“Stay In Your Lane.” This is a popular saying I have heard from people older than me, and I learned what it means, recently. In Texas, there is a popular travel gas station, Buc-Cee’s. (Similar to Love’s or Wawa). They have a popular item called, beef jerky. I decided to try it out and the flavor I went for was the ghost pepper one. They gave me a sample which tasted okay. I figured I could handle it. BIG MISTAKE! I bought one strip, among other flavors and took it home to share with my family. Apparently, the pieces I broke off for the others was mild. I sadly took the brunt of it. I ate a piece --- nothing. So, with confidence, I ate more and subsequently finished it. I felt okay still. About 40 seconds later, the heat or whatever you call it from the ghost peppers started to seep in. My tongue was literally on fire. I couldn’t feel it. I drank a diet 7 up, and lots of water and had my tongue panting out of my mouth. My dear reader, I know you are tempted to laugh --- you can. All I will say is sometimes, you go to learn to see certain things and keep on walking. “Stay In Your Lane.”
Moving on to something else, let me share a ride share experience or two. I do ride share driving on the weekends and this past weekend, I met a very interesting gentleman. Typically, before I pick up a rider, I try and guess the nationality, based on the name, so I can have music or a radio station from their country, playing, when they enter. This night, I could not make up anything from the name. I still took a guess and guessed incorrectly. Then we got talking and he actually is from Iran. First time I would be meeting anyone from there, but it was a lovely conversation that ended up with him recommending an Iranian Restaurant and a popular dish I need to try.
Later than night, I picked up a young man and we got talking as I drove. We both tried to guess, where each other was from. Of course, none of us guessed right. He actually was from Cambodia, and I excitedly told him he was the first person from his country that I had knowingly met.
I have met people from Wyoming, North Dakota, Seattle and one or two other states in the USA that typically would not be on the radar. The North Dakota meet up was in Washington DC and she said she was surprised that schools shut down for snow fall. In North Dakota, she said many times you walked to school in heavy snow. I cannot relate to this, simply sharing what someone from their told me.
Let me begin to wrap up this Jive, as I am typing in pain. My left elbow has been in pain since last week. I may have strained it lifting at work. My knees are also in pain, so I am trying to make it out to my doctor next week. Prayerfully it is nothing serious.
If anyone tells you Texas does not get cold….ask them when last they were here. I find it strange that all my years working in Maryland, I wore shorts and a very thin layer on top. I would be outdoors working for FedEx Express in West Baltimore for 12 hours, and the cold never got to me. Now I am in Dallas --- 50 something degree weather has me putting on layers. I wonder what has changed. It gets cold in Dallas – cold and windy, and ooooh, when the roads get wet, accident numbers increase. I think when we go for road tests at the DMV, there should be a component of testing folks on a wet road surface, so they are certified to drive fully. I see people hitting 70 to 80 mph on the highways here, in rain, and sadly when they get involved in accidents, it is never a simple crash.
As we get ready for thanksgiving, please eat responsibly. If you drink, drink responsibly and if you decide to do something out of the norm, please, STAY AWAY FROM GHOST PEPPERS. Those things are not items to be played with. Learn from my experience. That’s the Jive!