After an intense rainstorm, a rainbow flag showed up in my landscaping one morning. I took it to the back yard and placed it in my garden, and a squirrel promptly broke it in half. Does this mean squirrels hate flags or LGBTQ+ people? A few other flags were spotted at other homes, including an Irish flag pinned to a bush. Whoever did this has not come forward.
At birth and for the rest of our lives, we are given a name which identifies us. The most common way to express names here in the US is with five unique fields: the salutation field (Mr., Mrs., Dr.), the first name field (Jane, John), the middle initial field, the last name field (Jones) and the title field (MD, Jr., Sr., III). You would be amazed to find how many people don’t know how to use those fields effectively when filling out a form. I have seen first and middle names together, titles stuck onto the end of last names; once I found a name in which the person apparently tabbed or backspaced and gave themselves one letter for a last name. People also put in extra spaces after each entry, which becomes part of their name. Take a moment to look at how the information is laid out before starting the process. You can save yourself a lot of trouble.
In that same vein, addresses are broken down as street, unit number (apartment, condo), then city, state and Zip code (with +4). Amazingly, though Zip +4 has been around since 1983, many folks don’t know what theirs is. Placing it on your personal information with any place sending you mail can make the difference between whether your delivery is sorted correctly or not. The +4 can pinpoint your location to the side of the block you are on, or the floor of your highrise apartment building. It’s easy to look up on the USPS website as well, and worth memorizing.
While on the road the other day, I saw a tricked-out vehicle which gave me a bit of anxiety. It was a Honda with the upper portion of its tires obscured by bodywork, and the tires themselves were nearly three times the width needed. They were mounted at outward angles somehow, so that only the inner edges of each tire contacted the road. It was a relief to see it turn off the highway. Who wants to share the streets with a vehicle so potentially dangerous? How is that street legal? They must change it to pass inspection.
Speaking of vehicle inspections, our state motor vehicle registrations no longer come on perforated documents. They must be cut to size with scissors. Does it seem too much to ask for a pop-out card?
I had put off a task for a while and finally got around to it; synchronizing my phone to the car. Probably the easiest feat on a screen I’ve had the privilege of doing. Now if I can get my Microsoft Office to work as cooperatively as the car’s onscreen instructions. (Follow-up: when I got in my car after posting this, my screen provided an error message that my sync didn’t work, so I take back what I just posted.)
The local mall just decided to restrict underage visitors from being on the premises without parental supervision, due to some teen fighting recently within the public areas. At least somebody is stressing that children should not be left unattended.
My newspaper arrived encased in a plastic bag during the rain, yet it was soaking wet inside because the bag had holes in it. Reminded me of a popular meme about people in a swimming pool huddled under an umbrella while a storm passed through. That’s right: they were in the water, wet, and they held a brolly over their heads while in the pool. Defeated the purpose, right? But then so was putting a dry paper in a hole-ridden bag.
So that was my week of brain-muddling confusion. Maybe next week will be better.
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