Views of the Neighborhood – The Outing

~ John W. Howell

The time finally came for me to go on an outing that was not doctor related. I know this may not sound like a big deal, but I was very happy to leave the neighborhood just for a little while. I hope you don’t mind that I’m dragging you along.

Views of the Neighborhood

Our first stop is..wait for it…Shred Day. Yes, we are taking all our confidential stuff that needs shredding.

views of the neighborhood

Here is a shot of the lane over from us. It gives you a good idea on the process. You pull up. The Boy Scouts take your stuff and put it in the gray tote.

So we are waved into this lane.

Already someone is pulling in behind us.

The scouts have our stuff.

They go to the truck. There is an opening where the tote fits. The tote is then emptied automatically into the shredded inside the vehicle. Now, didn’t that take your breath away?

Let’s go on to the next adventure. You won’t believe this one. Curbside pickup at HOME DEPOT. (Dan will be so jealous)

This is the real thing for sure.

While waiting for our order, I spotted this guy with his dog. Twiggy and Lucy would never stay in a cart. The order arrives and is put in the rear, and off we go. No, human contact what so ever.

I had to take this snap of the social distance line up outside of Shipley’s Donuts. You know, if I were going to join a queue, it sure wouldn’t be Shipley Donuts.  A pub maybe.

I’m glad you could go out with me today. I know it was a highpoint of your week.

Unknown's avatar

Published by John W. Howell

I have been working in business for over forty years and now have the time to work in special areas of interest. My passion has always been to create compelling stories of fiction. I have authored six novels and am working on my Seventh. The first novel is still in manuscript form and being utilized as a door stop in the laundry room. The second is a contemporary fiction novel of 89,000 words and is complete and I am currently seeking a publisher. I also write poetry but have not had the guts to share any with anyone. The one time I read a piece to a person their only comment was, “it doesn’t rhyme.” I will continue to write and hopefully my blog, Fiction Favorites at www.johnwhowell.com will provide some entertainment and an interesting thought or two. I live in the Austin area with my wife Molly and an assortment of loving pets.

110 thoughts on “Views of the Neighborhood – The Outing”

  5. Lucky you! I haven’t seen a shredding day for a while, and I miss them. But curbside is becoming increasingly popular in our area. Walmart leads the pack, followed by a long list of wannabes. Great photo commentary on our new normal, John. So glad you got out and about, and shared your discoveries with readers. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

      1. We just had, literally just had, an air balloon land next to our house. We ran out to help with maneuvering the balloon through the trees to a place where folks could get out and the balloon folded up. That was an exciting first! I’ve been wanted to take a ride, but I never expected it at our door. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Shredding is a good thing, John. Curbside pickup is a good thing. We have it available, but the one time I saw it in action it was total chaos. Waiting on line for a donut? I don’t think so, and I love me some donuts.

    I’m still trying to picture Lucy and Twiggy in a shopping cart.

    Thanks for bringing us along. I hope you wrap up the weekend easy like and start a great week tomorrow.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. I doughnut want to be in that line. And several others. There is nothing better than driving right by a long line to make a tour of the neighborhood enjoyable. Thanks John

    Liked by 2 people

  13. I think it’s great, how ingenious we’ve become at developing new and safer ways of doing the same things. Thanks for letting me tag along, John. I’m glad you didn’t have to contend with the winds and rains from that hurricane — looks like we had a beautiful day for our outing!

    Liked by 1 person

  14. When I moved from New York to Orlando, one of the things I got rid of was my shredder. Need to buy another. It is necessary these days.

    Yeah, I don’t make lines, now a pub, that is a different story.

    Liked by 1 person

  22. It is the small things that count these days, John! Curbside pickup is good. We are trying that with HEB Monday. What tales the girls would have from a shopping cart! Good that you ventured out

    Like

  23. Be still my heart!!! The shredding experience simply took my breath away! And … Home Depot! That was too much excitement for one day … I now need a glass of wine! (Also wouldn’t have minded one of those donuts). Thanks for the outing, John! Now get some rest, for I know you must be exhausted after all that!

    Liked by 1 person

  24. This outing was the highlight of my week, John. 🙂 Love the shredding day that reminds me of when our son was in scouts. He and my husband are Eagle Scouts and our daughter earned the Silver Award in Girl Scouts before her troop disbanded. Great memories and good deeds done.

    Liked by 1 person

  28. Nice outing, John! Around here, they usually schedule shredding and household hazardous waste dropoff a couple times a year, but it was postponed in the spring. I have things piled up in the garage waiting.

    Liked by 1 person

  32. It is really strange to go out again John. I’ve been locked down in London for so long i was very happy to drive to my parents after nearly five months! Then, hold the excitement, they decided i needed to actually go to replace my scratched protective phone screen before my warranty ran out at the apple store in the big shopping mall. I haven’t been to a big store since March and we’ve now been told it is compulsory to wear masks in every shop so off we went, we put on our masks and prepared ourselves…. well we thought we’d prepared ourselves, it was chaos, the one way system was completely ignored, once inside the mall people were wearing their masks under their chins or under their nose a couple of girls had actually pushed them up in their hair, teenagers were running around getting too close, i nearly hyperventilated in the Apple store they’d turned off the air conditioning and it was very warm and people were getting too close and coming right into my space.

    Your trek out sounded a lot more organised and distanced.

    Liked by 1 person

  33. I remember laughing when banks started having drive-thrus. I thought now that is ridiculous… then I used it.
    I have a dang shredder but something has blocked it and it now sits collecting dust. I should either have it fixed or bin it!
    Glad you got outta da house…

    Liked by 1 person

  34. What a concept public shredding! I’m on my 3rd shredder. It’s among my favorite tools. I shred so much junk with our names on it that I’ve burned out two of the previous shredders I’ve had. When I do the annual file cleanout is when I tend to burn out the motors.

    I don’t see me queuing up for donuts either, but He-Man recently queued up and waited for an hour at Lockford Meats in Lockford, CA. They have the best sausages. He stocked up since we’re rarely near there.
    He bought four types Pesto, Hawaiian, Beer something, and Hot Italian. These are our favs.
    Have you been there? The line is always around the block!

    Liked by 1 person

  37. Hi John, I love your views of the neighborhood posts and believe me, Shred Day sounds exciting to me! Have you ever taken your dogs into a pet shop with you? Would they stay in the cart there? 😉 Hope you are doing well.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I have not taken the dogs to a pet shop. They would not stay in a cart. Twggy would be all over the birds and Lucy would eyeball the kibble. Hope you are doing well too. All is good here.

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.