Splain Please II

  I want everyone to know that I don’t go out and look for strange stories to share with you. These things just fall into my lap. I’ve been holding onto one of these tales for a while. Waiting patiently I knew another one would leap out at me sooner or later. It finally did, and I hope you enjoy my meant-to-be-amusing ramblings. They have me scratching my head, and wondering…What in the name of Reba is going on???

  I moved up here to Podunk almost two years ago. It is not a very big town at all. It didn’t take me long to find this…store (?). I still scratch my head every time I go by it. Let me tell you though, every time I do drive by there are people there, day and night. Apparently there is a lot of money in this business. Had I had known that I may have opted to open one myself. I mean, come on. The overhead can’t be a lot. This drive up store carries one item. No matter what, the supply and demand for this one item in Podunk must be huge. What is it? That’s right peeps, we have a store designated only for the sale of…ice.  

  What am I missing? Why do so many people need ice? Even if their refrigerators didn’t have built in ice makers don’t they have the plastic trays to make their own? I guess I just don’t get it. I could understand if there was a campground near, but there isn’t. I mean there are not any race tracks close, no drive-in theatres, and no concert venues. Are there that many people going to parties here in Podunk? Are there uses for ice that I do not know about? I scratch my head every time I go past that little…store.

  Wait, it gets better!

  A couple of weeks ago the Charmed One and I had the television tuned to a local news station. I have to admit that I was only half paying attention because I was reading, or writing, or revising, or whatever. After a story Charmed One turned to me and said, “What a great idea!” I asked what the story was about, and in turn heard about the city of Charlotte using Solar Waste Stations at different spots in the city. I cannot explain the look that crossed my face. The Charmed One continued with the explanation of “special” trash cans with solar panels on them to decompose garbage quicker. Apparently they hold up to five times more garbage than normal trash cans. My look of no explanation quickly went to a look of horror. I simply smiled and said, “Is it really a good idea to put that on the city streets? Can you imagine the wonderful odor that will surround these “Waste Stations?”

  If you visit regularly you know I am pretty much a nature nut. I am all for energy efficiency and I am behind the whole “green” movement. But there are times when I have to scratch my head. Am I missing something? We have had three straight days of temperatures over 100 degrees. This whole week is supposed to be in the high 90’s. I really don’t think I want to be the one to open up one of these Solar Waste Stations to put my ice cream wrapper in there. Heated garbage doesn’t really appeal to me, and may make me not want to come back into the city. Let’s see how it smells after next week! J

  So, is there something I am missing here?

  I figured I’d give you a couple of signs that I have seen recently that I don’t really get either.

Okay, I understand this one, but it was too good to resist!

  Do you have a use for an abundance of ice? How many bags of ice do you buy a year, on average? Do you think solar paneled trash bins are a good idea in the middle of a busy city? Are there any “green” ideas gone bad that you know of?