Yesterday I was prepping for my semi-annual task to clean the gutters. Out came the trash bag to line the garbage can, my gutter scoop which neatly fits inside the trough and removes debris very efficiently, my gloves, and the folding ladder.
I dutifully dragged all this stuff to my starting point – the rear of the house. It was a pleasant day with temps in the low 70’s, and humidity at a comfortable 54%. This was a better fishing day than gutter cleaning day anyway you looked at it. But I digress.
Stripers would be moving down the coast following the warmer water for their annual spawn. Examples in the 48-inch range, weighing upwards of 35 pounds could be expected from the surf. However I was cleaning gutters. But I digress, again.
With all the tools at the ready, and my sainted wife at hand prepared to give me pointers about how to better do a job she’s never actually performed herself, I was geared up to begin the task.
Upon grabbing the ladder – it is a newer folding aluminum type that weighs nearly as much as a Buick, almost as much as me – I couldn’t help but notice the copious labels peppered about the legs, rungs, and that step on top that actually isn’t a step but people step on all the time.
I’m sure that’s what all those people in the emergency rooms nationwide are thinking waiting to see a doctor and x-ray technician.
In any case, those labels caught my attention this time; I’ve been using this ladder since my sainted wife bought it for me some ten years ago in an attempt to transform herself into an instant widow. But that is another story for another time.
A possible replacement for
capital punishment use
I began reading these labels written in LARGE RED letters. I suppose that meant this label was important, but no more important than the other 17 permanently afixed labels.
Of course most of these warnings neatly fit into the category of “common sense.” Then you must remember who is buying and using these ladders.
Warnings such as not propping the metal ladder against electrical power lines, using it on a trampoline, not having more than one idiot on the ladder at one time, and not to step on that top step that’s not a step.
Then, my mind began drifting to real-life situations.
My mind stopped on Dr. Anthony
Fauci, an American physician and immunologist.
You may have heard of him as the guy who the
In the early stages of this terrible flu, Dr. Fauci insisted we, as a populace, follow specific rules and regulations as directed by knowledgeable doctors, himself included.
He claimed we could avoid getting COVID-19 if we washed our hands for 20-seconds. He insisted masks were not going to help, as did the United States Surgeon General.
It was about two-months later that revealed Dr. Fauci recanted and insisted we wear masks to stop the spread of this invisible terror. And we did. And we distanced ourselves six-feet from one another to avoid spreading the COVID.
But that didn’t help, either. We were amid a presidential election during this time, and President Donald Trump’s challenger, Joseph Biden, proudly announced how he would end this disease once and for all.
Biden verbally poked President Trump by insisting The President killed 220,000 Americans. Of course he didn’t. But the mainstream media pretended they were deaf and said and did nothing to refute Biden.
Biden’s recipe for a cure was to make everyone wear a mask. He said that if elected, he would mandate that mask wearing, and with sleight of hand, he insisted he could keep it under control.
For the record, Smokey the Cat thought that was a stupid statement even for Biden. Still, the populace loved it and turned out in record numbers to vote for him (wink, wink).
The sad part is that after national lockdowns, month-long quarantines, and social distancing for roughly eleven months, record numbers of COVID contractions are being reported.
This is, in fact, an ideal
situation for
If Joseph Robinette Biden winds-up being elected our 46th President, he will have a golden opportunity to test his mask-wearing theory on Americans from coast-to-coast.
As an aside, while I was at a
Tallmart the other day, I noticed countless zombies with their obligatory masks
strategically placed under their chins, and beneath their noses. I suppose they believe air does not enter and
escape from their nostrils.
In any case, comparing my gutter cleaning episode to Dr. Fauci’s and Joe Biden’s mask fiats, I got the job done by using common sense and taking a chance by standing on the top ladder step that was not designed to be stepped on.
Life is not risk-free.
I’m still alive after months of political bullying. And so are you. Think about that.
