I don't care who you are...

When I was in high school, I was the Alex P. Keaton of the Family Ties family in our home.  I couldn't wait to vote in my first presidential election - I voted for Reagan.  Alex would have been so proud.  My parents groaned when I called them from college and told them I voted straight Republican.  All I'll share about my politics now, is that I am neither a registered Republican, nor a Democrat.  I'm an Independent, and please don't riff on politics. I can't hang right now.  I need to do more homework.

As I got a little older and fiddled around on the dark side in college, my mind opened in new ways.  However, I've always been able to slip back into my Alex P. Keaton mode and say things to my parents and brother to get a reaction (my brother was the boy version of Mallory Keaton).  My family knows I'm doing it to be a poke in the eye - it's just ornery fun.  I'm not bigoted towards any group of people, except maybe "bad" people.  (I suppose I struggle with a few judgments here and there.)

A friend recently emailed me a knock-knock joke that was pushing the bounds of good taste.  In the current election, there are a few "-ism's" that are being targeted via cheap jokes.  Ageism, racism, sexism, homophobia, multiculturalism...  The knock-knock joke pinged an "ism".  I did not agree with the joke, but like Larry the Cable Guy says, "I don't care who you are, that's funny right there."

I didn't forward this joke to anyone else, but I did to Mom and Dad, knowing as they opened and read it, they'd wonder where they'd gone wrong.

Mom's exact email response: 

"I'm trying to figure out how to get this out of my computer, so it won't surface after I die......"

To coin one more Larry the Cable Guy phrase, "Lord, I apologize for that right there, and please be with the starvin' pygmies down there in New Guinea, A-men."

Laugh. Think. Laugh. Think. Repeat as necessary.

So glad it's Friday.  I'm tired.  Helped Julie at Snoasis again on Wednesday night.  Supermodel's been killin' me with early morning workouts - Betty Boop even hooked up with us one day.  Hosted Bunko resulting in the stupid b#ner (rhymes with loner) post.  So here's a little funkay Friday refreshment.  It's only one minute long, so check out Spock's Casa - let's all just loosen up...

Now, if you want to watch something a little less bubble-gum, check out this 16 minute talk posted on Chris' blog about what we all do with our "cognitive surplus" i.e. spare time, and how it's evolved.  Chris is obviously a marketing guy, but the video clip is interesting commentary for anyone. 

Don't worry, I won't quiz you on the surplus link, but I expect everyone to quote from Star Trek Cribs.  "No salsa on the leath-ah!"

Who needs Starbucks (uh, me) when Snoasis is in town?!

My friend Julie thought it would be a good idea to open a shaved ice business in our small town. She did her homework, opened "Snoasis" in early June and business is booming. It's rare when there aren't 20-25 people waiting in line at her "shack". Julie's kids are working, other kids are working, Julie's working, Julie's friends are working—these snow cones are HOT. I can't help but wonder what she's putting in her syrup...

Wednesday evenings are slotted for Young Women and Young Men activities for LDS kids. It's like Young Life or a Youth Group at other churches. For non-church goers, its like a kegger (minus the keg or the creepy adults lurking who bought the keg). Fun and important for these kids regardless. Julie tries her best to let the teenage LDS employees attend their church activity, so she seeks adult help to work at Snoasis on Wednesday nights.

I'm one of Julie's biggest fans and have been anxious to get in that crazy shack, help . . . and snoop around to see how she's addicting the community to her icy treats. 

Last Wednesday evening I was finally able to work with Julie, one of her other girlfriends and the girlfriend's 18 year-old son. At first I thought it might be overkill for four of us to man the shack, and maybe Julie was just allowing me to help so I felt I was contributing to her project. 

I worked for four hours. The first hour was slow but steady—perfect for me to learn the cash register and how to take orders. It's like Starbucks—name of customer and flavor preferences written on the cup, take the money, then pass the cup to the ice shaver person. Simple.

By 7:00 PM the line was at a minimum 20 people deep and didn't shorten until closing at 10:00 PM. Some people ate their snow cone, then got back in line for another one. 

The shack's pretty small, so our rearends were bumping and we'd politely say excuse me, but other than that, there was no conversation. It was difficult to hear over the jet engine ice shaving machine—so we had to shout to each other to communicate.  A crazy night. 

Those kids and Julie work hard to keep up with the demand. It's not like one of those "normal" snow cone shacks where a handful of people stumble by once in a while. The people who visit Snoasis want their treat, and are willing to wait patiently, sometimes for as long as 30 minutes, for their turn to order. I've never seen anything like it.

I don't think this is just a "Utah thing", although Julie tells me Utah has proven to be a strong snow cone market. (huh?) I think it's a combination of a small town that was ripe for this business, a great location, a well-run and clean "shack", friendly employees, a tiny bit of a "Utah thing". But more than anything, I think Julie's slippin' people a little sumpin sumpin. If you know what I mean . . .