Some days, as we all know, it doesn’t pay to get up. For example, I decided while writing this musing, that a mini can of ginger ale might be nice. I went to open the can in the normal way by pulling up the tab.
Unfortunately, the can did not want to cooperate, but no can was going to defeat me. No way, Bubba! I kept pushing and sure enough I made it open just as it sliced my finger next to the finger nail. Well, it then determined to bleed like heck, and I couldn’t get it stopped. I rushed into the kitchen to get a tea bag while the finger was encased in tissue. It is well known, well some know, that if you put a wet tea bag on something that is bleeding it will stop the flow fairly quickly. I use lots of tea bags that way! I determined that blood most likely did not make the ginger ale taste any better so I went back to plain old water. Ginger ale was never my favorite drink anyway. The Blond in The House then reminded me that, if I were not so stubborn, I would open pop cans like she does. She takes a dinner knife and puts it under the tab and pushes up until it opens with no fuss. I still maintain that no can is going to beat me!
Some smart eyed individual will probably notice that in the paragraph above I mentioned pop cans. They will snort and claim that they are soda cans. When I get someone who is for soda in the pop vs soda argument, I have a ready answer. I tell them if they can show me some sodasicles. I might give some credence to their argument. If you go into a store, and ask for sodasicles they will look at you like you have lost it. What you need are popsicles. According to my spell check, sodasicles do not even exist as a word. Where I grew up in Western Pennsylvania. And you went into a drugstore and asked for a root beer soda, you received a class of root beer with ice cream in it. Then, a friend of mine and I went to graduate school in Philadelphia way over in Eastern Pennsylvania. We went into an establishment and ordered root beer sodas. What we were served were glasses of root beer, but no ice cream. They make you take an extra step and ask for ice cream. People who like the word soda over pop make life more difficult as we found out. Of course, odd names are all around this fine country. One time The Blond and I went into a Boston restaurant with our son and his wife. I asked for a chocolate milkshake. What I was handed was milk with some chocolate powder mixed in it. Then I was told that if I wanted ice cream in it, I had to ask for a frappe. I wonder what an argument of milkshake vs frappe is like?
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that when you have two men and two women at a dinner table, the women dominate the conversation and the two guys can’t get a word in edgewise. I vowed that the next time I sat down I would immediately start talking about pro football with the other man and we would dominate and the ladies would have to try and get a work in edgewise. Well, would you believe the next time we sat down, the other husband was probably the one male in the whole state of Florida who knows absolutely nothing about football – pro or college! I told him that I would educate him. I mentioned that the main thing that he needed to know was that the Pittsburgh Steelers were the best team to follow. I gave him some history and then asked him some questions. He needed some help, but he is a nice thoughtful guy, and I am certain I can get him up to snuff. I may look for another partner until he does. The wives did have a nice conversation for the rest of the dinner.
Barry Evans is a columnist for Villages-News.com.