Pickle Up

I've been looking at some other blogs, with thoughtful discussions about topics that I have opinions about. Yet I don't find the -- well, not the "need" so much as the time -- to write about them. Thoughtful discussion takes effort. My wife and I are familiar with having the daily details of our life crowding out some of the more long-term goals. This blog, for instance, not only misses the thoughtful discussions, but much in the way of discussion at all. Higher priority goes to Jellybean-proof furniture, and higher priority than that goes to, say, a rousing game of computer solitaire because the time I have for either is after someone's bedtime. So I don't find it surprising when other people's blogs -- at least the handful that I follow (and that are distinctly _not_ income-oriented) -- are occasionally a bit spotty.

For instance, when M breaks his typical 3-a-week posting habit at the birth of his child, I understand. And when he later picks up a roughly 3-a-month posting habit, I wonder where he finds the time. But when he doesn't post for 6 weeks, I start to worry. I shouldn't. . . The fact is that he wouldn't be absent if he had something major to report.

Last week, I was vacationing. The vacation involved quite a bit of riding to reach our destination. The interstate in northern Idaho had a couple of marquees across the road. This shouldn't have surprised me considering how bad the winters can get, but it did considering how little traffic there was compared to lots of places I know without them.

And it was an even bigger surprise to see that they were rented out for advertising.

Advertising? Well, what else was I supposed to think when from a distance I saw that one said, "DRIVE WITH COKE AND --" something else I couldn't make out. But I could see that it started with a "P." Pepsi? No, they wouldn't be sharing an ad with Coke.

If I were more prone to question my own eyes, I might not have made the "advertising" conclusion. Because as we got closer, I realized I'd read it wrong. It said, "DRIVE WITH CAKE AND PICKLE UP." Less logical than the ad, maybe. But my wife confirmed that was what it said.

It wasn't until we passed under the sign that I understood. The State of Idaho wasn't allowing the daily details to keep them from their longer-term goals. In this case, the detail was a little water damage, that could be seen from the correct perspective. Maybe I'll keep on attending to those details. Mine are more important than water damage.

The message was just what most of you have figured out by now, given its source. I'm also guessing that's the standard message except when they have an inclement weather report.

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