Mirror

Mirror......what strange thoughts this word brings to mind. Strange because of the thought processes this mind of mine has gone through because of the word mirror!

The chain of events went like this: Mirror>mirror image>duplicate>businesses>franchises> success. Why? I haven't got a clue, unless it is because success, in my mind, derives from having duplicability, and duplicability comes from using the mirror image of a successful business plan. A McDonalds in Los Angeles is like a McDonalds in Washington, D.C., is like a McDonalds in Paris, Tennessee. The reason being is that one store is the mirror image of another. There are successful people all around us. There are successful ventures all around us.

Having a mirror image of a successful business does not guarantee success. Look in the mirror.....you may not be doing something right! Then, again, the timing just may not be right for your venture.

Anyway you look at it......a simple word like mirror got this mind to working......and that is the important thing!
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Texture

The texture of something, the “feel” of something reminds me of the blessings of sight and touch. While being confident that I could continue on in life, should I lose any of my five senses, I do hope to never find out. The texture of a piece of art, whether it be a painting, or a piece of pottery defines its character. The consistency of cake batter or cookie dough determines the texture of Jean's sweets. Spackle troweled on sheet rock ceilings allows bold textures to shine forth. Texture is one of those words we take for granted, yet is so missed when it is taken from us. I have learned that, in this world, to take nothing for granted!

Creek

My earliest remembrances of creeks dates back to around '62 or '63. My oldest brothers graduated from E.W. Grove high school in 1960 & 1961, and enrolled in UT. With my parents I would go to Knoxville to visit them & off to the Great Smokies we would head. I would have to say that, as a child, seeing bears had to be my most memorable experience, but wading into an ice cold mountain stream in the heat of late August also has a special spot in my memories of that time.

After high school I revisited the Smoky Mountain National Park & had the pure pleasure of going to sleep beside the rushing waters of a mountain creek. My buddies had found a place to camp which they had named the “Fields of Ambrosia” in the Nantahala National Forest, & it was a little bit of Heaven in North Carolina!

As I write this blog, I should mention that I am in the Smokies, again. We have seen some creeks this week. Yesterday, as we were riding in the mountains, we followed a stream that was about 30 feet wide and running mighty quickly. I can really tell I am getting older. As a kid I just had to go swimming. As a young adult, I had to wash my face, & sometimes take a bath in fast running creeks. At 54 years of age, I am very content to pull up beside a creek and just watch it.

Feather

I cannot think of the word feather without thinking of goose down. I own a down sleeping bag, a pair of booties, a goose down vest, and a goose down coat. Whenever a quill sticks out of the nylon shell, I know that feathers were used instead of down. Ounce for ounce, down is the warmest material I have ever known.

Several years ago I got the bright idea of starting a goose farm. I figured I could get all the feathers I needed, all the down I would ever need, and make some extra money at the same time. I didn't get very deep into this business plan before it was pointed out to me that, here in Henry County, we have much too mild of a climate. If I wanted to produce good down, I would have to move somewhere like upper Minnesota. My thoughts of having a feather farm went away that very evening!