Not long ago, I went to my local Wells Fargo Bank to deposit a check. While there, three different Wells Fargo people said to me, “Have a nice day”. Later I bought some envelopes at Office Max and the clerk taking my payment also asked me to “Have a nice day.”

Oh please….

As if some 24-year-old store clerk or bank greeter can influence my day.

I have a suggestion instead of “Have a nice day”.

How about a simple, “Yee haw! Ride that big silver car of yours back here any time, darlin! You made our day comin’ in and doin’ business with us. You are definitely our most attractive and nicest customer!”

That’s more like it.
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I love the Netflix comedy, “The Kominsky Method” with Michael Douglas (as a scruffy excitable acting teacher) and Alan Arkin (as a calm and understated theatrical agent). Season 2 just arrived. “The Kominsky Method” touches on many of the issues us “mature” adults encounter. (The second season begins with a discussion about forgetting words.) I laughed out loud many times.

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I wasn’t so fond of “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”. Tom Hanks was a bit too syrupy nice and understanding. But remember, my background is German and English.

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Lots of talk these days about quid pro quo. Seems to me, my parents were real good at quid pro quo (granting a favor or advantage in return for something). My brother was promised an allowance on Saturdays if he first cut the grass. I was told my allowance required me helping my mother with the dishes every night. Parents knew about quid pro quo without going to law school or being elected to anything.
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Last week at the hair salon, I heard two women talking. One asked, “So how is your son?” The other woman answered, “He’s fine, though he has made a couple of poor choices recently. He had to stay after school twice last week for fighting”.

The woman used the term “poor choices” several more times in her conversation.

I guess today’s parents don’t spank and don’t even tell their children they are a “bad boy” or “bad girl”. Their children simply make poor choices.
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I have three dogs and more than once when I have been gone for long periods of time, I came home to “poor choices”. However, as a modern parent, I can imagine sitting down with my 11-pound chihuahua and explaining to her that when a perfectly convenient doggie door leads to the yard, it is a very poor choice to leave an “accident” in the house. Clearly the dog will understand and make only wonderful choices in the future. Uh huh.
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I’m getting a little tired of hearing the words “woke” and “meme”. It’s a generational thing. By the way, Generation Y, every morning by 10 a.m. I am perfectly woke, and “Life is a banquet” is a favorite expression of Auntie Meme.

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When I lived in Chicago and came on vacation to Las Vegas, I was surprised during the holidays to see so many decorations and hear holiday music. I guess I thought only the snowy parts the country really celebrated Christmas.

Now, as a citizen of Las Vegas, I see lots of holiday decorations, have a choice of a number of holiday concerts and am given free holiday pies by local casinos. Many of us here do look at the weather reports and see the snow and chaos in other parts of the country and give extra thanks to live in the West.

Below is a picture taken last week at my favorite Las Vegas destination, the Wynn Las Vegas. Love the figures in shadow.