Free as a Bird

Who was it that said changes in the weather are the most powerful memory reminder of all? With so much going on this time of year, I for one, find that to be true. Spring puts me in a wistful, reflective mood, summer makes me loggie, fall restless, winter sleepy. So as my mutual fund sinks faster than Hillary's cattle story credibility, it's time to ponder things that were, and things still ahead (did you remember to set those clocks ahead? Seems with all the lost hours I have somehow managed to misplace a whole year from my life.) All I can say is I hope this Beatle reunion is as magical as the last one, all those years ago. Welcome all you new employees! And a hearty howdy to all you grizzled veterans. You are reading the only employee driven newsletter where the driver is asleep at the wheel. Auto snooze. So, it's up to all of you to keep this thing on the road. Open the hood and make sure the mixture of fuels is proportionate. Hit the brakes until they squeal. Spin your wheels twice as fast to get half as far; and what's behind is further than what's ahead. Running on fumes? One thing we learned is for this highly tuned mechanism to run right the valves have to be tight, leak free. Drip drip drip. All the parts working in synchronicity. "If some of my homes had been more like my cars, I probably wouldn't have traveled this far." That is why, boys and girls, we need you. The newsletter is constantly seeking your voice, your well written, funny and informative article. Just send it in. We really want to hear from all of you! Deadline is Saturday at 6:00pm, but we can work out other arrangements. Keep the chrome polished and the tires inflated. EXPRESS YOURSELF! (C'mon girls, do you believe in love? Cause I've got something to say about it and it goes something like this:) Did you all see Madonna on Dave (so to speak)? She began by giving him a pair of her panties and it sort of went down hill from there. Did you know pee fights athlete's foot? She muttered an all too used obscenity fourteen times and agitated the host and an elderly couple in the audience. (And Mom and Dad and myself might go see the show next fall?) She wanted him, desperately tried to get him to break out of the formulas, the routine. Dave's response? "We hope Madonna comes by again...April Fools!" Been a busy week. I developed a formula that calculates and scales the size of a cat's feet in human terms. Max the Cat wears a nine and a half. Drove around on errands, signed up for softball, deposited ten old paychecks (I've found taxes aren't as fun when you're paying as when you're getting a refund) and when I found myself in the area, I stopped in at the newly renovated St. Paul Applause that I've read so much about in these pages. Man, maybe it was the fumes of the wood, but darn it, I was impressed. Thinking in my mind what the ideal CD shop would look like, I saw in front of me a fair representation. The fixtures were cool, they had the Neil Sedaka disc I came in for, and the sales help was friendly and even pointed out I brought up to the counter a CD with a broken case and quickly remedied the situation. Maybe it was the wood, but my mind was set right after the visit. Reminded me of my favorite job out of the many I've done for this company: building fixtures. All right, I didn't really build them but I did get to T-Nose my share. And those counters at Groovemonster? Yup, those were mine. Such sweet memories of such a sweet holiday. It used to be our favorite of the year, now it's just a reminder of a jumpy rodent gnawing at the heartstrings, leaving chocolate droppings hidden behind. Yum, malted milk chocolate lip stick. But what better time to fight the traffic in a badly laid out city, climb indoors in a blue plastic studio, and watch the locals suffer through another difficult season? Pulido and Mahomes and pray for collapsing domes. PLAY BALL!