The Shiner

“Wayne, pay attention to what you are doing,” my Dad must have said to me on many occasions. Growing up, I had a linoleum cutting kit that came with sharp tools used to whittle a soft area over harder wood. Not staying focus meant I could cut myself, which I learned the hard way.  My parents also bought me a wood burning kit, where you used a different tips connected to a handle that was plugged into the wall.  Yes, I did not pay attention and burned various shaped holes in my Mom’s plastic, fluorescent orange place mats.  I am not sure why my parents bought me these potentially dangerous “toys”, that will be a different article.  Whether I listened or not, Dad’s advice was good and could be used on almost anything we do.

So what does this have to do with the black eye that I have in the picture? My wife and her friend went to Florida and I happily picked them up from the airport at midnight.  I drove the friend home and then headed home.  As I got out of the car, I “popped” the trunk, walked around the car and as I reached the back I “flicked” the truck open – something that I have done hundreds of times in my life.  I bent over to reach into the trunk to retrieve the suitcase. BAM!  What I did not notice (“Wayne, pay attention…”) was that the trunk lid either did not go up all the way or “bounced” and was coming down.  In the great debate about when you are hit in the head does one see tweety birds or stars, I can now vote in the stars section.  This was a reminder that you still need to pay attention to things even if you have done them 100 times before.

I guess my quote of the day is:

“Pay attention to what you are doing.” ~ Arnold Zeiler