Warning!

So it got up to 71 degrees here on Saturday. It was, by far, the nicest day we've had in months and months. Hell, it was tempting to turn the air on. I would just open the windows, but living on the ground floor means noise from people walking around and kids. God I hate kids! Okay, maybe “hate” is a strong word, but do they have to be so damn loud all the time? Plus, the widows have newspaper and paper bags stuffed into them where the seals should be to try and keep the cold air out. So, windows have to stay closed.

Anyway, I decided to get out for a bit and wander around and enjoy the fresh air. Apparently I wasn't alone in this idea. In fact, I think everyone in all of North Arkansas had the same idea. People from as far away and Nail and Swain must have decided to come to town. The traffic was crazy!

But, it was such a beautiful day that everyone was in a great mood. Children were laughing. Adults were smiling and nodding at one another. Old people were shuffling a little faster. Hell, even the homeless dude who is usually standing on a street corner yelling at himself about the events of the 1960's was kicked back on a park bench enjoying a refreshing drink of lake water out of a Styrofoam cup that he pulled out of the trashcan.

A young couple was throwing the Frisbee back and forth with their pet Labrador racing between them trying to catch the Frisbee. The ducks that live on Lake Harrison were sunning themselves in the grassy areas and occasionally dining on some unsuspecting insects. It was, a perfect day in America.

As I was sitting at a stop light, taking in this idyllic scene and feeling full of happiness and content, I was momentarily distracted by something that caught my eye. I suddenly realized that a warning light had come on.

WHAT THE HAIL!

But, before I could get a good look at it, the light went off. As the traffic light turned green I started to drive away, I convinced myself that it never happened. No warning light had come on. Everything quickly went back to being perfect. I popped open the sunroof to get a little more fresh air flowing and went about my business of doing nothing but enjoying the warmth. Which is when the light came on again.

YOU SONOFABITCH! CAN'T WE JUST HAVE ONE NICE FUCKING DAY WITHOUT SOMETHING MESSING IT UP!

So, I pulled into a parking lot and stopped the car so I could get a good look at the warning light that I already was sure was going to result in extensive and very expensive repair work on my car. I stared at the light for a minute to determine what it was warning me about. And then I began sobbing uncontrollably laughing at myself and my silly little angry reaction to the light. It was just telling me that I was low on washer fluid. That's all. Crisis averted.

Since I happened to be in their parking lot, I decided to go into the Dollar Tree and see what they had. Since their inventory rotates, it's important to go in there often anyway to see if they have anything cool for a buck. Like maybe a big screen TV or something. Well, the only thing I found was some chocolate drizzled popcorn and chocolate covered pretzels to have with my Pepsi for lunch. But, on this beautiful, sunny and warm Saturday, that turned out to be the perfect combo.

In other news, sometimes car companies can put too many warning lights on a car.