DOVER PA, DUCK DYNASTY, VHS TAPES, DOLLAR TREE, FINISH LINE

It's December 24th so I'm on my way to finish my Christmas shopping...

DOVER, PA - Stopped to get gas but was disappointed that the price went up to $3.39 a gallon. Only thing that made it less painful was a conversation I had with my sister a couple of weeks ago.  She lives in Jerusalem, Israel and said a gallon of premium gas costs $9.28.  Crazy, but I just read that in Venezuela the same gallon costs 9 cents.  Not sure I should be glad or sad to live in Dover, PA.

While traveling to Staples, I heard this report on the radio....

DUCK DYNASTY - Did you know Phil Robertson is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University where he played football?  Tall, wiry and athletic, Robertson started at quarterback ahead of Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw for two years at Louisiana Tech before ducks and squirrels lured him into the forests and swamps and away from the gridiron during his final college season. Makes me wonder if the Steeler's record would have changed if Phil had stayed on the team in place of Bradshaw?

Pulling up to Staples to get DVD's....

VHS TAPES were introduced in the 1970's and are just about extinct.  So this Christmas, one present for my wife is a new VHS DVD combo, complete with multiple blank DVD's.  During 2014 I'll be spending quite a bit of time transferring old VHS tapes to DVD.  I'm told the shelf life of a VHS tape is about 10 years, compared to 100 years for a DVD.

Driving to Dollar Tree.... 

DOLLAR TREE is an interesting chain of about 4,000 variety stores, where every single thing in the store is $1.00.  Today I purchased a journal so I can document some daily activities.  What gave me this idea?  Last night I was listening to an NPR podcast about author David Sedaris.  Sedaris' writing relies heavily on his life and many of his essays begin as entries in his journal, which he has been keeping obsessively since Sept. 4, 1977.  From these entries, he has sold more than 7 million books. 

Driving to the finish line .....

FINISH LINE is an athletic retailer offering brand name footwear.  When I was at the counter I asked the clerk how she was doing.  She said "awesome" and this got me to thinking.  When someone asks me how I'm doing, I usually say "Doing Well, Thank You".  I think I say that every time - no matter how I feel. 

Now I'm not always feeling well and I doubt the clerk was actually doing "awesome". The dictionary defines awesome as [1. Inspiring awe: an awesome thunderstorm.] [2. Expressing awe: stood in awesome silence before the ancient ruins.] 

The clerk's demeanor didn't resemble a thunderstorm or an ancient ruin.  I've learned to appreciate responses that serve as a reminder. "How are you doing, Dave Ramsey?"  Response. "Better than I deserve."