Trucks, paper towels, tags and being kind to others

I remember when my now adult children were kids.

I always like the quiz or problem when you picked the one thing that was different than the other three things.

It was a good mind-teaser for a student, even a parent. I got most of them right.

Working on the square in downtown Sulphur Springs I see things that don't fit on almost an every day basis.

The downtown area looks great with the holiday decorations, lights and trimmings. The restaurants take my nose to places that would bloat my waistline. All the great aromas of the holidays.

Big trucks don't fit

But still one thing I observe and often chuckle at is the traffic.

From near misses in the cross walks to folks trying to figure out right-of-way from a stop sign. It can get comical and hazardous.

It's like me trying to fit into skinny jeans, it just won't happen.

Back when I was in Driver's Ed (and gasoline was under a dollar) we were taught about stop signs. You take your turn, if it is a tie at the sign, then the vehicle on the right goes.

It sounds simple, but is seldom practiced aroundhere and I've watched. .

What we often see down town is might makes right. All kinds of trucks come by the office and try to maneuver down the city streets which were constructed for normal sized vehicles.

I go back to the kids' puzzle, one of these things doesn't belong - two-door car, motorcycle, four-door sedan, 18-wheeler. I think you know which one to pick, it's easy for us to see from our vantage point. But the big trucks keep coming to make deliveries and conduct business, and I respect that.

It just leaves little room for other cars at times. I often feel like I'm driving into a trash compactor when I try to be a courteous driver which checking the paint on the side of my car.

Paper towel woes

Ok, onto another size issue I am having, it is with paper towels.

Some paper towels now come in various sizes. Why? What is up with that. If it will save a tree I am for it, but often I grab for a paper towel and end up being confused.

Having a strip of paper in my hands that is maybe three inches wide and I needed the full size paper towel is irritating.

The small strip is fine if I just needed to quickly wipe my nose, but what if I have a big job? I have to pull off the rest of the paper towel and maybe the one next to it.

Why change what worked well for years? Kind of like when some shirt companies went tagless.

I didn't like that either. I still need a tag to tell my aging mind what is the front and what is back.

My old eyes often can't read the small print. I'm sure the message says, 'Hey Don, your shirt is on backwards.'

Place of honor

In this modern world I wonder if posting important life events or even standout art work even exists.

In my day, you always wanted to earn the place of honor at our house, which was posted with a magnet on the refrigerator.

Our old Kenmore lasted a long time, sure it kept food chilled, but it was a large marquee.

It was a great day when something I did made the refrigerator, maybe you were the same.

Flash forward to these days, I noticed our refrigerator now aluminum in color, was mostly church messages and of course, my grandson. I told my wife her school photo was great and should be on the refrigerator, the place of honor.Instead she took the size spot. Leaving the prime time spots on the front for our grandson. She's such a selfless GIGI, our name for grandmother.

Great time of year

I love the Christmas season and it especially warms my heart to see how many people in this town and county give of their time and money to help others.

I am afraid to mention any group for the fear of leaving some deserving soul out. But you know who you are and I'm proud of you and so is your mom.

My mom, who is 90 years old now, was raised in a big family, was taught to always help others. You might not have much, but you could share the food or finances with someone less fortunate.

After her kids got older, my Mom worked shifts to allow young parents with small kids to be off to enjoy Christmas.

There's food drives, toy drives and even groups collecting socks for the elderly. You can do your share to make someone's Christmas just a little bit brighter.

Good deeds work to, rake a neighbor's leaves or allow folks in line in front of you at the checkout.

It's never too late to be nice to someone, even a stranger. Being kind should be done all during the year, not just during the holidays.