BEDBUGR

Oh my goodness! These dropping temps and bone-chilling gusts of wind definitely had me warmly dressed and barricaded indoors as much as possible today, and unfortunately the wind didn't go down with the sun, so it'll likely be at it again tomorrow. At least we didn't have enough snow which would've created blizzard conditions. Don't you just love/hate how our weather can change from beautiful to ugly and then back again?

Most of my morning was taken up with the issue of getting a water heater installed, doing a final walk-thru on a home sale, removing a lockbox and grabbing my sold sign before heading to the closing company where I managed to arrive a bit early which afforded me time to visit with the escrow agent.

The closing went very well, and I was quick to remind the buyers that we normally aren't able to get a sale closed in 17 days, and the reason for it, was because I was very much on top of getting everything we needed in record time. Yes, the buyers were thankful over it because they'd been temporarily living in not the most comfortable of housing environments.

After the closing was over, there were other documents I had to deliver, and as chance would have it, one of my favorite clerks was at one of the offices, and since I've known her for a very long time, whenever I see her, I always have to share a comical story because she absolutely loves getting a good laugh.

Oh my goodness, did I ever get her laughing when speaking about the filthiest of filthy tub/shower units I ended up cleaning, along with being of the belief that if I'd saved all the soap scum I razor-bladed off, I could've put it all in a press and created a bar of soap. Of course what really got her going, was relaying a conversation I had with another who after mentioning that I'd found clear signs of another person's hair in that tub, and that person telling me how disgusting the thought was of two 'persons' using the same filthy shower, and my response being, “Well, like my grandmother used to say, all cats are gray in the night.” Seeing how the clerk had gone into an almost convulsive laughter, caused me to start laughing. Well, as I told her today, laughter is good for the mind, body and soul. Yes, that experience ended up being the highlight of my day.

You absolutely must believe I actually spied a personalized Iowa license plate today that read 'BEDBUGR', and because I thought I was reading it wrong, I purposely took a photo of it which I may share with a few. Unfortunately I wasn't able to see who or what was driving the vehicle, but I'm sure there's been others who had their attention grabbed.

Of course wicked me began having dark thoughts about that word because back in my day, some would refer to a person who had weak morals and loose loins, as being a 'bedbug'. There were other times where it would be used in reference to someone who preferred to stay in bed, rather than get up and off to work, so I guess that personalized license plate was purposefully made to create controversy. The last possible reason that plate may have been created, was some sort of advertisement for the owner who happens to be a bedbug exterminator. Yes, we've had confirmed reports of bedbug infestations in Mason City, and from what I've heard, they're growing. Ok, enough about bedbugs.

Once back at office, I had a quick bite for my late lunch, and then finished up on my closed sale file before it was sent to the archives, and then spent the rest of what was left of my afternoon, cracking black walnuts until it was time to close-up shop.

I was interrupted a half dozen times with phone calls, but most of those hours, I was quietly cracking nuts while random thoughts came and went, and for whatever reason, I suddenly started thinking about Taxonomic rank I had to learn back in high school, which of course had to be memorized at the time, and wouldn't you know, I actually remembered all of them, and they are as follows: Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species. Wow! I never would've thought such a list would be popping in my head today. But, perhaps the reason for it, was having read not too long ago, where AI is going to be all the more instrumental in its alteration. We already know how many sub-species that've been purposely created in labs, so get ready for all the more thanks to AI. Pretty scary if you ask me.

Tonight's One-liner is: Success is not greedy, as people think, but insignificant, which is why it satisfies nobody.

original post ... https://niowarealty.net/life/2024/12/11/bedbugr/