Blog Archives - trish hermanson

What to Do in Case of a Situation

1/11/2019

This sign cracked me up because we used to react to emergencies, but now we create “Situational Action Plans.” Please, if I’m ever in an emergency, don’t call it a “situation.” Just get help!
     Other signs I’ve observed recently have been more straightforward, like the South Dakota bill board that poked fun at just about everyone - “Eat Steak, Wear Fur, Keep Your Guns.” Another, advertising a western store, told me, “Use Your Head When Buying a Hat.”
     A sign in a Denver plumbing parts outlet informed me: “You Will Spend Seven Years of Your Life in the Bathroom. You Will Need a Good Book…and a Good Look.”
     A T-shirt in Colorado made me read carefully: “Legalize Marinara.” Another, perhaps related, said the wearer was “Overly Meditated.” A third came across with the authority of Scripture: “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he’ll sit in a boat and drink beer all day. Fish 24:7”
     Then there are the companies that select unforgettable names. A tax accounting firm: “Go Figure.” A shoe repair store: “The Sole Man.” And my favorite, a hair salon: “Curl Up and Dye.”
     All this whimsy makes me wish we could trade in the divisive political talk around us for a bit of humor. Perhaps then we’d discover, as Louis Armstrong sang, what a wonderful world it is. Listen to Armstrong here.

What's on Your 'To Be' List?

1/4/2019

Here’s a challenge for us New Year’s Resolutionists: I asked my friend Jean Snedegar what’s on her bucket list now that she’s retired as a BBC reporter and public radio producer. What was left to do since she’s already met both the royal and the commoner at work?
Her brow furrowed as it always does when she’s deep in thought. “For thirty years I’ve viewed myself as a journalist and broadcaster,” she said. “So instead of asking what I want to DO, I asked myself who I want to BE.”
  Instead of creating a “to do” list, Jean developed a “to be” list that she ticked off to me on her fingers: An encourager; a hostess; a reader/learner/grower; a carer of a sick brother; a French and German learner; a gardener; a de-clutterer/organizer; a friend via notes, calls, emails, and visits; a God praiser; and a pray-er for others.
     Her list surprised me because much of who she aspires to be, she already is. That’s because years before she penned her list, she set herself on a trajectory that has made her the person she yearns to be.
  Which makes me wonder what path I’ve stepped onto in life. Will it lead to who I want to be? Or do I need to make a right turn and veer onto a different path?

Croutons...
Chew on these seasoned bits of life for a little hope and humor along your highway.

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