WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
Sorry for this late notice, but Valentine’s Day is this coming Saturday, February 14. It’s another one of those occasions when we let those we love know just how much they mean to us. We should do this every day, but especially on Valentine’s Day.
The local merchants love Valentine’s Day. Eighteen billion dollars will be spent on gifts, and one point six billion dollars will be spent at the local card stores. Roses and candy are the most popular gifts, and candy is always accepted whether weight is an issue or not. For a little excitement, you guys might want to ask your wives if they want chocolate, or if they think they are fat enough already. My wife doesn’t like chocolate covered cherries, so I usually give her a card or two. The shelf life is longer anyway.
While on the subject of candy, the Necco Company has been making candy hearts for 147 years, and they will make four million pounds of them this year. Some of the old favorite sayings on the candy hearts are: “Be Mine”, “I Luv U”, “Hug Me”, and “Kiss Me”. The newer ones include: “Tweet Me”, “You Rock”, U R Hot”, “U R QT”, and “EZ 2 Luv”.
February is the shortest month of the year, which is nice, unless you have a mortgage or car payment due. It is also a month when we can expect almost any kind of weather that Mother Nature might want to send our way. Looking at the past several months, we started with last November being quite nasty, December was very mild, January was so-so, and this month started out with a twelve-inch dumping of snow, plus blizzard conditions. The groundhog saw his shadow, so there’s a bounty out on him. This is Michigan, so for those of us who decided to brave out the winter and stay here, I salute you all. For the snowbirds who headed south to Florida, enjoy the geckos and palmetto bugs. Oh yes, keep the cover on the lawn mower for a couple more months, and make sure you have plenty of gasoline for the snow blower.
We’ve been hearing a lot of advice on how to handle the winter weather lately. I won’t bore you with more advice, but I would like to remind you of just a few things. It’s a good idea to keep your car’s gas tank at least three quarters full and keep a blanket and flashlight in your car. Finally, take a few minutes to clear your car windows of snow, and don’t forget your headlights and taillights.
I was clearing my driveway the other day and took a minute or two to chat with our garbage man as he passed by. He was running a little late because of the roads. He is used to working in bad weather, so working with the snow is not a problem. He mentioned that his biggest problem is the city snow plows. When the plows clear the streets, trash cans get knocked down, and you can imagine how much trash gets thrown around. He tries to stay ahead of the plows, but it doesn’t always work out in his favor. I don’t put our toter out every week for two reasons. Number one is that the toter is picked up by a lifting device that grabs the toter and dumps the contents. This puts a lot of wear on the toter, and eventually the toter cracks and needs to be replaced. Number two is that I don’t see a reason to put out a toter that is only one-third full. It saves the driver a stop, and I don’t need to take the toter out to the street and bring it back in. That’s enough “trash-talk” for this week.
Things you might not know, but should:
If you sit for more than 11 hours a day, there’s a 50% chance you’ll die within the next 3 years.
A person’s height is determined by their father, and their weight is determined by their mother.
If a part of your body “falls asleep”, you can almost always “wake it up” by shaking your head.
Take a 10-30 minute walk every day and while you walk, SMILE. It is the ultimate antidepressant.
See you Out and About!
Submitted by Norm Stutesman
