Reading: A number of odd signs on trucks and cars today.

"I help people get what they want." One car bore this intriguing phrase on a square blue bumper sticker with white lettering. I have no idea what it means.

"We've Been in the Bathroom for 130 Years." This was the slogan on an American Standard truck. American Standard makes toilets and other bathroom fixtures.

"B Young" on a license plate. Imperative or identifier? Who knows?

Background courtesy of
Ace of Space

A Piece of String

I woke several times during the early morning to the sound of thunder nearby. No sharp cracks, but just a loud rumbling like a kettledrum in an orchestra. I listened for the boys, but they seemed to be sound asleep, so I drifted back to sleep, too.

When we pick up Tab in the afternoon, we pull up to a parking lot behind his building. Between the parking lot and his building is a large, grassy expanse on which the boys like to kick around a soccer ball while waiting for Daddy. Daniel has a pretty good kick; we need to look into getting him onto a soccer team this year.

On their way back to the car, Daniel discovered a length of string. He was holding it out to look at it when Stephen grabbed it away.

"Hey!" Daniel shouted.

"Stephen, give Daniel the string," Tab admonished.

Stephen held it away from Daniel. "I want it!"

"When you find something, you can keep it. Daniel should have the string because he found it," Tab said, trying to reason with him.

"Here!" Stephen yelled at Daniel as he hurled the string at him.

Daniel knew how to retaliate. "You're not coming up to my room to play with my track, Reno-Meano." Daniel has recently constructed a Hotwheels track that plunges down off a bookcase in his room, makes a sharp turn at the door, travels down the hallway almost to our room, and then returns to his room. With the use of judiciously-placed accelerators, he can get a Hotwheels car to travel the entire length.

Facing a ban from the track, Stephen reconsidered his actions. He put on his repentant face and said, "I'm sorry, Daniel."

"It's too late," said unforgiving Daniel in a monotone.

"I'm very angry at you, Daniel! I'm going to take your pencil, and break it all up in pieces, and throw the pieces in the garbage!"

Daniel shrugged. "I have a lot of other pencils."

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