….When you have one of those sh*tty starts to a day, you have to search really, really hard to see the trees through the fog; the flowers covered by weeds; the light at the end of the tunnel; the rose among the thorns…well, you get my drift. . …Here’s to what made me smile after an early morning verbal altercation that had me wishing to strangle the pompous, control-freakish life out of someone who was just plain WRONG. . Thank you to: . 1. The heavy man wearing jeans and riding his old bicycle on the sidewalk while wearing his motorcycle helmet 2. The teen with the obnoxiously large pink ribbons in her hair while driving her parents’ baby pink minivan 3. The man walking down the sidewalk in full camouflage, but who topped the look off with a big floppy western hat and tall cowboy boots 4. The man in the store wearing dreads and a Jamaican knit cap while wearing a SpongeBob t-shirt 5. The yellow and the red “punch buggy” cars that appeared (again!) when my child was not present so I could not win the game 6. The Korean cashiers in the specialty market speaking their native tongue a mile a minute who stopped abruptly; said “Good morning;” and then commenced as though they had never deviated from their communications 7. The repairman with his table of friends who tried hard to hide his amusement as I twice (on two occasions) tried to push the door to enter the store when in fact one must pull. 8. The woman who congratulated me on no longer smoking and told me I should take up drinking if quitting the habit leaves me grumpy 9. The repairman across the street who, upon seeing me, uttered “I did it again, didn’t I” (due to once again blocking my vehicle’s line of sight), and who looked terribly confused when I broke into song with “Yup, you did it again.” So much for musical connoisseurs among the blue collared 10. The pizza shop lady who asked to put my name on the order for pickup, and who (I discovered upon arrival) had written “Man” on the box. . Yes, here’s to whatever bright moments God and His mankind have to offer on a day that started out in the crapper. “This too shall pass” must never be forgotten…