Month: April 2018

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Be real

building facades during contruction

It’s easy to put up a front.

It’s harder to bare your soul.

We like to appear competent, knowledgeable, accepting, loving and kind (or most of us do). And we are those things, to some degree or another.

But we can’t be everything that everyone needs.

There’s a spectrum between hiding our weaknesses to revealing inappropriate levels of personal frailties. We must learn when and where to reveal our true selves.

Where am I going with this? I’m not sure. I don’t have any deep secrets to reveal to whoever can read this. But one-on-one, I’ll be trying to stretch my boundaries by going deeper.

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Bamboo, part 2

bamboo toilet paper package

Bamboo is a very sustainable plant. It’s super fast growing.

I wrote recently about bamboo toilet paper, and I did end up getting two packages from a company called Brandless.

The verdict = overall fail:

  1. The toilet paper was made in China. Shipping wood-based toilet paper from Arkansas has got to have a smaller environmental impact than shipping bamboo-based toilet paper from China.
  2. Shipping two packages to my door via UPS has a worse impact on the environment than adding some to my shopping cart at my local supermarket during the weekly grocery run. And I couldn’t find bamboo paper at any local stores.
  3. The paper is a little rough compared to the economy Kroger brand we normally buy.

Having said all that, I believe in Brandless. They are trying to be more organic and sustainable about most of the products they sell. And some of their prices aren’t bad. But I won’t be a frequent flyer, as shipping costs raise the costs to more than we normally spend.

Being good does have its costs. Sometimes I’m willing to pay the price and other times not.

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The joy of the old

Jay next to an MG Midget

Jay and I went for a test drive in a 1967 MG Midget. He was the driver, as his 2001 Toyota Corolla burns a quart of oil for every two tanks of gas and it’s nearing time for a replacement.

We both were surprised at how small the car is – and at how 30 mph seemed like 70 mph.

Alas, a much newer car can be had for the same money – and one that wouldn’t need $500 worth of work to be road-legal.

But what a piece of history!

The intricate wire wheels aren’t available on any new car, regardless of price. The engine was so simple that it wouldn’t take an engineering degree to change the spark plugs. And what joy to drive a car that no-one else drives!

It was a marriage not meant to be. When the quick honeymoon ended, the heartaches would begin.

Epilogue: In a recent issue of Autoweek, a 1967 Datsun Roadster – a direct competitor – sold for ten times what the MG was going for.

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