File this under "Things I can't identify with."

In this Toyota TV ad, a father is looking for a "safe, reliable car" for his daughter.[1]

Watch >

[2013-03-11]

c0

As of March 3, 2013, I have 18,387 words in my palette waiting to be edited or posted.

I've archived 146,278 words since I started archiving my own blogs (words only, no pictures)

And that doesn't include the subfolders where I work on seasonal material and stuff I simply don't want to post but want to keep a record of, or my fiction, or my journal, or my email, or what I write for a living, which probably doubles all that.

I write a lot, and still I should write more.

[2013-03-03]

c0

[1]
As a friend of mine used to say (quoting his father) when I was working 3rd shift at one of our retail outlets, "those are rich people's problems."

It may not be immediately obvious why this is ridiculous, so I'll spell it out: I can't afford a new car (or an old car) for a child going off to college.

My parents couldn't afford one for me, either. I spent 4 years at Calvin College and my first year after Calvin walking where I needed to go (or bumming a ride). I didn't have my own car until I bought Dad's AMC Spirit.

I'm not poor, but I can't afford a Sandals vacation, a Chuck Schwaab retirement shelter, or a  Rolex, which are routinely advertised on channels I watch. I can save and splurge like most folks (for vacations and holidays), but I suspect there is a rather large group of folks watching those ads that spend on those things without blinking an eye.