Wednesday's Whine of the Week...

You knew it was coming, didn't you? This week's whine....

ADULT. Come on, you know what that means. Maybe it's not global. Here in the US, when we see the word ADULT- spelled in all capital letters- it's becomes a four-letter word. I'm not sure when this euphemism occurred, but it's common enough. ADULT means pornography, profanity, and/or profuse amounts of blood(which really falls into the "mature" heading- but the application is the same.) And while I'm on a letter "P" kick, the word perversion comes to mind. Not that they would put it that way. They would call it nudity, sensuality, strong language and graphic violence. Ever see those signs for ADULT BOOKSTORES? (No offense to my Southern friends, but they seem to be more prolific the farther South you drive.) I've never been in one of those places, but I'm doubtful there's much book selling going on in there. My whine is the use of a perfectly good word to describe something that is so shameful that it shouldn't even be spoken of- much less advertised on huge billboards. Call me old-fashioned. A fuddy-duddy. But if it were all completely appropriate and decent, the signs would read considerably more accurate as to what is really going on in there. And the parking lots would be well-lit. And there'd be lots of windows.

I suppose that qualifies more as a rant than a whine. I'll try to think up a more lighthearted one for next week.

Isn't that a sweet little sewing machine? Rescued it from a barn. It had a $50 price tag on it- which was a great deal as the table is in excellent condition and it even has the original stool. The machine looks like it was never used- it needs a little polishing from handling, but the finish really is gorgeous. It also has the original manual and all of the attachments. But I didn't have $50 and I felt too guilty to ask if they would take less- I did mention it was a very good price, didn't I? So my son, Paul, returns to the scene and asked if they would take $25 for it- they said it wasn't theirs. Paul asked if they could call the owner and ask them if they would reduce the price. Paul spoke to her for a little while and she agreed to sell it for $35! He came in carrying this machine and the first thing he says is, "Don't ever cast aspersions on my social skills again." Giggle. He's known as a stoic kind of guy and I tease him that he could scare people away with that frown of his- he's the big muscled frowner on the left. I asked if he "please ma'amed" them to death and he said no but he did "thank you ma'amed" them to death!

The guys don't normally go around covered in this much dirt. They had just finished up a long day of roofing. Left to right, Paul, Jacob and Joshua.