I've been told not to sweat the small stuff. I prefer "don't forget the small stuff." The small stuff is where I find the quirky, puzzling, funny, ridiculous, and entertaining. I see some of the best stuff while I'm in the car, and today seemed to be extra stuffish, beginning with my commute along Route 3A, normally scenic and a favorite of wildlife. There were five different potentially fatal (for the chipmunks) incidents. Squirrel, turkey, and deer crossings are easy to deal with; a) proceed with caution and hope for signs of intelligence, b) swerve, c) blow the horn, d) slam on the brakes. Chipmunks, however, only have one speed, they never look both ways or even one way, and unless you time it just right - well, you know what happens. How have chipmunks survived for 76,000 years with not much more than a cute face going for them?
In the Wendy's parking lot at lunch time, I saw a truck with a cherry picker (boom lift, man lift, basket crane) parked about 50 feet away. The middle-aged truck driver was strolling around the outside of the truck, looking things over, and he was wearing a safety harness and a hard hat. This could be entertaining, I thought. He carefully climbed up into the bucket and I heard the whine of the hydraulic motor, and saw him slowly moving the bucket from side to side and then up and down. What I found strange was there wasn't a pole, tree, sign, or building within reach of the bucket. The man was just playing. Then I saw the sign on the truck door with the words "equipment rental". I'm eating lunch on my lunch hour, and he's riding in a bucket. And why at Wendy's? Why not at Burger King? Why not at the mall? And why did he do exactly the same thing yesterday?
I see limos/livery/transport vehicles all the time. Who doesn't? They are all basically taxis of different degrees of fancy-shmanciness. I've seen Hummer stretch limos, Cadillac limos, Lincoln limos, buses, and plenty of cabs of every size and color. Driving home along Route 44 today, I saw a "Victoria's Transport" cab and then I tried to imagine that it's our vacation day; I call Victoria's for the ride to the airport. Spouse and I gather our luggage together by the front door; his 26" rolly bag, my two smaller rolly bags, the toiletries, the shoe bag, the laptop bag, the camera bag. The taxi arrives, the doorbell rings, we open the door and see... a Toyota Prius. Really???
Today was sunny and hot, a perfect spring day. A thirsty kind of day. And then I saw The Soda Machine as I was cruising home on scenic Route 58, through the woods. Standing proud and tall against the side of someone's garage in a nice neighborhood, not far from Edaville Railroad (to which Thomas the Train will be coming on June 21st), and even less far from where King Richard's Faire is held every year, was a Pepsi machine. It wasn't an old, abandoned, wreck of a machine, it had the latest Pepsi logo and was lit up. I could see that from the road. So the question is, can passersby pull into the driveway, take a few steps to the side of the garage, and drop some coins? The homeowner could have put the machine around the back of the garage, out of sight of thirsty passersby. But he didn't. This is out in the middle of rurality with not a convenience store in sight. And there are other people along this same road selling armloads of campfire wood for $1.00. Entrepreneurial awesomeness!
When I was 18, before I had bought my first car, I wanted a Ford F-150. Not for any special reason, I just liked them. Over the years my dream car has changed many times, and has included a Lotus, a white bullet-proof Chevy Suburban with tinted windows, a yellow Toyota FJ Cruiser, a Ford Flex, and an Audi R8 GT3. Lately I've gone from frivolous to practical, and have a new favoritest car that I will never own. I have had my eye on a Ford F650 for its versatility and stylishness and was able to drive by the local Ford dealer to check out my black beauty from time to time. But today on the way home from work, my eye was caught by another, and I now have a new favorite. It's a Ford F750. Who needs the F650, when the F750 is around? The one I saw was doing duty as a dump truck, but from the looks of it, I could tow a house with that power. I could sit in the cab and be at eye-level with tractor trailer drivers. In short, I could fear nothing and no one in this beast. Could driving get any better than that?
Keep your eyes open. Watch for the small stuff.
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