The FREE offer one should refuse!!

Although common fodder for stand-up comics, late night TV hosts and a number of sit-com story lines, drunk diving is no laughing matter. Most of us know someone personally who has been traumatically affected by the actions of a drunk driver but I've got to admit this little news tidbit brought a smile to my face. Is there such a thing as an "ironic smile" ?


For the tenth year, the McGuire, Jennings & Miller Funeral Home in Rome, Georgia, ran a holiday promotion for New Year's Eve. Now, you might wonder just what kind of promo a funeral home can come up with - "2 for 1" deals, "in by 8 p.m." specials, "DIY embalming" classes - it boggles the mind!

Oh, but they really came up with a good one ! A FREE funeral including the casket, grave, preparation of remains and, even, the limo for anyone willing to sign a contract stating they intended to drink or take drugs and then drive on New Year's Eve and, if as a result, they died in a wreck on that day !!


Inspired by the loss of a family member as a result of a drunk driver, they started the promotion to draw attention to the issue and to make drivers think twice before getting behind the wheel after imbibing. Hopefully, the publicity surrounding their "offer" will keep other families from experiencing such a loss.


Of course, there are some restrictions or rules to the offer. The potential victim must come into the funeral home in person with a copy of their driver's license and next of kin to complete an official funeral plan and sign a written contract. They must then sit down and write letters to their loved ones explaining why they chose to gamble with their lives and the lives of others by drinking (or drugging) and then driving. The funeral home will hold the letters for the victim at that point.

Thankfully, for the 10th year, there were no takers for this FREE offer. McGuire, Jennings & Miller intend to continue the promotion again next New Year's Eve.

Another busy weekend!

Well, I’ve been working on that old “flexibility” again this weekend! On the downside, I didn’t get to post either Friday or Saturday. The good news? I was enjoying my weekend and wasn’t able to find the time. This week, I was able to simply shrug and say, “Oh. well.” (Actually, my shoulders are getting a little tired from all that shrugging.)

Friday was a very busy day culminating with the first free concert in the park of the season. It was beautiful sitting on the hill overlooking the water. I had intended to take some great pics to share with you but, alas, I left the camera home on the charger. (Flex, gal, flex!) I came home happy and content and promptly fell asleep in my chair! So much for posting that night!
------------

Saturday was a fun day all around. I started out in the afternoon attending a baby shower for a close friend’s daughter. The Big Guy met me there afterwards and we traveled on across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Centreville on the Eastern Shore of Maryland for the Bay Music Festival, an annual event held by the Queen Anne’s County Lion’s Club. We missed the first two bands but managed to arrive just as the third group took the stage. Next came the featured entertainer, Bill Kirchen (Think Commander Cody and the Hot Rod Lincoln), a man we’ve seen several times along the way. Bill always gives a great high energy performance and gets the crowd worked up. The last group, a rock band, was still rocking the world when we left shortly after 11 p.m. (We did have a long trip home ahead of us.)

**The camera was still home on the charger! (Flex, again.)

It was after 1 a.m. by the time we got back across the bay, picked my car up and walked into the house. Again, I was happy but way too tired to post and went to bed.
-------------------

Since we’d paid a sizeable entrance fee on Saturday, I tried to even things out with a freebie today. We chose to go to the Beltway BBQ Showdown in Upper Marlboro, Maryland about an hour and half away in Southern Maryland. There were two good blues bands scheduled. We intended to simply sit back and enjoy and maybe eat a little BBQ. Since we were up late Saturday night we didn’t rush this morning and got a later start than usual.

Now, as many of you know, The Big Guy and I are Certified BBQ judges for the Kansas City Barbecue Society. Most (90-95%) of the KCBS contests around the country are Friday-Saturday events. Very few take place on Sunday and most of those are still judged on Saturday with some entertainment happening on the Sunday schedule. I did not sign us up to judge this event as I knew I would not be available on Saturday. Had I read the listing carefully, I would have realized this was a Sunday judging event and registered. (A little background info - Once the awards have been handed out at a competition, the cooking teams can rival the best fire department‘s time in getting packed up and out of there. For the most part, they’re tired, hot and drained and just want to get home at that point.)

We were surprised to see all of the cooking teams still set up when we arrived today. The Big Guy went over and asked a competitor why they were all hanging around and learned this was a Sunday judging. Judging had begun about 15 minutes before we arrived but we walked over to the judge’s tent to say hello and see if they needed any additional help in processing the entries. (Note: If you are not a CBJ, never approach the judging tent during judging. Distractions are not welcome.) For those unfamiliar with the judging process, it takes an amazing number of people to pull these events off and there is often a shortage of help. Turns out they were extremely short-handed and we were greeted with open arms. (Again with the flexibility!!)

The Big Guy quickly slid into a role of accepting and numbering contest entries from competitors and, in his spare moments, helping put together what those of us familiar with the procedure refer to as “the grazing table“.

I was asked to assist a new, inexperienced Table Captain who had been pressed into emergency service due to the lack of help. I also picked up a few other chores here and there during the judging period. Judging is, at a minimum, a 2-hour period of non-stop activity. We spent the next two hours working under the judging tent and then spent a little more time sitting there chatting afterwards. We did have a good day and both of us took on some roles there that we had never done before in our judging experiences.

**Oh, I did remember the camera today but didn't take any pictures!

So, I’m sorry I fell off on the postings, but, all in all, I’ve had a great weekend. How was your weekend?