The other day as I was driving in down town Lansing, I saw a woman walking along the street with a full 32oz bottle of fruit juice balanced on her head.  While I marveled at her grace, she did look very out of place.

Of course, I have always said that Lansing could be the capital of a third world nation.  Maybe this just goes to prove it.

And people wonder if I ever run out of blog topics.

The people that I work with are always bringing in the surplus from their gardens.  Some days there are green beans and some days there are tomatoes.  And the produce is quickly grabbed by the people in my office.

Today is zucchini day.  But, it is not being grabbed up.  Why?  Because they weigh about five pounds each.  I know that I don’t like zucchini that is that big and I suspect that others feel the same way.  Unless you are planning on carving the zucchini or using it for compost, zucchini are best when they are small like a cucumber.

I suspect that they will still be here come next week.

We recently visited the “First Battle of Manasseh” known as “Bull Run.” It was a field. Apparently the Rebels and the Confederates took sides on this field and fired canon balls at each other.

As far as I could tell, the field had no strategic value to either side.

Back in the 50s when the Interstate was being built, rest areas were provided for the weary travelers about every 60 miles or so. And, at the time, they were essential since the Interstate ran mainly through farm land. But that was over 50 years ago and times have changed.

A few years back, a new Interstate project required the removal of a rest area near Grand Rapids in order to make room for an off ramp. No one really missed the rest area because there was a Meijer’s (regional grocery chain) just a mile down the road.

Besides being open 24 hours a day and having clean bathroom facilities, the store offers more than any rest area. And besides, Meijers welcomed the opportunity to bring new customers into their store.

This got me to thinking about the other rest areas in the area and to question just how needed they are. The rest area near Lake Odessa is nice but there is a full service truck stop just 3 miles further down the road. Likewise, the Portland rest area and the Grand Ledge rest area are just three miles before a 24 hour truck stop. So, it would seem to me that we could dispense with all three of these rest areas.

While I can’t address all of the rest areas in the state, it would seem to me that maybe it is time to review these locations and close them down if it makes sense.

I like swiss cheese but I usually only have it when I make an omelet. So, a package of swiss cheese lasts me a long time.

Today, as I was making an omelet, I got to thinking that I have had that package of swiss cheese for a long time. When I checked the expiration date on the package, I noted that it is over a year old and hasn’t spoiled. With our cheddar cheese, after a few weeks it starts growing mold. But the swiss seems to hold its own.

Given that the package is half gone, I suspect that I will get another years worth of omelets out of it.

My wife was in need of a band aid last night before bed. After she applied it, she was concerned that it might leak through on to the sheets. So, I suggested that she tape a gauze bandage over the top of it.

She got out the gauze bandage and the roll of tape only the discover that there was only about a two inch piece of tape left. Since we both knew that the piece of tape was not going to be enough to hold it in place, the only other option was duct tape.

The tape was crude but it did the job. The bandage stayed on until morning.

On our recent trip out east, we visited the Smithsonian Museum of American History. I was very disappointed.

We had visited the museum a few years back and were ecstatic about the place. In fact, we spent a whole day there. But this time, it was a half day at best.

I realize that museums change there displays from time to time but there was so much more to see in the old museum.  I guess they don’t want people to spend too much time there.

In the 20 some years that I have been driving to Lansing, I have seen my share of dead animals lying along side the expressway.  And, of course, the animals are pretty mangled, some to the point of no recognition.  That is, all except the raccoons.

For some reason, the raccoons seem to escape without being mangled.  They just lay along side the expressway perfectly intact, waiting to swell up like a football.  It is almost as if they get to the side of the expressway and then drop dead.

Maybe the expressway is like the elephant grave yard.  When the raccoon knows that it is going to die, it travels to the side of the expressway and then drops dead, like generations before him.

Or, maybe the carbon monoxide gets them.  After all, they are pretty low to the ground so they would get a good dose of the gas and not even know it.  They probably just start getting sleepy and then lay down for a little nap.  The next thing you know, they are gone.

Obviously, I have been making that drive for too many years.

My sister-in-law, Linda, sent over 3 large bags and one large box of stuff from my parents estate. And since my parents died over 10 years ago, this stuff has been sitting around for a while.

Most of the “stuff” are pictures and legal documents, which we are going through. But a part of the “stuff” was a fez. Apparently it from either my father or my uncle.

Anyway, I don’t know what to do with it. I know that my father was very proud of it so I guess I will just keep it and let my kids figure out what to do with it when we are gone.

It has been four weeks since the death of Micheal Jackson and he still hasn’t been buried!  Here is a clue folks, he isn’t getting better with age. In fact, he is probably starting to smell.  Pick a spot and get on with it.  It doesn’t really matter where you bury him, it will be turned into a shrine any way so just do it.

If you keep him much longer, he will look like one of the characters from “Thriller”.