Some gifts are special

Some gifts last forever - some last a little while. Then there are the gifts that make no sense at all, won't go together according to the plans, or last less than a day.


The above book was a gift from a son-in-law last Christmas that makes sense, and lasts forever. At least it has taken four months of daily reading to finish. In the bathroom, of course. And now I just let it fall open on occasion and see what wealth of information it contains.
I may have read it before but at my age I've probably forgotten what it says anyway.


It has all kinds of information we can't get along without - or maybe with for that matter. For instance, did you know that Kevin Shelley cracked a world record by getting hit over the head with forty six wooden toilet seats in one minute. Bet that made an impression.
Did you know that there are at least 230 million vehicles in the United States but only about 105 million parking spaces. Where do clunkers fit into this? Oh, and think about this: about once a year a house in the United States is hit by sewage falling from an aircraft. Then there is a page-long story with a natural gas report (consider that any way you wish.)


But wait - the book is not strictly focused on distastful subjects. There's a history of digital cameras - high tech subjects - movie stories - sports topics - history -- arts and crafts -- all wrapped up in a 538 page volume that has made the last four months much more enjoyable and a lot of essential (and non-essential) information I could/could not have lived without. Maybe.
Then I looked at the cover and realized that this was the 22nd edition. Guess I'll have to brouse around some second hand book stores to find back issues. Then, again, This volume will probably keep its place by the throne for some time to come. Or until next Christmas when I hope the next edition shows up gift wrapped under the tree.


Let me conclude with a couple of essential thoughts. Did you know that there are about 1,200 peanuts in a regular-size jar of peanut butter? Said Katherine Hepburn, "If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun." Think about that for a while.


Till next time..........................