A Song About America For The Fourth Of July

Time to dance!

"Living In America"

(written by Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight, performed by James Brown)

Yeah, uh! Get up, now!
Ow! Knock out this!

Super highways, coast to coast
Easy to get anywhere
On the transcontinental overload
Just slide behind the wheel
How does it feel

When there's no destination that's too far
And somewhere on the way
You might find out who you are

Living in America
Eye to eye, station to station
Living in America
Hand to hand, across the nation
Living in America
Got to have a celebration
Rock my soul

Smokestack, fatback
Many miles of railroad track
All night radio, keep on runnin' through
Your rock 'n' roll soul
All night diners keep you awake, hey
On black coffee and a hard roll

You might have to walk the fine line
You might take the hard line
But everybody's working overtime

Living in America
Eye to eye, station to station
Living in America
Hand to hand, across the nation
Living in America
Got to have a celebration

I live in America,
I live in America
Wait a minute

You may not be looking for the promised land
But you might find it anyway
Under one of those old familiar names
Like New Orleans (New Orleans)
Detroit City (Detroit City), Dallas (Dallas)
Pittsburgh P.A. (Pittsburgh P.A.)
New York City (New York City)
Kansas City (Kansas City)
Atlanta (Atlanta)
Chicago and L.A.

Living in America
Living in America - yeah
I walk in and out
Living in America

I live in America - state lines
Gonna make the prime, that
I live in America - hey
I know what it means, I

Living in America
Eddie Murphy, eat your heart out
Living in America
Hit me, I said now
Eye to eye, Station to station
Living in America
So nice, with your bad self
Living in America - I feel good!

Five years ago today: A Song For Independence Day

Just A Teenage Scavenger Trying To Eat In Peace

Yesterday I was driving home from the grocery store and saw something move in the grass to the right of me. There was a huge bird standing there that looked to be eating something. The grass abutted a church parking lot, and I quickly turned into the lot so I could get a closer view of what was going on. 

As close as I could get

The bird kept me in its line of vision, but didn't seem too concerned. It was more interested in eating. When I got out of my car to try and get a better photo the bird slowly ambled a little farther away. Then when I stood still it ambled back to its meal. I watched in fascination as it bent its neck down and used its beak to pull off pieces of whatever dead critter was in the grass.

I figured by the bird's size and choice of food that it was probably a vulture. Back at home I did some research and learned that there are two possible types of vultures in my area. The turkey vulture has a red head and dark brown feathers. The black vulture's head is grey and it has black feathers. But a juvenile turkey vulture has a dark head and bill. That's my guess of what I saw.

Much better photo of a juvie turkey vulture by Teddy Llovet

 Five years ago today: Smooth Riding

Another Sign Of Normalcy

Before a routine doctor's appointment today I stopped at Five Guys for a guilty pleasure lunch. The restaurant's signage actually includes the words 'Burgers and Fries". That pretty much describes most of the menu, but they do also have great kosher style hot dogs and pretty good BLT and veggie sandwiches. 

Since I've been eating a lot of heavy meals lately one of those veggie sandwiches, which has grilled onions, mushrooms, and green peppers topped with lettuce and tomatoes, sounded good. There are more than a dozen toppings you can add to any sandwich. Today I went with jalapenos, pickles, ketchup, and mustard.

And what's a sandwich without fries? In my opinion, Five Guys fries are some of the best. They use fresh potatoes, cut them on site, then fry them in peanut oil so that they're crunchy on the outside and have the texture of a baked potato on the inside. (The 'Little' size is way more than one person should consume. I always try to restrain myself, but usually end up eating most or all of them. Shame on me.)

While I waited for my food I helped myself to a scoop of peanuts in the shell from the box by the cashier, and smiled while I was doing it. During the worst of the COVID epidemic the boxes were stashed away for safety reasons. If you wanted peanuts you had to ask at the counter and they would give you a sealed paper sack. The restaurant may still have its Plexiglass guards at the cash register, employees wearing masks, and prominent social distancing signage, but some things are returning to normal.

Five years ago today: (Not Too) Risky

You Never Know What You're Going To See At The Mall

Today's combination of heat, humidity, and pop-up precipitation was enough to send me inside for exercise. I drove to the mall and spent a half hour walking both the lower and upper levels before meeting up with a woman for conversation. It was very interesting, because I've only seen her on a Zoom screen. 

Afterwards, on my way back to the car I saw a woman who appeared to be in her 40s wearing a black backpack. At first I thought she had a stuffed animal in it but when I got closer the animal moved and I realized it was a real dog, who didn't look too happy with its mode of transportation.

Since the only dogs that are supposed to be in the mall are service animals I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall if Security talked to the woman.

Five years ago today: Shred It

I Told You So

The other day I received an email from a third-party restaurant delivery service that offered me a coupon code to take $20 off an order of $25 or more. That sounded like a great deal, but before I jumped on the offer I checked out the fine print. Everything seemed reasonable, and I decided it would be a good night not to cook dinner. 

The hamburger restaurant we chose was only a couple of miles from the house. I asked Hubby Tony if he wanted the food delivered or if he wanted to go pick it up. We agreed that we were hungry and didn't want to be at the mercy of a delivery driver who might or might not show up as expected.  Pick up it was.

On my desktop computer I clicked the link in the email which took me to the company's webpage, where it asked if I had a promo code. I copied the code from the email and pasted it into the box, hit the "Apply" button, and placed my order (burgers and fries for each of us). The total came to just over the minimum amount. 

However, on the checkout page my coupon code wasn't there. I tried copying and pasting it again from the email but had no luck. At this point I was hungry and annoyed. I decided to pay for the order and contact the company after dinner.  

At the restaurant the food was ready right when it should have been. We brought it home and enjoyed a nice meal. After the dishes were cleaned up I went back to the company's website to figure out how to contact them. That page was pretty well hidden, but eventually I found and completed the contact form outlining my issue and sent it off through cyberspace.

Approximately an hour later I received a response, which said:

Sorry to know about the trouble caused here. The situation you have described is certainly not the experience we expect you to have. It seems there wasn’t a promo code added to this order. You can apply promo codes in one of two ways: First, you can add promo codes by pressing the profile button (the silhouette of a person) in the app. Then, select “Promotions” and enter the code at the top of this screen before pressing “Apply”. Or, you can enter promo codes before submitting an order. When viewing your cart, scroll to the bottom of the page and select “Add Promo Code”. If this does not fully resolve your concern, please do respond back to this email thread. We'll be happy to help you and have a great day ahead.

That answer sounded snippy and did not exactly address my issue. I responded, outlining again the steps I had taken. A half hour later I received a second message that told me:

I’m sorry to hear that your promo code did not apply to your latest order. I’ve looked into your order and can confirm that there was a backend tech error that had caused this. I've refunded you the amount of $20.00 to reflect the code you were trying to use.

I felt vindicated.

Five years ago: In The Pink

A-Hunting We Will Go

Several weeks ago Hubby Tony heard about a new book titled STL Scavenger: The Ultimate Search for St. Louis's Hidden Treasures.  The book lists things to find in 17 different neighborhoods in the metropolitan area (most in Missouri, but a few across the river in Illinois). We bought a copy, and have been having fun with it.

 Today we went to University City, where there were 24 items to find. Each item has a four-line riddle and a photo or graphic, usually a very small detail you would often overlook. The clues range from so easy that even a non-St. Louisian could figure them out. For example:

On this street's walk of fame find this statue

Of the guy who said "Maybellene! Be true!"

He's busting his signature move

Encouraging fans to find their groove.

Chuck Berry statue

 

Others were more obscure and harder to find. After two hours and multiple trips up and down the Delmar Loop area we had figured out all but four, and we knew from clues that at least one of them was in a different part of the city.  We got lucky once or twice, looking up at just the right time to spot some brick or stonework on the second floor of a building. Some of our first assumptions turned out to be wrong, but fixable. Eventually we were hot and tired, and agreed to leave the unfound items for another day. 

 

On the book's website there's a place where you can submit your answers for a chance to win prizes later in the year. Depending on how many of the chapters of the book we get to we'll do that. Or maybe we'll just do it for fun and personal satisfaction.

Humidity Hair

 Yesterday was the Summer solstice, so that would make today the first full day of the new season. However, last night a cold front and thunderstorm that came through and dropped the temperatures down into the lower 70s.

Hubby Tony already had the air conditioner off and the windows open when I rolled out of bed. There was a pleasant breeze wafting through the house, and the residual cloudiness made it feel more like mid-October than mid June.

After breakfast we decided to walk up to Aldi and get a couple of things. Once outside, it didn't take me long to notice that the temperature was lower but it was still plenty humid. By the time we returned home the waistband of my capris was soaked, and my hair was sticking out unattractively. I was glad I didn't run into any neighbors on the way into the building

Five years ago today: Summertime

Cool!

 Yesterday was record-setting hot, with a high temperature of 101 degrees. Today was forecast to be 'only' 91 degrees, but with enough humidity to make it feel like 97. When it gets this nasty, exercising outside turns into a potentially dangerous chore.

Hubby Tony had a gathering to attend in the 7 am hour. I thought about getting up early to walk around the neighborhood, but that didn't happen. Tony's plan was to go to the gym after his commitment. He had extended an invitation to join him and I decided to take him up on it.

Tony enjoys using gym aerobic machines, but I do because I have to.  We started off on ellipticals right next to each other, but after 15 minutes I was bored and went use a treadmill. The gym was relatively empty, and I easily found what I was looking for. The hulking machine was a brand unknown to me, and had all types of bells and whistles. It took me a while to find the Start button, and then a couple more seconds to figure out how to increase the speed, but before long I was walking away at a semi-brisk pace.

Even though the gym had felt nicely cool when I entered, it didn't take long for me to work up a sweat. Looking at the treadmill dashboard I saw a button that said Fan. I pushed it and felt air coming out of a vent on the top. Pushing the button two more times put the fan into high mode, and I spent the next 45 minutes with my own personal cooling system.

Five years ago today: Garage Door Woes

Peaches, No Cream

Last Friday we celebrated Hubby Tony's birthday with cake and ice cream, then.polished off the leftovers on Sunday and Monday. This weekend is full of entertaining. We have friends coming over for dinner and games on Saturday night, and Sunday is set aside for Son Donald's birthday and Father's Day. I'm still finalizing the menus, but you can bet one or both of the events will have something frozen and creamy.

If I had my druthers I would eat ice cream every day. However, neither my digestive system or my clothes would agree to that, so I figured I would have to pass on celebrating is National Peach Ice Cream Day. 

However, the more I thought about it, the more I figured the holiday creators would understand if I just celebrated the spirit of the holiday. According to Wikipedia, an Italian ice is a frozen or semi-frozen sweetened treat made with fruit or fruit juice. It is similar to sorbet and snow cones, and different from sherbert because it doesn't contain dairy products. There were peaches in the fruit bin of my refrigerator and chunks of frozen watermelon in the freezer. Pulsing them together for 30 seconds in the blender gave me a frozen, peachy delight.

 Five years ago today: The Same, But Different

Monetary Motivation

There are incentives both big and small to entice people to get a Covid vaccination. A month ago Hubby Tony and I took advantage of an edible one. Yesterday I got an email from our health insurance company with another one.

The company offers a nice wellness incentive program. If you complete an online health assessment, they add some money to a debit card that you can use to pay for qualified medical expenses (like doctor visit co-pays, lab fees, and prescriptions).  Complete some 'online health coach' goals and they'll throw some more money on the card.  All in all you can earn as much as $170 a year. 

But now, giving them proof of my Covid vaccine will add another $50 to my card. All I had to do was complete an online form telling them which vaccine I received and when, then upload photos of the front and back of my card. The easy project took less than five minutes.

Five years ago: Bang!