the Nativity after crashing his car into a metal barrier Saturday. The man--easily distinguishable from the rest of the characters in the creche by virtue of being not an inanimate object--was apprehended & given a blood-alcohol test, which he failed . . . 
     "One police officer tweeted about a 'driver w/no (frankin)cense being taken off the road." [Given how secular Great Britain has become . . . given the low rate of church attendance . . . I say, give this guy a break. Give him the benefit of the doubt . . . that he was searching for a true, spiritual experience! I'm just sayin'.

Food for Thought

Also from Norfolk Daily News (12/9):  "Coffee can beach. Hundreds of sealed coffee cans & vacuum-packed coffee bricks have washed ashore along Florida's Space Coast & officials believe they may be from containers that fell off a barge last weekend. The yellow-&-red packages . . . dotted the beach TUE in Indialantic, where delighted beach combers were scooping them up & stuffing them into bags . . . " [On the one hand, it was coffee. On the other hand . . . picking it up off the beach? Hmmmm.]

Political TUE . . . Special WED Edition

Also from OWH (12/11):  "Bergdahl says he left base to draw notice & be a hero. "Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl says he walked off his base in Afghanistan to cause a crisis that would catch the attention of military brass. He wanted to warn them about what he believed were serious problems w/leadership in his unit. And he wanted to prove himself as a real-ife action hero, like someone out of a movie.
      "After slipping away alone from his tiny base . . . under cover of darkness in 2009, Bergdahl had a sinking thought:  His plan to spawn a massive manhunt was going to lead to a 'hurricane of wrath' from his commanders.' Bergdahl decided then to deviate from his plan to head straight from his platoon's base to the larger headquarters 20 miles away, he said THU in the podcast 'Serial.' Bergdahl, comparing himself to a fictional action hero, said he decided to collect intelligence & look for the Taliban before turning himself in." [Well, I for one take comfort in the fact that we didn't rush things, took our time, calmly investigated the matter, didn't do anything rash like trade some of the worst of the worst Guatanamo Taliban prisoners for this misguided deserter, just to give the appearance of gaining political points. Wait . . . what?]

Also from OWH (12/15):  "Sign climate deal on Earth Day, U.N. says." ["Go ahead. Sign the deal on whatever day you want & see what good it does you," Earth days.]

Leckband Temp Challenge

Based on NOAA web site, 9:08a (CST), all temps in F, ratings follow:

#1, Norfolk, NE:  26/wind chill 10

#2, Beatrice, NE:  28/15

#3, Lincoln, NE:  29/15

#4, Ventura, IA:  34/22

#5, Garrison, IA:  40/29

#6, BALMIEST LECKBAND'S, Eagan, 40/32

TWO ITEMS OF NOTE:

• It's not often at this time of year that the Nebraska Leckband's end up in a clean sweep at the top of the ratings.
• Nor is it common at this time of year for the MN Leckband's to achieve the coveted title of BALMIEST Leckband's.

Christmas Card & Letter Update

This is a service provided for those who remember that (a) I did not get a Christmas card and/or letter published last year; & (b) are anxiously waiting to see what happens this year. AS OF 9:26a (CST) today, I have written an introductory paragraph, all cards have been hand-addressed, return labels have been affixed, Christmas stamps have been affixed, & family pictures are ready to be enclosed.

Mental Health MON . . . WED Update

In my Mental Health MON 12/14 blog post, I included some items re:  anxiety, inviting readers [all 4 or 5 of them?] to help me distinguish between those things that I should genuinely obsess about, those things that were just ordinary concerns that anybody could have, & those things that were unnecessarily stupid to dwell on. [I haven't checked for results.]

Well, here are some taglines from today's Drudge Report (12/15). I didn't bother to read the articles, because each tagline created at the very least a mild sense of unrest for me; at the very most a strong sense of anxiety. You, the reader, are once again invited to help me out. Which ones are worthy of truly, obsessive anxiety? Which ones are worth of at least some genuine concern? Which ones seem like I've included them just to get a reaction?

• "POLL: Trump towers over GPO field w/unprecedented 33-pt lead . . . 
• "Chinese sub practiced missile attack on American carrier . . . 
• "Kerry accepts Moscow's stance, Assad can stay . . . 
• "Russian media explodes w/vulgar anti-Obama rhetoric . . . 
• "Winter freak:  Phoenix colder than NYC . . . "
• "UPDATE:  America's newest warship breaks down at sea after 20 days . . . "
• "Web sites to read emotions by measuring mouse speed . . . "
• "Vegetarian diets BAD for environment . . . 
• "Obama Hawaii vacation to cost taxpayers 3.5M--in fly-time alone . . . 
• "ICE brags about catch 0.0002% of criminal illegals . . . 
• "Ryan-Pelosi's deal will NOT block refugees . . . 
• "Jihadi's send letters to Europeans asking them to convert or die . . . '

AND ONE LAST WORRY(?):  Drove to Dakota Dune, SD, then over to Sioux City, IA, on MON 12/14, due to a doctor's appointment. Did NOT observe any New Hampshire license plate. Drove to Wayne, NE, TUE 12/14, also for an appt. Ditto results. Time is slipping away!. Odds are increasingly NOT in our favor to observe--within the rules--all state license plates by 12/31/15. Next best chance? I will be in Lincoln, NE, this THU-FRI, for my grand-daughter's band concert & a mtg of the State Gamblers' Assistance Commission.