My Blog

No Buddy and Barney for me

August 8, 2011

My wife and I lived in Tombstone for about 6 months. As you probably know this little town is of historical significance, after all, who hasn’t heard of the famous gunfight that took place there.

Now it is a major tourist attraction, people from around the globe come to check out the OK Corral, the Birdcage Theatre; the café’s and gift shops. One of the attractions is a ride in a replica of an 1800’s stagecoach. It takes you past the most important places with narration of the driver. The introduction just before departure always was, and may be still is, exactly the same including the presentation of the horses: “On my left hand side is Buddy, and on my right hand side is Barney”. One day he had two different horses, and he still referred to them as Buddy and Barney. He corrected his mistake but it showed how he was used to those same opening sentences.

And it made me think, wouldn’t he get tired of doing that same thing over and over again. I’m not sure how long he had been making those tours but I got the impression that it had been for quite some time. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of times repeating himself and traveling the same short route, multiple times a day, year after year. Well, if he’s happy with it, more power to him but I couldn’t do it.

I get bored with routine stuff real quick. Eleven years ago I had an office job where it was more of the same every day. The pay wasn’t bad, the atmosphere was good and the boss was a real nice person. After two years I had the feeling that I was going to explode from boredom. So I went to school and became a trucker.

Some people have asked me if driving long distance isn’t boring. No, it isn’t. I have always liked traveling, going places and seeing new things. Of course trucking is a job, its hard work and often there is no time to stop and look around.
But I enjoy every mile, whether it’s in the South West desert, the wide landscape of Wyoming or the rolling hills of Virginia. Around every bend there is something new to see and every state has its beauty. And the great thing about being a trucker is that no two days are alike.

Some people are happy with safe and uneventful routines, whether it is at work or otherwise. I remember having a neighbor who worked at the same office for 52 years. He rode his bicycle to work twice a day and he totaled about 36,000 return trips.

I have had a wide variety of jobs, from running a store, working at an office, being an assistant auctioneer to driving a truck. So I did a lot of different thing, learned a lot and I consider that to be richness. I have encountered difficulties and not every job was a pleasant experience but I can look back with satisfaction and pride.

Eat, don't waste

July 28, 2011

Last week my wife and I decided to eat at one of our favorite restaurants. It is a buffet place where you can build your own salad with a wide choice of ingredients. As soon as we turned into the parking lot we noticed that the sign was gone. Then we saw a note stuck on the door saying that they went out of business. We are going to miss it.

We went to a comparable place, a little pricier and not as good in my opinion. We just love a buffet, if the food is good of course.

The downside of visiting a busy buffet is that often kids are running around. I can’t tell how many times I barely managed to avoid a collision and spilling food on the floor. And it’s not just the kids displaying lack of caution; quite a few adults make surprising moves as well. Even turning around quickly may cause an embarrassing situation.

While this doesn’t really bother me, there is something that annoys me to no end. There are always some individuals that load up their plates to the max, like they think the place may be sold out any minute now. And after balancing the pile to the table they take a few bites, and discover that they don’t really like it. The plate gets pushed to the side and they go for something else. That kind of behavior I consider to be extremely rude and inconsiderate. Why not take a little from everything you like to try, and go back for more if you enjoy it.

“Well, we’re paying for it”, they will say. No you’re not. You are paying for the food you eat, not for the food you waste. I have seen a few places that have posted a sign to that effect; perfectly reasonable in my opinion. Wasting food like that is costing the restaurant money and does not help to keep prices low. And wasting food in general is totally unacceptable in my book.

Now I won’t even mention all those people who are short on table manners. I was taught to chew with my mouth closed and not to talk with my mouth full.  It is basic etiquette that is lost on many eaters these days. Have you seen the ones who put their arm around the plate like they are afraid that someone will try to take it from them? And of course every now and then there is this individual who is loud and obnoxious in attempt to spoil the dining experience for others.

I had a great buffet experience in small town in Georgia. The barn style building didn’t look very inviting from the outside but it was the only place around for miles and it had truck parking facilities. The interior was equally simple but the buffet was elaborate and everything looked fresh. For around $10 I had a great meal complemented with great service by the friendly owners. Sometimes a whole in the wall is the place to go to.

Over the years I have been to hundreds of restaurants and with a few exceptions I always had a good meal and acceptable service. I’m making this statement to let you know that I’m certainly not a notorious complainer. And I’m not a picky eater either.