President? A carpenter looks for work; signs that Wasilla's summer has reached its end

I simply could not bear the thought of eating a sandwich and can of soup for lunch today, plus, I figured that if Margie felt up to it, I really ought to get her out of the house, as she had spent the whole morning and early afternoon sitting in one spot. 

"You up to getting into the car and going somewhere for a fast food lunch?" I asked.

"Yes," she said. 

So off we went to Carl's Jr.

After a scrumptious meal eaten from inside the parked Escape, watching cars go by, we prepared to leave. As we neared the exit onto the Palmer-Wasilla highway, I saw this guy, who, judging by his sign is a carpenter looking for work.

I was hoping that I would reach the corner just as a horde of traffic came barrelling down the highway, so that I would be forced to stop right by the man and then I could interview him through the passenger window as I waited for a break in traffic. I rolled the window down as we drew near. The capenter saw my pocket camera and hid his face behind his sign.

"I'll put you on my blog!" I shouted through the window, as I rolled by as slowly as possible. That seemed to catch his interest. He lowered the sign away and exposed his face, as if he were ready to be photographed and interviewed. Unfortunately, there was a break in the Palmer-Wasilla Highway traffic and there were several cars behind me and he drivers all wanted me to pull out onto the highway so they could, too. Not only could I not conduct an interview, but the pocket camera takes a full second to recycle and I did not have a second to wait.

So I had to zip out onto the highway without even taking a second picture, one that would show his face.

"We should hire him to fix our toilet," Margie said as I sped away.

Maybe. But we really can't afford to, right now, and once I am on the road, I do not like to turn around and go back in the direction from which I just came.

And how would I check his credentials?

I hope he got some work, though.

What does he mean, "President," at the bottom of his sign? 

Maybe he is the President of his company. Maybe he doesn't like President Obama. Maybe he likes President Obama. Maybe he means that not only can he do carpentry work for you, he can be the President of your company. Maybe he has just launched his campaign for 2012.

I don't know.

I wish I could have done that interview.

 

They say that when the fireweed blooms at the very top, our summer has reached its end. For any reader who may be unfamiliar with fireweed, all those purple stems were once blossoms. The ones at the bottom would have bloomed in mid-July, when I was on the Arctic Slope and then they moved their way up.

Now they have reached the top, so summer must be over. It felt like it today, too. It was so cold in the house that we had to turn the heat on for awhile.

Still, I wore a t-shirt when I took my walk and the cool air felt good to me. 

And here is another sign that summer is ending. Green remains the dominant color in the deciduous trees, but more and more yellow is appearing and soon the green will all be gone.

And here is still another sign. (In a comment added after my post, OmegaMom, who knows her mushrooms, suggested that I separate the above photo of what she identified as an amanite mushroom from the following discussion of Portabello mushrooms, lest some innocent person should become confused and poison themselves.)

I had a portabello burger at Carl's Jr. Oh, my goodness! It was good! No other fast food restaurant that I know of makes a burger to match Carl's Jr. In fact, very few restaurants do.

I was also reminded of when I first became aware of portobello mushrooms. I was down in the Lower 48 and portabellos were being touted as a delicious meat alternative. Some people were eating steaks and lobster. Others were eating portabello mushrooms. I told the server that I wanted the steak, the lobster and the mushroom. He scowled and said it was one or the other. 

So I ate the steak and lobster, then came back for seconds and got the portabello.

Now you can buy a portabello burger at Carl's Jr. that combines mushroom and meat and it is wonderful.

Comments

[Sandy]

Amazing! Maybe the guy wanted us to vote for him as the next President? If so, he should be a very confident & an efficient man...

Looks like you are happy about summer coming to an end?

[OmegaMom]

Yup, autumn is upon us, and it's not even September yet! School starts tomorrow.

Just an suggestion: Maybe you could move that amanite mushroom pic away from your discussion of portobellos? Someone who doesn't know might think that amanite was a portobello, and that would be Very Bad Indeed.

[Wasilla, Alaska, by 300]

Thank you, OmegaMom. I have followed your suggestion.

Sandy, I am never happy about summer coming to an end - although I do enjoy seeing the fall come, and winter, too, It just gets long, sometimes, whereas summer is short.

So short.