Saturday Slight: Slugs and Thugs

Black Friday turned out to be a day of general slugging----and not with my fists.  I gave myself permission to be lazy----as a slug.

So, couch potatoing, Hunger Games and Second Avenue pizza ruled the day.

Oh, animals did get fed, floors were vacuumed and ditches cleaned, but those tasks took up about one hour, all tolled. 

The ditch/road cleanup was both fun and disgusting.  

While driving the 4-wheeler and jumping in and out to retrieve beer cans, bottles and other garbage (filling one giant garbage bag over less than one mile's cleanup), I came up with some rules for the flingers.

If they're going to drink and drive and fling, the least they could do is pick better areas for dumping their cans than along our back road to the dump. 

Our ditches, for the most part, along our section of South Center Valley Road are steep and deep.  

A few times, with gravel sliding under my tenny runners,  I wondered if I was gonna make it back up to the road after grabbing three or four Icehouse beer containers.

Yes, Icehouse is the beer of choice for littering up South Center Valley Road ditches. 

At least the cans are big and easy to spot.  I'm guessing I loaded up at least 50 Icehouse cans, along with a few Bud Lights and PBR's. 

Whoever dumped their fast-food dinner (two sacks plus paper cups) just past Johnsons driveway wins the prize for biggest pig.  

That happened Thanksgiving night---during the time frame when we were over at my sisters' house for our turkey dinner.  

I feel sad that someone had to have McDonalds happy meals instead of turkey but more sad that they left their disgusting garbage along the road.

I picked most of it up yesterday but left the French fries for the critters. 

Again, the rules---don't throw the stuff in the middle of the road OR clear into the ditch.  

We have a lot of standing water along with those steep ditches, making it hard for 65-year-old coots to slide down there and retrieve the cans. 

Plus, I don't like to get my feet wet. 

Actually, I'm sure "the rules" don't mean anything to folks ditching the evidence that they really did have five beers, instead of the perennial claim:  a couple a beers.

Still, when you're picking up after them, you wish they had the decency . . . .dream on!

I've lived long enough to know that our ditches will see many, many more beer cans and that I'll groan with disgust every time I spot some new additions on my daily walks.

There is a silver lining in all this.  

I enjoyed the fresh air, I love putzing down the road in the 4-wheeler, I got some good exercise and Pacific Hide and Steel is paying well these days for metal products. 

It also makes me realize I've come full circle since my pre-teen days of walking the ditches and picking up beer and pop bottle to support my need for cash. 

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In other news, it will take a while before I become a fan of the "million-dollar coach" at WSU, but I do think it's very nice that the Cougs ended their season on a very high note.

During my slugfest, I watched most of the game.  It was a good one, filled with plenty of excitement.

We also watched the Gonzaga Bulldogs demonstrate their depth and unbelievable array of athletic talent last night.   

Based on their convincing victory over the Oklahoma Sooners, I'd say the ZAGS are for real.

Not that they haven't been for the past several years, but this year's lookin' like something really special.  

Fingers crossed for a win tomorrow against Davidson.

After the game, I slugged it out some more, waking up only occasionally to feel the horror of all the blood, gore, death and just plain weirdness of Hunger Games which was playing on the TV. 

I'll be thinking for a long time about the motivation behind that book.  For now, I think I'm glad I slept through most of it. 

Annie and I also watched The Best Exotic Hotel Marigold as well as the last half of Money Ball.  From my perspective, both were much more enjoyable than Hunger Games. 

Permission to turn into slug comes pretty rarely for me, but I must say that once I granted it, yesterday was no disappointment.  

Now, it's time to get back to life in the faster lane; actually, that mode started out well this morning with not one beer-can sighting during my walk along our segment of South Center Valley Road.

P.S.  Among the yucky garbage yesterday, I also found a fileting knife in its sheath.  If anyone is missing such a knife, call me. 

Happy Saturday.