Random Ramblings...

Thoughts collected during three and a half days without Internet...

-The other night I was getting gas and paid with a $50 bill. The attendant ran that special pen they have over it to make sure it was not a forgery. (Sleep well, America: the guy working the 1 AM shift at the local gas station is the last line of defense against counterfeit money.) Still, it got me to thinking: how come I've never gotten a $50 bill that already has that line on it? I get money with random scribbles on it all the time, so why not that line? Does that special 'it's a real $50' ink fade away?

-Speaking of the guy working the night shift at the gas station - if you ever want to see an eclectic group of people, go to fill your tank after midnight. It's this weird collection of drunks who can't find their gas tanks, bad drivers who should only be on the road when there are as few other cars as possible, delivery people who are driving long distances and one random car with a family on a road trip (seriously, there is always one). It is a group of people that would never in a million years come together on their own. Then again, I was part of this group, so what does that say about me?

-Last week there was an anti-helmet motorcycle rally. This group of bikers were protesting because they don't think there should be helmet laws and that the government has no place in telling them how to ride. During the rally, one of the bikers lost control of his bike, crashed and died.... after suffering a head injury. Also, according to doctors he would have lived had he been wearing a helmet. You know, every now and again it's nice to be reminded that God has a sense of humor.

-Speaking of bikes (only it's the pedal kind this time), I was down at the beach and saw the local mountain biking store was moving to a new location, one which I can only assume is smaller and not in such a prime location. This got me to thinking: do mountain bike stores ever stay in business? I know that in this day and age small stores can come and go in a flash, but I feel as though bike stores have an even-shorter-than-normal shelf life. They always opens with a flourish and then are gone within 4 months. How do they keep getting the banks to give them money? Are they lying about what kind of store it is going to be? Because at this point I doubt a bike shop would even get funding.

-Saturday night I was in the mood for Chinese. So, after I eat I'm having my fortune cookie and the note inside reads: "You are lucky. You should buy lottery tickets." The restaurant was just a couple store fronts down from a convenience store that had a sign on the door about all the winning lottery tickets they have sold. Frankly, it seemed too convenient. The entire thing had me wondering if it was coincidence or the store is trying to drive business its way by being in cahoots with the Chinese restaurant. Either way, someone was killed at that particular convenience store a few years back (ironically, they had the lotto machine dropped on their head during a fight) which has led to that store being dubbed, "The Cumberland Farms of Death". I certainly wasn't about to buy anything from there, no matter what the cookie told me.