One of my favorite on-going events was keeping track of how far doughnuts from Burke's Bakery traveled to be a snack at the end of the trip.
Some were events that show the "surprise" side of life - meeting a stranger who knows someone you know. Or meeting a former classmate at the corner of Fourth and Main, as happened at one Brass Band Festival.
You have been astounded by a tree pulverized by lightning and a flowering tree that bloomed out of season.
Having your picture appear in the paper once a week gives you recognition you don't even think about. My favorite acknowledgment came when I was in the hospital for a knee-replacement. Early each morning, blood was drawn. The woman with the needle one morning made my day by saying she looked over her list of patients and told her co-workers that she was getting to stick a celebrity that day. Egos do like to be stroked!
A special thanks go to all of you who shared a Random Act of Kindness. Random Acts always restore my faith in mankind. It's nice to know people return purses, help when a car needs fixed, go an extra mile when a person faces a dilemma or do simple things, such as let out a car in a long line of traffic with a smile.
Pet Peeves show we still get upset at daily annoyances, but I hope many of you laughed and saw yourself at times - I have - and resolved to do better.
Two of my favorite peeves show how a person who respects tradition can get really frustrated by new technology.
The reader wanted people to be courteous and show respect for the deceased by pulling over when a funeral process drove by. That's a time-honored tradition. However, these new car lights that automatically come on when a car starts complicated that reader's life. The reader didn't know if the line of oncoming cars was a funeral procession or just a lot of new model cars.
Random Acts of Kindness give the real "feel goods." Sad to say, more Pet Peeves were sent in than Random Acts.
I have two long-standing Pet Peeves of my own that I'll share. First, either we do not know how to use our turn signals or cars sold in Boyle County are not equipped with turn signals.
Second, would that the city of Danville would mark all intersections that have three-way or four-way stop signs, instead of just putting up a plain stop sign. Sometimes I wait for the other car to move through the intersection, only to look closely and see there is a stop sign that way as well.
My neighbor George Foster continues to be a perfect example of a Random Act of Kindness. Last Monday, he saw that our garbage cans got to the curb for pickup and even brought the cans back after the truck passed. It cost him a little time; it brought us great joy.
Emily Toadvine will continue to take Pet Peeves and Random Acts of Kindness. Her contact information is at the end.
Thank all of you for sharing events in your life with me and Advocate readers. While we had a pig who lolled in a kiddy bathing pool, we never had pigs with wings -- but who knows.
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Continue to share your pet peeves or random acts of kindness by contacting Emily Toadvine at The Advocate-Messenger, P.O. Box 149, Danville 40423; or emily@amnews.com or (859) 236-2551 or (800)428-0409.
