A semi-regular attempt to address some of life’s minutiae that might otherwise be overlooked…..

 

 

 

There’s a candy store in my local mall that I rarely grace with my presence…not because I don’t like candy, but because I love it. I’m a chocoholic that needs to drop a hundred pounds, so the candy store is the last place I should be. Having said that, I recently did decide to stop in and make a purchase. I chose three types of chocolates and asked the young lady behind the counter for 1/3 pound of each. My plan was to make that pound of chocolate yumminess last awhile (which didn’t happen, but I digress). She had mentioned that she was studying for a college final (summer school I assume), which is something you should keep in mind. She scooped some of my first choice onto the scale, which soon read “0.75”, and was quite proud that she had nailed it on the nose. I was trying to be polite so I didn’t say anything, which was an error in judgment. I proceeded to watch her measure out .75 of a pound for my next two choices as well. I still didn’t say anything…more out of dumbfounded bewilderment than politeness. So I ended up with a bill that was atleast $10 more than what I was anticipating and 2.25 pounds of chocolates instead of one pound, all because a freaking college student didn’t know the difference between 1/3 & 3/4. I read a story awhile back about A&W’s failure to successfully market  a third pound burger because consumers “wondered why they should pay the same amount for a third of a pound of meat as we do for a quarter-pound of meat at McDonald’s” . They thought a third of a pound was less than a quarter of a pound because three is less than four. Seriously. Now I seem to recall that math wasn’t my favorite subject in school, and I struggled with it more than social studies & English, but good golly…how in the world does anyone make it all the way to college without understanding such basic & practical stuff??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Webster defines truth as “the body of real things, events, and facts” and “the state of being the case”. Truth isn’t generally an ambiguous gray area. It is what it is, which is why I am perplexed by one of the 21^st century’s newest catchphrases: “my truth”. I’m not going to get into the largely sociopolitical ways in which the phrasing is utilized because The Manoverse is an intelligent bunch and y’all know what’s up. Suffice to say that what people who use such terminology really mean is perspective. They want people to understand & support their worldview and think they can convince the masses of that perspective’s veracity by calling it truth, but it doesn’t hold up to critical examination. Truth is what is true, and you can’t change it just to promote whatever twisted ideology pop culture, the media, or whoever else is endorsing.

 

 

 

 

 

There are few feelings worse than being overlooked, excluded, ignored, & left out. Lots of people may be cordial & pleasant in brief interactions, but they certainly don’t go out of their way to make you part of their life, and oddly enough it’s even more noticeable in the modern era of social media & other technologies. In many ways the world has gotten smaller, but that seems to magnify perceived slights & snubs. Many assume that a person should get the message, catch the drift, or pick up on the hint when they text, call, or message someone and those messages are ignored, but wouldn’t it be much more effective & benevolent to just respond, even if it’s to tell them off?? Atleast that would remove all ambiguity. My maternal grandmother believed in ripping off a band-aid quickly and ending the pain as fast as possible, so why string a person along?? Look, I’m not trying to be hypocritical. I could do a better job communicating too. But more & more I am inclined to wait for incoming calls & messages. It’s exhausting & aggravating when people only make an effort in obvious desperation then go back to ignoring you when their needs have been met or when they find a more enticing option.