Thanksgiving Musings

Somebody actually reads this! Thanks, Rob. Don't be afraid to add a comment.

Boy, do I like turkey! Call me weird, but I think I like it more than steak, crab, or even spaghetti. I don't care much for the white meat; even the Butterball is too dry for me. But the dark meat! Oh, yummy! The wings are scrumptious and, from way back when, I can't wait to bite on the neck! There's a lot of meat on it actually. Thighs--ooh! And real turkey gravy, not the canned or jarred variety.... I'm getting hungry all over again.

On the trip in today, I became annoyed. And what else is new? Twice, before even hitting the expressways, we were stopped at traffic lights when there was no reason to be stopped. There was NO traffic coming from the other directions. We sat and sat and sat--at one of the stops, we waited through a green left turn arrow, with no cars turning either way, that was longer than our straight ahead green light! And, of course, we had to wait through the east-west green, too. How much gasoline do we waste on this--all those cars, all those wasted lights, all that idling, all over the nations? Now, what really compounded this was seeing the electronic information signs on the expressways. You know the ones, "9 minutes to M-10." Purportedly, they cost tens of millions of dollars to install--I wonder how much electricity they use and how much maintenance they require???? Now, as you also know, they are often way off the mark, esp during rush hours--"9 minutes to M-10" has taken as long as 30 minutes. After traveling, at the speed limit for 5 minutes, "9 minutes to M-10" has become "6 minutes to M-10" on the next sign. I would think (shame on me for that!) that the bureaucrats who came up with these (remember these messages, "Fuel Low? Fill up!" and "Raining? Use wipers.") could devise computers and sensors to avoid unneeded, wasteful stops at traffic lights. Not only would we save gasoline and money; we'd cut our contributions to the Middle Eastern nations that fund the terrorists. Instead of being concerned with gay marriages, bridges to nowhere, one would think our lawmakers would jump on this one.

Speaking of that, if we were really concerned about the terrorists and cutting off their funds, maybe the federal government would insist that states enforce speed limits. It can't be good for mileage for some Hummer or SUV cruising at 80 or 85 mph. I'm not one for more government at all, but driving isn't a right, is it? It's a privilege or so we are told.