Bonus Days

I like the concept of the bonus.

If I were a boss — a real boss, not just someone who had been given a title and a supervisory role and no real power to speak of — I would do whatever it took to hire The Best employees I could find. And I would pay them well, and every so often, I would give each one of them a bonus. Not each one at the same time, necessarily, and not always the same amount, if I happened to be giving out cash bonuses. Of course, the bonuses would not always be cash, but they would be items that I knew my workers would appreciate.

I mean, can you imagine going to work and your boss saying, “Hey, girlie, here’s the new Los Lonely Boys album; my friend Patti says they’re a great band,” as she tosses the brand-spankin’-new CD to you? Naturally, this system would be customized to each person; I would try to get to know at least enough about my employees to know which ones would prefer the Boys, and which would prefer “American Idiot,” and which would prefer a little something by Norah Jones and the late, great Ray Charles.

Today, I have discovered, is a bonus day.

I suppose each day could be considered a bonus, considering there are no guarantees in life, and, to be honest, the very next breath you take is not assured until you have, indeed, taken it in and exhaled, ready for your next one.

Today, though, really is a bonus. Here we are, smack-dab in the Midwest — The Exact Center of the Universe, some might think, though few would dare, actually, to say that out loud (let alone write it!) — with at least 5 weeks of winter left, regardless of whether you believe in that silly ol’ woodchuck.

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Or, if you prefer:

How much ground could a groundhog grind if a groundhog could grind ground?

It is wintertime here, yet, as I type, the temperature outside is 69 degrees. The sun is shining, and, honestly, clichédly enough, there is not a cloud in the sky.

It is as if we have received a bonus day of spring, right here in the midst of winter.



WPA Daffodils



Windmill near Rescue Freewill

Unidentified Lying Objects