by Pa Rock
Traveling Fool
One thing that I try to accomplish with every trip is to gather some new knowledge, and the pearls of wisdom that I acquire are often not regarding things that I have sought to learn, but knowledge that just managed to jump into my path.
For instance, yesterday I learned that the amount of financial pain associated with fouling an enclosed space with cigarette smoke is two-hundred-and fifty dollars. (It has been decades since I was a smoker, so I did not acquire this snippet of knowledge "the hard way.") Yesterday when I picked up my beautiful silver Kia sedan rental car, one of the warnings on the sheaf of papers that I was handed informed me that if myself or anyone else smoked in he relatively new car while it was rented to me, a fine of $250 would be imposed.
Ouch!
Then, when I checked into the hotel in Salem, Oregon, there was a similar warning in my newly remodeled room. Smoking in the room would result in a surcharge of $250. Perhaps there is a state law in Oregon that has set that amount, or maybe that is the going rate for cleaning up after a filthy smoker.
I did stay in a hotel in Portland a year or so ago where smoking wasn't that big of a deal, but there were signs up informing guests that they could not smoke pot (which is legal in Oregon) in their rooms.
Party poopers!
Another thing that I learned yesterday involved geography - and later make for an interesting discussion between me and my eleven-year-old grandson. I have come into Salem - and exited Salem - on I-5 many times. It is the primary north-south route between Portland and Salem. Yesterday, about two miles north of Salem I noticed a small government sign in the meridian, one I had not seen before. It announced that I was crossing the 45th Parallel - or the midpoint between the North Pole and the Equator. What a great jumping-off place for a geography lessons using the family globe.
(And all of my grandchildren have access to a globe in their homes. Pa Rock, the old geography teacher, saw to that!)
My nine-year-old grandson began talking about Australia while we were out having an evening meal yesterday. His class had apparently been discussing it. He told me that Australia is an island, and we talked about kangaroos. We will check it out on the globe later today!
I have just finished a better-than-average motel breakfast, and now I am off to spend the day with my grandchildren. I expect to learn some amazing things!
Traveling Fool
One thing that I try to accomplish with every trip is to gather some new knowledge, and the pearls of wisdom that I acquire are often not regarding things that I have sought to learn, but knowledge that just managed to jump into my path.
For instance, yesterday I learned that the amount of financial pain associated with fouling an enclosed space with cigarette smoke is two-hundred-and fifty dollars. (It has been decades since I was a smoker, so I did not acquire this snippet of knowledge "the hard way.") Yesterday when I picked up my beautiful silver Kia sedan rental car, one of the warnings on the sheaf of papers that I was handed informed me that if myself or anyone else smoked in he relatively new car while it was rented to me, a fine of $250 would be imposed.
Ouch!
Then, when I checked into the hotel in Salem, Oregon, there was a similar warning in my newly remodeled room. Smoking in the room would result in a surcharge of $250. Perhaps there is a state law in Oregon that has set that amount, or maybe that is the going rate for cleaning up after a filthy smoker.
I did stay in a hotel in Portland a year or so ago where smoking wasn't that big of a deal, but there were signs up informing guests that they could not smoke pot (which is legal in Oregon) in their rooms.
Party poopers!
Another thing that I learned yesterday involved geography - and later make for an interesting discussion between me and my eleven-year-old grandson. I have come into Salem - and exited Salem - on I-5 many times. It is the primary north-south route between Portland and Salem. Yesterday, about two miles north of Salem I noticed a small government sign in the meridian, one I had not seen before. It announced that I was crossing the 45th Parallel - or the midpoint between the North Pole and the Equator. What a great jumping-off place for a geography lessons using the family globe.
(And all of my grandchildren have access to a globe in their homes. Pa Rock, the old geography teacher, saw to that!)
My nine-year-old grandson began talking about Australia while we were out having an evening meal yesterday. His class had apparently been discussing it. He told me that Australia is an island, and we talked about kangaroos. We will check it out on the globe later today!
I have just finished a better-than-average motel breakfast, and now I am off to spend the day with my grandchildren. I expect to learn some amazing things!
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