Things You Should Probably Not Do

"Spit into the wind;" that is one that Jim Croce stated in his song, Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown. I have seen this happen twice driving in this crazy town. It is probably not a good idea to let someone by from the oncoming lane when you are stopped at a light to turn. For some reason the person that you let by does not look to see that there is someone coming in the other lanes. The driver just assumes that you have let them by all is clear; then crash they pull out in front of the car just riding along. Really are we in such a hurry in the laid back south that we just can't wait for traffic to turn? I guess taking chances is just part of being a Southern Rebel. I surely don't want to consider that some of us are just not really all that bright.
     I go the same way to work everyday. In doing this you notice the same cars in traffic. I even notice the same students walking to UNA. I notice the lady with long hair with her bags. I notice the man with the beard sitting on the bench at McDonald's drinking his coffee. His beard is not been as long for a couple of weeks. The guy with glasses in his McDonald's uniform. I have wondered about each of their lives.  I still wonder about a little boy I saw crying when I was five. My grandpa had picked Mama, my brother and I up for the weekly Wednesday visit to their house. We were driving along somewhere in Wayne, Michigan. The little boy was screaming/crying on the sidewalk. I just know something was terribly wrong. I still wonder what til this day.
     The man on the bench always has coffee, therefore I think he can afford at least coffee. When it was raining yesterday he was on the other side of the road. He was under the awning beside of Sweet Magnolia. He seems a bit ruffled, but hopefully he has slept in a bed. Looks can be deceiving, this I know. One thing I should probably not do is stop and offer him a five dollar bill??? I don't know. I could offend him. He could need it; who couldn't use a few extra dollars these days. He could totally go off on me. He doesn't have a bucket or a sign; I should just leave this idea alone. Then the lady. She seems in her own world. I may have the wrong impression of her. She may be just fine. She may live in the narrow house that is painted green. The way she carries her belongings makes me think of the way Mama held coins/change in her hand. Mama did this until her hands would get a rash on the inside of her palms.  My grandmother has at times tried to pry the change out of her clenched hand. The mind can make you do funny things. Habits are even funnier things. There are so many of them.
     I should probably not do this either; I would like to ask the lady that walks every morning if she needs anything. She might go Nanny on me. Nanny is what we called Mama after my children were born. She would loose it every now and again. This is where my girls and I got the term, "go Nanny on 'em." If one of us gets mad about something we say, "don't go Nanny on 'em." Many of the habits that Mama had I see me doing. Of course I am still waiting for that day. The one my grandmother warned me over and over about. In the words of my grandmother, "if you don't get a hold of yourself you are going to be just like your mother." That wouldn't be the worst thing after all. I know I am beginning to be shaped just like her. Things you should probably not do, that is what this started as and I am rambling. All of the above are just a few of the things that maybe should not be done. Even the going Nanny on someone. Holding tight to coins can be looked at as a good thing. Maybe not in your hand, but hanging on to money is something hard for many of us. Gathering coins along the way is something I should not do. The way I gather them anyway.  My kids and their boys always have tons of change in their cars. I tell them I am getting it to feed to my cow. They always let me have it to feed my cow. The cow I am talking about is a piggy bank. I fill it with the change taken from their cars; when it gets full I take it to First Metro in Muscle Shoals to that machine that counts change. This machine doesn't charge nine cents per dollar like the one at Walmart or Foodworld. This gives me 'go' money for lunch and such. I gather knowledge and a little bit of cash along the way. Things that I really should not do, but do anyway.