This week I have a number of little burs caught in my shorts and they are bothering the heck out of me. A full rant for each one seems to be too much, so I’m getting them all out in one combined rant.

I was driving down the highway last week listening to a song on the radio. It was one I hadn’t heard from a group I didn’t know. To find out this information, I glanced at the read-out that normally displays the song title and artist. The screen advised me that the song was called, “Wendy’s Bacon Lovers” and it was by a band called, “Rejoice.” I puzzled over this because the song made no mention of Wendy’s or bacon. My puzzlement stopped the moment I realized that I was pulling into the drive through lane at Wendy’s with a bacon cheeseburger on my mind. How did they do that?

Shameless advertising is everywhere!

Speaking of shameless advertising, have you noticed the new way of advertising you on Facebook? They post an intriguing picture. It might be a bird, if you like birds, or a musical group you like playing a song you love. The link hits you right where you live. When you click on it, you find that you will get half of what you like then a commercial cuts in- a commercial you are unable to stop unless you turn off your sound. After the commercial cuts out, you will get some of what you were seeking but not enough to satisfy. I have named these “Mandatory Commercial Breaks.” With all the commercials we see on a daily basis, how much money do they think we have? Who has the money to do all of this advertising and how do they make a dollar after paying the cost of the ads?

There is a highway going through my little town. It’s used by a lot of trucks and RVs. We regularly have logging trucks, big eighteen wheelers and service trucks on a daily basis. During the summer, there are tons of RVs and pickups pulling boats and trailers loaded with off road vehicles. The road gets used and a used road develops potholes. The crew responsible for keeping up this stretch of road have a unique solution to repair the road and stay within their fiscal budget.

Because they are given only a little gravel to fill a lot of holes, to save money, the repairmen will wait until the road has a lot of potholes before they spring into action with a can of white paint to spray around the edges of all the potholes. This makes it easy for people to see them so they can bob and weave down the road missing most of them, if they are talented in this sport. By the time they do get to filling all the holes, new ones have appeared, which they normally ignore. The game is still on. The white paint is still somewhat visible allowing you to see where the holes have been filled so you can bob and weave down the road without destroying your suspension. I might add that motorcycles seem to have an advantage in this sport. Motorcyclists be advised, however, that we have lost a couple of bikes that went off course and wound up in one of the larger potholes. I think they have been drenched with asphalt by now. I sure hope the riders made it out before they covered the pothole.

I’ve been on a restricted diet that is supposed to help with whatever I have that the esteemed and experienced doctors cannot figure out. The diet consists of meat and vegetables. I cannot eat legumes- no peanut butter, beans, peas, or lentils. Dairy is not included in this diet so no cheese, butter, yogurt, ice cream. Gluten is forbidden so no bread, pancakes, doughnuts, or grain of any kind. Any added sugar is also off the menu, and this takes out all the sauces I like, even Worcestershire Sauce. No jams or jellies are allowed either. Most of them have added sugar that is not allowed. Also, anything cooked with or containing seed oils is off the table. That would include most salad dressings, some sauces as well as French fries or anything fried at a local restaurant. You might as well just say this diet, the elimination diet, excludes most of what you like to eat. My daughter, who convinced me that where the doctors have failed, this diet will cure my unnamed ills, says I am doing better. I do feel a little better, but I am unsatisfied and find myself eating a half pound of meat at a sitting with another half pound of potatoes just to feel full. I can’t wait for the day that I can have a slice of chocolate cake with a scoop of ice cream on top. Please don’t tell me that day will never come!

Recently my posts have garnered a few rather inspiring comments. Apparently, some folks are enjoying my rants and other writing. Thank you for your comments, upvotes, and shares. However, there have been some who have complained that I’m too political, too off the wall, too- you name it. One even got a little ticked off because I hadn’t directed a rant at them. Please be patient. I’m only one person running things here and I will eventually get to all of you with my rants. In the meantime, please remember that we live in a country with free speech. I want you all to reread the Constitution, particularly the part where it defines free speech as what I like to hear. That’s all I have to say.