CHALLENGES – S'amusing

Stream of Consciousness Saturday Consciousness Prompt – ‘Acronym’

K. L. O. T.

Knowledge Learned Over Time

In a recent discussion with a former associate and contemporary, we discussed our careers and how better and smarter we were at the end than the beginning of our work life. We learned and grew as we became more experienced.

Isn’t that the case in most endeavors? Isn’t it what is expected of us by others, by ourselves? To learn and grow and keep on learning? Industry names it ‘continuous improvement’. Makes sense.

A few years ago, I gave this process a name, KLOT, ‘’Knowledge Learned Over Time’.

My acronym has been tucked away in a notebook, waiting to be shared with the world. When I saw this week’s challenge from Linda Hill, I thought, OMG, now is the time. And so I have,

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “acronym’.” Choose an acronym and use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

But why stop here? While most big universities have easily identifiable names by their abbreviations…. SU (Syracuse), UMASS (University of Massachusetts), UTEP (Univ of Texas at El Paso), etc. …, I formed a ‘school’ with an actual acronym, SHWAP U., ‘School of Hard Work And Perseverance’

Okay, so I didn’t account for the ‘of’. BFD! It still works.

The staff of SHWAP U, my ‘faculty’, as I referred to them, was made up of all the different disciplines who helped me grow my sales territory: manufacturing engineers and sales management, primarily, who would accompany me on sales calls and ‘plant seeds’ for new opportunities.

The SHWAP U acronym became synonymous with hard work and a never give up attitude. It was an honor to be associated with it. And those SHWAP U end of the sales work day dinners often ended with a fine cigar and self congratulatory pats on the back.

If you want to see what others have done with this prompt, visit Linda’s blog. Here is the link https://lindaghill.com/2023/07/07/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-july-8-2023/

Steve Bottcher (070823)

Stream of Consciousness – ‘Rock’

GIVE THAT ROCK A CIGAR!

If you would like to visit Linda’s blog to see how other folks use the prompt, here is the link https://lindaghill.com/2023/06/30/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-july-1-2023/

For those of you who look around and see ‘wonder’ in everything, you’ll understand. Maybe you’ll even laugh or shout, “hooray, someone else with eyes wide open”!

As I preached to the students I led across the street as a crossing guard, look up, down and around, the world right around you is full of amazing sights. Take this rock, for example.

“What this country needs is a good 5 cent cigar’

An ordinary rock that lined our garden with its other rock friends. Add a broken tree branch and it comes to life. Almost looks like a puffed out politician or used car salesman (no offense, I love salespeople, I was one myself)

For a brief period in my senior life, I was gathering rocks that looked like states, and actually found a few. My New York rock was a perfect specimen. It had everything ‘upstaters’ and western New Yorkers liked; high spots for the the mountain areas and flatter tones along the Ontario shores,

I wanted to take a photo but I think I threw it at a crazy fox running through the yard. Now, I can’t tell if it’s Ohio or Virginia. Manhattan must have broken off in the throw.

That ‘hobby’ lasted briefly. My wife thought I was off my rocker, so I dropped it and took up writing. I’m not sure which is harder, writing or finding a New Hampshire rock on my morning walk.

Steve

srbottch.com

070123

The Right Stuff: Wallpapering Tools

Wallpaper by Roger Turner, Poet, May 2012

The room was dank and dreary
The past hung in the air
There was a scent of mildew
A smell of history was there
The paint was old and faded
With stains all dark and brown
The wallpaper too was dated
And it needed to come down

Have you hung wallpaper, yourself?

A wall? An entire room? Several rooms? Does even talking about wallpapering make you anxious?

I’ve yet to meet a homeowner who admits to taking on a wallpapering ‘honey-do’ job and enjoying it. It’s a challenge. If you’re not careful the seams show, or overlap. The pattern doesn’t line up. The strips appear to be different shades (did you forget to reverse each strip). It’s a slow process for the inexperienced and can rattle your nerves

Call me crazy, but I enjoyed it!

In our previous house, I wallpapered every room except a bedroom and baths, some more than a couple of times. Sounds crazy, but once the job got started, I found it therapeutic and I’m generally not a patient person. Wallpapering requires concentration and patience.

Like any job, if you don’t have the right tools, the work becomes more difficult. My father was a painter/paper hanger so I inherited enough of the proper tools and his instructions to help me succeed to a certain degree: a legitimate table, brushes, scissors, straight edge, roller, sponges and some razor blades. Razor blades are quickly consumed, one might do a sheet, maybe two sheets, so don’t be stingy on blades, they dull quickly.

Here’s a tip to help speed along the process. Paste several strips at a time, fold them, pasted side together, and put them aside in a plastic bag. No need to paste and hang one at a time. Those strips in the bag will stay moist for a long time, until you’re ready to use one.

Interestingly, the different layers of wallpaper can tell a story about a family’s growth and changing tastes. In a child’s room, the paper might go from whimsical to serious in a span of a few years as the youngster matures. While an adult might leave wallpaper behind completely as painted walls become the new norm.

One more suggestion, learn to ‘double cut’. Sometimes, you might want to use an extra piece of paper (scrap piece) to fit in a spot. Lay that piece over one that’s already in place, lining up the pattern as you do it. Then cut through both pieces, peel off the trimmed section of the bottom piece and, Eureka, the new seam will be perfect and you’ve economized a piece that was going to be scrapped.

Some frustration is bound to set in, so do remember to be patient. Sure, I made mistakes, but was always able to correct them. No one else would find them. Unless the ‘honey’ in ‘honey-do’ does a final inspection. In that case, remember this for the next redecorating chore.,.

…painting is more forgiving!

Steve (04/25/23)

To DIYers everywhere..,

The Crossing Guard Chronicles: The Facts, Just the Facts… ‘Did You Know Abe Lincoln Had A Sense of Humor’?

‘We miss your facts’, a student at my school crossing post offered. ‘Well, here’s something, did you know that President Abraham Lincoln had a great sense of humor?’ No, she didn’t and neither did other students. I didn’t, either, until I recently read* more about Lincoln.

‘His pictures always show him looking sad or serious’, another commented. ‘Well, he was often sad and serious. He had much to be both sad and serious about in his life’.

One can get a potpourri of facts by reading.

This is the stuff we talk about at the Curbside Classroom. Facts. But there’s more. And the kids love the ‘more’.

He changed the world for the better. Dr. Jonas Salk did that. I was working on March 26th and reminded the kids about Dr. Salk and his successful research into developing a polio vaccine on this date in 1953. We discussed what we could in the very brief time before crossing.

Tying the polio epidemic and the successful vaccine then, when I was a kid, to the Covid-19 pandemic, I thought, was interesting for the kids, as well as a couple of teachers or adults who happened to benefit from crossing at the Curbside Classroom, that day. Understanding that events in history often repeat themselves was a good lesson. And to have an eye witness, me, who experienced the anxieties of both, tell them about it, was a plus.

Some of these kids are graduating this year and it’s exciting to see them planning their future. It’s been a challenging year because of the pandemic but kids are resilient and they seem to have handled it fine, for the most part.

I like to think that the Curbside Classroom helped them kick start their days. I hope it will be a fond memory, as they continue along a successful Life journey and maybe, just maybe, change the world for the better.

Congratulations, Class if 2021!

Steve

* Team of Rivals’ by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin

The Crossing Guard Chronicles: “I’m Glad I’m There, Too!”

Morning light dusts away the darkness. Young students make their way to the school crossing post. It’s tranquil but for the quiet conversations among friends and the humming of local traffic that announces the start of a new work day. Some still have sleepy eyes, others are hurriedly finishing an abbreviated breakfast. The calm is about to change.

“Good morning!”

My long distance call even catches the attention of drivers.

Eyes pop with a mild show of enthusiasm and attention. Some eagerly anticipate what’s next, a few roll their eyes, no doubt. They know it’s another morning of quizzes, fun facts, brain teasers or historical notes. Maybe a quick grammar question, or an observation about the beautiful sunrise greeting us in the east. Yes, knowing directions is a topic for discussion. All this before they even step into their buildings.

I’m a school crossing guard, one of a dozen in my town. And my post is an impromptu ‘curbside classroom’, across the street from the middle and high schools.

A million seconds is 12 days, how much is a billion seconds? * (you’ll be surprised at the difference)

The eye movement shows they’re thinking and a few figure it out quickly.

I have only a minute, or so, to engage these preteens and teens as we await our traffic signal. By the time they’ve crossed, most are fully awake, a bit more energized and generally, smiling, a result of our encounter, I’d like to think.

Who is Jeff Bezos?** Who was Ferdinand Magellan?***

These kids are whizzes, they know the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ names. Few questions go unanswered and there’s a sense of eager enthusiasm, from the youngest to oldest.

Generally, our topics are light, sometimes humorous or serious, but often poignant. There’s an objective to my ‘drills’.

We’ve discussed STEM****, and NASA science, as in what is LEO***** and how is a young woman, Amber Yang******, tying them together?

These young people are much busier than I was at their ages: school, homework, clubs, sports and, for some, jobs. Starting the day with a greeting, a smile, a ‘challenge’, puts them in a good frame of mind. It gets them thinking, maybe relaxes them. And, it’s a two way street, we energize each other.

A survey question draws curious looks: do you eat your apple around the circumference, or stem to bottom*******, something simple to awaken their senses and promote a dialogue between us. Some are excellent communicators, others are learning, while a small number prefer to remain quiet. It’s rewarding to see their growth in this area over a school year’s time.

November was the anniversary of President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address********. What did Lincoln mean by his words, ‘all men’? The thinking caps were humming for this one.

How do you pronounce humus and hummus, and what are they?*********

Yes, there were some humorous replies, there always are, these are kids. Nevertheless, with only a minute of ‘class time’, we answered both parts.

I’ve learned this about kids, they like being challenged and enjoy showing what they know. A high schooler paid a compliment, “we’re glad you’re here with your facts, stories and questions”. Nice feedback…

I’m glad I’m there, too…

Steve B

Steveb.com

To ‘teachers’ everywhere who stimulate the minds of young people, we’re glad you’re there, too.

* 32+ years; ** founder of Amazon Worldwide Services, world’s wealthiest person; *** Portuguese explorer who led first (Spanish) circumnavigation of the world, killed in the process; **** Science, Technology, Engineering, Math; ***** Low Earth Orbit; ****** 19 year old Stanford student who developed a program to track space debris that NASA uses to protect spacecraft and astronauts; ******* around the circumference, overwhelmingly; ******** November 19, 1863; ********* organic matter versus food matter

It’s Only a Rumor…

“Excuse me, where can I find sardines?”
“With the tuna fish? Okay, where’s that, now?”

Rumors 2

Some days, up is down and down is up. That would describe my ‘grocery shopping’ life, since my grocer reorganized product on its shelves ….. again.

One day, you know where everything is, the next day, it’s a new landscape. I had conquered the layout from the last reshuffling and felt an inner calmness navigating the store’s aisle maze. I could find the lo-fat Graham crackers, sauerkraut was just around the end cap from our favorite high fibre and heart healthy cereals. The no-salt pretzels were in an odd place, but I knew where to find them.

Rumors 3

I had the store geography ‘down pat’, didn’t even need the smart phone app to direct me. And that was important because while we shop twice weekly, on Wednesday I fly solo. My shopping orders are to ‘get in, get it and get out’. I got good at it.

My efficiency even allowed some chat time with stockers Jim in bananas, or Annie in toothpaste. Barnabus, the beer guy, was favored with a quick quip, too. Incidentally, beer has never been relocated and many folks are happy about that, mostly guys, although their internal instinct takes them directly to beer, no matter where it’s shelved..

Yes, all was well until this change, the second in a year. Shopping now is a slow trek through a labyrinth of new colors, shapes and sizes. Where once I was accustomed to the ‘going in, grabbing and getting out’, now I’m adrift, lost somewhere between 11A and 16B.

‘Aisle directors’ stand by to help. How embarrassing when they answer in booming voices, “Suppositories? Just around the corner from adult diapers!”. Yikes!

But, I’m determined to learn the new layout, and I’m succeeding with my Senior mind. It’s just another one of life’s healthy tasks, teaching me to be resilient rather than cranky. However, I’m just a bit uncertain about the rumor mill (aisles 8-10) .

The next time the store is reorganized, so goes the scuttlebutt, the aisles will be set up by shape: flat product with flat, round with round, and figurines together (ex. Mrs. Butterworth syrup, Honey Bear honey). All boxed product in the same location, and screw top items will have their own aisle.

Rumors 1

It’s just a rumor, now, but I’ll accept the challenge, if it happens. Besides, what are my choices if I want to fill my own randomly arranged pantry shelves with survival food for Life’s next challenge?

Steve
October 2017
Stephen.Bottcher@gmail.com

To shoppers everywhere who accept change as inevitable