Young people have no idea …

That's another issue, too. Our neighborhood is slowly being bought up by rental companies as people sell their houses. They do a decent job of keeping their properties tidy, although there are a couple that look nasty. One had tall grass and a pile of tree branches in the yard for a couple of weeks that was making me nervous whenever I took the dog for a walk. She likes to sniff around it and I'm afraid there's going to be a copperhead or cottonmouth hiding in there.

The rental companies hire a service to cut the yards, which has occasionally annoyed me for the same reason. Our other direct neighbor, there is a narrow gap about 6 feet wide between the houses. When I cut, I always cut up to the edge of the neighbor's house. I have to walk through there anyway, so I might as well cut it, right? A couple of times, the yard service has gotten to it before I do and cut right down the middle of that gap — leaving, literally, about a foot-wide strip of uncut grass on our side.
I get that it's probably not their property, but really? You can't make one more pass and finish it off?

I'm thinking the grass in the no man's land between houses has caused as many neighborhood wars as loud music and cars parked on the street instead of the driveway.

 

Younger generations don't own dogs???

 

So, the wife and I get back from the bird store after buying more seed and as we pull in the driveway the mailman just delivers the mail to the mailbox at the front door. We say hi. As he walks toward the driveway I say ‘Is there anything from Publishers Clearing House?, and I laugh. He’s got grey hair and beard and looks like 50 or so. He says…’uhhh, no just the National Geographic and some other thing’…..and starts walking away again. My wife and I look at each other in the WTF mode and once we re in the house we laughed and said JFC the guy must have lived a sheltered life.
He wasn’t our regular guy who is a super funny good guy. I just thought PCL was a standing joke kind of thing, even in Canada.
Guess not.

 

Speaking of Publishers Clearing House, I got back from a short vacation and my mailbox was full with way more mail than the Informed Delivery emails told me would be there. I start sorting and most was for my elderly next door neighbor, and the majority was publisher’s clearing house and similar contests. I guess she’s an easy mark

 

Massachusetts banned the device that locked the gas pump open for a few years. Supposedly because people would put the pump in, walk away to go into the store, and drive off with the pump still on.

 

I’ve seen people drive off with a pump still in. It’s both funny and jarring.

But banned the locked open mechanism? Dick move. I hate having to hold the handle when the lock doesn’t work.

 

“Jimmy, rubbers are your snow shoes. Where do you get these other ideas?”

 

Yeah, but I'll defend the move looking at the bigger picture.

If left alone, not only could a careless person drive off with the nozzle after the breakaway does its job, but then you have to hope it shuts off as it should ... or you might have a serious situation on your hands if you ran that location.

 

Stock certificates and bearer bonds.

 

Thongs used to be the shoes now known as flip-flops.

 

The auto shut off literally has never been a problem in my experience. Even times when the lock didn’t work it’s worked just fine. At the risk of having pumps overflowing constantly, I think stations make sure those are working.

But the driving off with the pumps is a real thing. I get why stations don’t want to deal with that.

 

If the lock-open mechanism doesn't work, jam the gas cap in there to keep it open.

I gotta go get my Laffy Taffy and don't need to be standing around holding the pump handle.