Mature Security

I'd like to propose a new fashion statement for men. It is a very simple one and doesn't detract from your appearance if you perform it properly.  My suggestion is that men wear their shirts in the casual style without tucking them into their pants.  Most polo shirts and golf shirts are made with the bottom cut and stitched to accommodate that style, but many of the Oxford-style shirts are also made for the "untucked look." 

Oh, I know it won't work for all men, and the ones I intend to target are a select group.  The present day boys and young men who already have their fashion statement, the hip-hop group with their pants pulled down to expose their boxer shorts, need not join.  Shoot, in fact, they are exactly the ones whom my new trend is aimed against.

You might have noticed that I used three inflammatory words, target, shoot and aimed, in the prior paragraph, and there is a reason for that.  My new fashion statement is going to figure prominently in curbing a lot of the violence that comes from those low-slung-jeans-wearing hipsters.  While it isn't a dead giveaway, it seems to me that those same guys are also the ones with the firepower in the form of illegal guns somewhere on their person. 

Now, it isn't a hard-and-fast, proven fact, but a lot of those gun-toting people are less likely to draw that weapon and start shooting if they even suspect that their intended victim is "carrying" too.  The person who has a concealed-carry license is probably going to have their pistol in a pancake holster at the small of their back.  And guess how they are going to conceal it. 

Okay, I'm not advocating that we all go out and purchase a pistol and apply for the conceal-carry license, but if we men were to suddenly all start sporting the "untucked look" it would give the would-be perpetrator second thoughts, wouldn't it?

Of course, there are several cities - New York, Washington, Chicago, and New Orleans. for instance - that have gun restrictions or outright bans, and they just happen to be the most dangerous ones in America.  Hmm, I wonder why that is?  I don't see that as a reason not to wear the shirt outside your belt in those cities.  It still gives the thugs pause, and the police cannot stop and search everyone they think might be packing, especially if there are hundreds or thousands of shirt-tails visible.

Ladies, I don't want to leave you out.  You too can join the crowd.  Those who do carry a concealed weapon for protection usually have it in their purse, and that is probably the worst place for it.  After all, purse snatchers are everywhere in the world, and you don't want that thief to get your gun along with your cash and credit/debit cards.  You can join the men in the "untucked look" fashion statement if you like. 

Do you think we can start a trend?  Let me know.

Leaving the House

Whenever Judy and I leave our house, which we do almost daily for shopping or other errands, there is one thing we always do without fail.  We unplug the coffee maker.

We've lived in this town home for over five years, and we have never unplugged any other appliance upon exiting, so it must be ingrained in both of us that coffee makers are dangerous when left unattended.  Oh, we can both go about our daily routines, me in my home office/computer room and she in her sun room at the back of the house.  I know that neither one of us ever gives a second's thought to that dangerous appliance sitting out there in the kitchen plotting our demise.  But, let us even consider going out for a ride, and the last thing we do before leaving is unplug the coffee maker.

I ask you, is this paranoid behavior?  Do we really have OCD about that coffee maker?  After all, we've never unplugged the stove or the refrigerator when we go away, and they would seem to have a greater potential for destruction.  And even if the coffee maker did some day go berserk and start a fire, if we're not in the house, we won't be injured.

Okay, I know we're being silly, but about thirty years or so ago, one of those ancient Mr Coffee™ machines started a kitchen fire in someone's house in the city where we were then living, and we never got that incident out of our minds.  It stuck like glue, and we've made it our life's goal to never let that happen in our house.

Now, either you're laughing about the crazy custom we practice, or you're thinking that maybe we need to see an analyst about our problem.  Even I think it's goofy to unplug that machine just because we're leaving the house, yet we still do it every single time.

Oh, by the way, we've never had one of our coffee makers explode or start a fire, and they do make excellent coffee.  In fact, I cannot recall hearing or reading any news report about anyone else's coffee maker causing a fire in decades.  I guess old habits are really hard to break.

Have a nice day and enjoy your coffee.