Whatevet Hits The Spot

What a great place!

I love small town mom and pop eateries. And this one has always rated near the top of my favorites list. The Spot in downtown Sidney, Ohio is the name of the joint. It appears to have been at one time a drive in. The canopy and ordering menus are still there, but I didn't take the time to see if they were still being used ala Sonic.

Need a great hamburger? They've got it. How about homemade Chilli? They've got that too. Great homemade pies. And the secret to my heart, fried breaded mushrooms.

The prices are modest, the portions large and the atmosphere is doo wop.

Next time you're traveling along I-75 north of Dayton, Ohio, stop in and try out The Spot.

Benchwarmers

This is a redux of an earlier post from August.

I am fascinated with the phenomenon that separates highly successful people and the bench warmers in life.

I saw that quote on another blog earlier today. I too have had the same question running through my mind for the last year or so. I even sort of touched on it when I added this entry to the blog back in July.

I agree there is a phenomenon that happens. What I can't find is the key that allows for it to happen. For those of us who don't have the natural instinct, can it be learned? Where do you find it? How can one tap into it and make it a useful tool rather than an unknown phenom.

The quote was written by a person who has the ability to pick up the tool and use it. Yes, I'm sure they cultivate it. Yes, I'm sure that there is hard work involved. Yes, well you get my drift.

I cultivate many good characteristics in my life. I work hard. Yet I've never experienced the phenomena. The Guiding Light has never came down and touched me or illuminated the way.

There's another element that falls into all of this. Those who have experienced the phenomena seem to hold those who don't in a second class citizen status. Look at the openning sentence. It's sucessful people vs benchwarmers. Think about what they are saying. Or more importantly, how it appears to have been said.

Those lowly Benchwarmers are the people who turn out faithfully everyday and execute something meaningful. In sports, they provide the role of scout team. In business, they do the work that assembles, provides quality control, ships or greets. Many are not slackers and often put in 120% of the days requirements. They take pride in their contributions. They put out a good quality product.

But they are missing one element in life. The Phenomena.

For those of you who have found or were gifted with the Phenomena, share with us how it is found and better yet, how to cultivate it. I would love to hear from you. Reply to this page or email me @ johnstonteam@gmail.com

Lottery Winners Live in Hell

The Associated Press is reporting that John and Sue Wilson of Hell, Michigan are just a little over $115,000 richer after winning the Michigan Lottery's Fantasy 5 drawing on all things........Wednesday October 31, 2007........Halloween night.

Sue is a teachers aid and John is an electrician. They plan to pay off bills and buy their son a video system. And possibly make a long overdue visit to some relatives in Georgia.

Hell, Michigan is located about 45 miles west of Detroit.

Wikipedia has more information on the town. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell,_Michigan

Do We Have to Say Merry Christmas?

It's about time for the annual angst from the American Family Association about what stores allow or say or use in the advertising. Oh, I forgot. The magic word they will fight so hard over is the word........ Christmas.

Here's the issue. Many retailers now understand that their customer universe has expanded beyond the traditional Judeo-Christian shopper. Out culture is now becoming a larger and larger melting pot. There are now people, as there has always really been, from different cultures and religious perspectives.

There are several holiday celebrations that happen between the last burp of Thankgiving dinner and the last hangover head ache of the New Year. And the list of those celebrations continues to grow. So why shouldn't stores promote the holiday season with seasons greetings since so many holidays and other celebratory days fall in that 40 odd day time period?

To assure they don't offend anyone and are inclusive of all, many retailers have resorted to making their holiday greetings and advertising more related to the season rather than to the specific Christian Holiday.

Many stores suggested that clerks not offer a "Merry Christmas" when ringing a customer through the check out line. But most did not ban a reciprocal response if the customer made first mention. In some cases, I wish I would get a genuine thank you rather than a nonchalant grunt or a mandatory stock phrase.

That's not good enough for the AFA. And of course, talk radio couldn't pass up an opportunity to attack a PC attempt.

I'm not quite sure what the motivating factor of the AFA is. Maybe they should explain it. The comic attached to this writing sort of summarizes my view of the whole thing. It appears that it's more about the fight than the real undrelying cause.

Honestly, the meaning of Christmas was lost long ago when Merry Christmas greetings were in fashion. Commercialism had long outstripped the realization that the promised one was born. So simply saying Merry Christmas isn't going to suddenly make someone crack open the gospels and learn more. It didn't work that way 30 or 40 years ago. It likely won't work with the AFA's annual Merry Christmas dust up.

I'm quite comfortable with making the first offer to have a Merry Christmas by simply saying. And usually I get a big smile back from a very tired store clerk who is probably working two jobs during the holiday season to either pay bills or to earn additional money so their family could have a more bountiful holiday season.

I've always been leery of those who believe we need to impose our faith on others. That to me is what the AFA is attempting to do. Christians seem very eager to impose rather than expose their faith to those who may need it. And a fight for the sake of a fight.