Category Archives: Observations

The Bounty Hunter of Bad Customer Service

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Around these parts, and to family and friends, I am known as “The Bounty Hunter of Bad Customer Service”. Just as a dog will not let go of his bone – come to think of it, I also have trouble releasing a half-eaten prime rib bone – I will chase you down with all that I’ve got. 

It all started back when JC* was moving into a senior residence in Chicago. Many Excel spread sheets and visits later, we had chosen what we thought to be the best of the best, but things began to down spiral quickly. 

Unanticipated stress replaced excitement when I had to step in and take over for the moving coordinator, who seemed to lack any training in long distance moves. The lovely gesture of a sign on the apartment front door would have been much appreciated if it hadn’t read “Welcome Home, Gloria.” Worst of all, JC did not receive an invitation to the new resident birthday surf and turf luncheon. That snub was the final straw. 

I did some research and found out that this senior residence was in negotiations to link their services with the hospital that I was working for. I called and made an appointment with both the director and customer service coordinator to discuss my mom’s disappointment. Dressed for success, I carried a brief case with the hospital name on it; a handy prop. 

I was angry, but decided that the best approach would be to tug at their heart strings. I presented my case: I had faith in them, put my mom in their hands and their incompetence resulted in her feeling abandoned. 

I was prepared when they asked how they could repair the damage done. How about three limo rides at no charge – the residence had a limo available for hire – and dinner for four – mom and family – during lobster month at elegant – and pricey – Palm Restaurant? I produced a letter that I would email to them; all they had to do was copy and paste it onto their stationery. 

At that point, I unleashed my secret weapon, which has never let me down. I stopped talking, tilted my head slightly to one side and just looked at them. No number of words can replace the discomfort of stone-cold silence. 

The letter was delivered to JC later that day. She did enjoy her new home for a while, until she called a family meeting, announced that the residents were too old, and moved to a nearby condo. 

Since then, with a combination of tenacity, a genteel manner, meticulous research, and the silent treatment, I have been able to:

  • Enlist the help of the Department of Consumer Services in Chicago to track down a dead- beat contractor and obtain $12,000 in restitution.
  •  Collaborate with the University of Houston Law Center and receive complimentary assistance to persuade a corporation that paying in full for a storage locker was in their best interest due to an incorrect apartment floor plan. 
  • Travel free with my family on the AVE, the high-speed train, from Barcelona to Madrid, Spain when our credit card concierge forgot to email the tickets to our hotel.
  • Convince the airlines why the receipts for the contents of my lost luggage were no longer available and shop for replacement belongings with the $500 they offered. 
  • Enjoy a complimentary breakfast, lunch, dinner, or hotel stay when the initial experience was not up to par. 

Sometimes it’s important to take a stand. With a little effort, the frustration and disappointment you experienced can be resolved to your benefit. I can still see the smile on JC’s face when they tied on her lobster bib and when she called me from her limo and told me to look out my window, then stood up and waved out the top of the limo as it cruised past my building down Lake Shore Drive. 

Author’s Note:

*JC”: My lovely mom and best girlfriend. She received the name “JC” – her initials – back when I hired her to be my interim secretary, and did not feel comfortable saying “Any messages, Mommy?” 

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Wake Up and Make Up: Airbrushing Uncovered

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Is that really me? Getting my makeup airbrushed on for my son’s wedding was such a treat! Of course, a makeup professional with all the proper high-end equipment makes it look so easy. As the compressor sprayed a cool mist over my face, I couldn’t believe the finished look did not feel or appear heavy. Best of all, it did a great job of hiding any facial flaws!

The only real difference between airbrush makeup and other foundation is the way in which it is applied. Joette Balsamo, a makeup artist in New York City, shared some guidelines about airbrushing:

✔️Radiant finishes may be better
Airbrush foundation formulas are typically drier than traditional ones, as they must be pushed through the compressor. (The more hydrating the foundation, the more likely it will get stuck in the apparatus.) For this reason, Balsamo recommends choosing “luminous” airbrush foundation finishes, which are less likely to accentuate dryness and wrinkles.

✔️ Go for a full kit
Airbrush makeup compressors and foundations are sometimes sold separately, but pros say the best foundation for airbrush makeup is the one that comes with the set. “I think it’s always better to go with the foundation that comes with the technology because they’ve been created to function together,” Joette advises, so there’s less likelihood of error in use.

✔️ Finish with a face mist
Whichever airbrush makeup you choose, top off your look with a spritz of facial mist. “To make the look more supple, spray a hydrating rosewater or glycerin mist all over to bring some moisture into the makeup, so it looks more like skin,” she advises.

To Airbrush or Not to Airbrush?
Since the early 1900s, Good Housekeeping has prided itself on reviewing and reporting on the best products in various categories. Still today, companies vie for the coveted Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. Their listing of The Ten Best Airbrush Makeup Products for Flawless Skin seemed like the best place to start.

Since most of their products listed were versions of either the air spraying or the aerosol systems, I decided to narrow my focus and evaluate their top two choices, in order to make a final product decision:

#1 Best overall airbrush makeup: Art of Air Professional Airbrush Cosmetic Makeup System-
$90 (Amazon)
Includes: an airbrush, a compressor system, six different foundations, makeup for contouring and a cleanser for makeup removal.

Comments:
* The compressor system is bulky to travel with
* There is a definite learning curve to this product.
* You need to practice with water first to get the feel of the different settings.
* There is a lot of trial and error, as you work to find just the right foundation color
combination, using the six colors provided.
* Working in constant motion at the same speed in a circular motion is required, making
sure not to over or under spray.
* Only using airbrush makeup foundation increases your investment.
* The tip of the airbrush gun is very fragile and will not work if bent.
* It’s very important to keep the entire system clean. This involves taking it all apart,
   which most reviews said was complicated.

Overview:
The many pages of directions for the makeup system made me realize it was probably better to have my makeup air sprayed professionally, rather than try to do it to myself at home. Honestly, it was so intimidating that I packaged it right back up and returned it to Amazon, without even trying it.

#2 Best value airbrush makeup: Jerome Alexander Magic Minerals Airbrush-
$19.99 (Amazon)
Includes: airbrush foundation spray, kabuki brush.
With this aerosol version, you just spray the foundation on the brush and apply.

Comments:
* Very easy to apply.
* Application seemed to give the flawless look I was after.
* The only thing you need to keep clean is the brush.
* The price was right!

Overview:
The winner!
I think there is something to be said for an aerosol application versus applying foundation with a sponge. I noticed the propellant created a mist on the brush, giving my skin a more polished, finished look, different from regularly applied foundation.

The best price for the foundation spray and brush I found was $19.99 on Amazon. The Jerome Alexander website listed the same product for $24 with a 15% first time discount, but shipping was $8.95 – or free if your order totaled $49.

Before placing your order on Amazon, it’s very important to choose your foundation color.The easiest way to do this is to utilize the tools provided on the Jerome Alexander website :
* Go to “Find your shade” – top right
* Click on the model that best represents your coloring.
* This brings you down to the color of your foundation, which will also help you make your
final decision.
* I choose light medium.

For over 7000 years, women have used different forms of makeup- for spiritual, ritual, status, for their healing powers and, of course, for beauty.

“Beauty is power, and makeup is something that really enhances that; it’s a woman’s secret.”
Charlotte Tilbury, makeup artist, Prada

“Makeup is not a mask that covers up your beauty – it’s a weapon that helps you express who you are from the inside.”
Michelle Phan, beauty You Tuber and founder, EM Cosmetics

Author’s Note:
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Image by VintageSnipsAndClips from Pixabay.

Static Cling: The Silent Predator

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After having placed her coat on our bed the other day, my mom arrived home to find two hand towels stuck to the back of it. I still shudder to think what might have happened had she wandered into a Crate and Barrel store on her way home and was confronted by a security guard. How some of our folded laundry wound up stuck to her coat is the way static cling operates. It’s not easy to combat this silent force in motion. 

Defined as “the tendency for light objects to cling to other objects owing to static electricity,” it is common in clothing, but does occur with other items. Take for example, the Styrofoam peanuts that clung to a cat’s fur. The charge of static electricity that built up on the fur, due to the cat’s motions might be easily understandable to some, but for that cat owner, it took a few cold rags on her forehead before she finally came to. 

Some stories still haunt me. Years back, I remember reading about a Chicago man who unknowingly got on the 146 bus for his daily commute to work with his daughter’s entire Beanie Baby collection affixed to the back of his cashmere coat. Luckily, the story had a happy ending, as he was able to sell most of them and pay for his daughter’s college education before reaching his stop.

Then, there are those stories (actually, unconfirmed rumors) that lurk in the static cling underground. One tells of a millennial, with a recent MBA from Stanford, confidently entering the office of a fortune 500 company for his final interview, which was abruptly cut short when the CEO noticed a pair of his girlfriend’s hot pink, Victoria’s Secret panties attached to the back of his Armani suit jacket. As the story goes, after this disastrous incident, millennials banded together in solidarity in an effort to ban the in-person interview in favor of an online dialog. Soon after, LinkedIn was born and dryer sheet consumption was at an all-time high. Coincidence? I think not.

Even as far back as 2002, The New York Times reported that guerilla marketing tactics involving static cling were unveiled when butterfly decals were discovered, stuck to surfaces around New York City to introduce a new Microsoft product. Extremists are now known to carry concealed wire hangers to assist anyone in distress (when the metal is wiggled against a skirt bottom or pant leg, it will release the static). Where will it end?

Static cling may very well be affecting your loved ones as we speak. This silent aggressor knows no boundaries and is lurking within every gender, race and socio-economic level. Let’s work together as a nation and find a way to eradicate it. Ironically, separating ourselves from static electricity may be just the issue we need to bring our country together. 

Author’s Note:
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Are You at Your Tipping Point?

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The barista smiled as she took my order. Adding an English Breakfast tea bag to each cup, she then filled them with boiling water. When I handed her my credit card for the $10.83 bill, she turned her digital tablet around and waited until I decided what tip to give her: 18%, 20%, 22% or 25%. Of course, I could have tapped on the choice that said “No tip” in tiny little letters.

Research has shown that the social pressure from the hovering of the employee awaiting your decision usually relates to the customer choosing the middle tip amount, thereby increasing the amounts now shown.

I’m all for restaurant industry employees making a reasonable living, but I was confused. Wasn’t that the barista’s job? Just as tip amounts have crept up from 10%, they’ve also wormed their way into non-gratuity industries such as food delivery workers, Uber drivers, Chipotle employees, mechanics, bakeries, delis and ice cream shops. Customers say they have even been asked for a tip when they use self-checkout machines at supermarkets, cafés, sports stadiums and airports!

After a recent New York Times article about freelance workers and independent contractors now seeking tips, almost 4000 comments were received, with the majority wondering how we got to the point where customers have to step up their tipping in order to supplement workers’ salaries.

The practice of tipping began back in medieval times when a master would reward his servant for a job well done. Historians agree tipping was almost nonexistent until 1840 in the U.S. Before the Civil War, many wealthy Americans adopted this custom from their European travels, as a way to show their elite status back at home. At the same time, Europeans immigrating to the U.S. brought their tipping practice with them.

Once the Civil War ended, a flood of freed slaves joined the workforce as servants, waiters, porters and barbers. Employers found tipping to be a way to pay a meager salary, with the expectation that their new staff would earn the rest of their income from tips.

In 1904, 100,000 members of the Anti-Tipping Society of America pledged not to tip for one year. By 1909, seven states passed anti-tipping legislation, citing giving or receiving tips was a misdemeanor. In Iowa, it led to 30 days of imprisonment. By 1919, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled the anti-tipping law unconstitutional. Soon, other states followed suit and tipping became engrained in our culture.

Restauranteurs realized quickly they could benefit greatly by subsidizing their staff’s pay with guests’ money. In 1938, the first federal minimum wage law was established, but restaurant workers were excluded. This paved the way for them to be paid entirely from tips. Today, it is still legal to pay a tipped worker as little as $2.13 in the U.S.

In 2015, acclaimed restauranteur Danny Meyer, who banned smoking a decade ahead of its enforcement in restaurants and bars, was at the forefront once again. The owner of 13 restaurants, including New York’s Union Square Café and Gramercy Tavern, he announced he would eliminate tipping at his restaurants. He felt this bold move was necessary in order to narrow the disparity between servers and cooks, who receive no tips. Though not every menu item was affected, many did increase by 30% to 35%. Devil’s Chicken, a famous dish at his restaurant Maialino, went from $29 to $39.

Unfortunately, COVID ended this policy for the many restaurants that joined Meyer’s band wagon and for Meyers as well. In a recent bon Appétit article, Meyers was quoted as saying

 “You shouldn’t feel obligated to tip on quick food transactions, like picking up takeout or ordering a cup of coffee.” Yet, Meyer’s casual chain restaurants, Shake Shack and Daily Provisions, use digital tablets at their ordering counters that prompt customers to tip.

Though many are not fans of tipping, it is unlikely to be banned any time soon. Instead, an organization called Restaurants Advancing Industry Standards in Employment or RAISE, is working to enact state and federal legislation to eliminate sub-minimum wage payments for tipped workers.

Ironically, our early 1900s anti-tipping movement was embraced by Europe, creating their current non-tipping culture.

I close with a poem written in the 1940’s by a disgruntled customer, left for his unsuspecting waiter:

Your attitude spurious
Has made me quite furious
And so, I retaliate
With no tip on the plate
But, lest it construes a non-pleasurable time
At the lady’s request, I leave you a dime

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Author’s Note:
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Ugly Words: A Life Sentence of Harsh Sounds

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Have you ever noticed how some words just don’t roll off your tongue? They have a sandpaper/nails on a chalkboard sound to them. Who created these ugly words and where did they come from?

Here are a few of my least favorites words, and to balance the equation, I’ve included a neologism for each; a new favorite word, meaning a newly coined word or expression:

Blog

The word blog is a portmanteau of the words web and log. Portmanteaus – defined as two words combined into a new one- have fascinated me for quite some time. Read my post “Do you Portmanteau?” for more insight and a laugh or two.

Two regular guys are responsible for initiating the term, blog, using it on their websites back in the 1990’s. Initially, websites were online diaries, hence the word log. The “B” is said to either come from the word bit, as in small piece of information or broadcast as in sharing information. As if that wasn’t enough, the word vlog was later introduced to define video, rather than written content.

Blogger, blog, vlog; they all sound like words borrowed from a foreign language, but not pronounced correctly. They mimic the sound of blah, blah, blah! Is that what bloggers want to be known for?

From their humble beginnings, blogs have now matured into marketing wonders, yet their name just doesn’t hold up to the higher status they’ve attained.

Neologism: Skywriter, Skywriting
Rationale: Information held in The Cloud + writers: get it?

Fishmonger

From the Latin word “mongo,” meaning dealer or trader, fishmonger made its way into the word world, to mean fish dealer. Fishmongers can be wholesalers or retailers. They sell raw fish and seafood, but are also trained at selecting, purchasing, handling, gutting, boning, fileting, displaying, merchandising and selling their product. In other words, that’s a big kettle of fish!

In his play “Hamlet,” Shakespeare is said to use the word fishmonger to mean fleshmonger or pimp. So, where does that leave fishmongers? And, who even has their own fishmonger these days?

I picture martinis being served at a private club, when overheard is a chuckle and the starts of a conversation: “So my fishmonger tells me this joke the other day. Did you hear the one where the crab stuffed lobster and the Pacific white shrimp go into a bar?”

The word fishmonger stays on your tongue like a raw oyster served with too much Tabasco Sauce. Hard working fishermen deserve more from their word than a garbled ending.

Neologism: Seafood Scholar
Rationale: This will give fishermen that fish-eating grin they deserve!

Armpit

While the official anatomical term of axilla would have served as a perfectly good word, the area underneath your upper arm went from being called arm hole in the 14th century to the not-very-lovely word armpit or- my least favorite – pit.

Keep in mind, if you meet someone on the street and the conversation turns to armpits, you will face a conversation upwards of 30 minutes on antiperspirants unless you have the wherewithal to turn and run.

I think of a ballet dancer’s exquisite arms raised, as they practice their port de bras – carriage of their arms – and to me, the word armpit is a plebian phrase that has no place in that scenario – or any other.

Neologism: Arm hollow
Rationale: A kinder, softer term even a ballet dancer would be proud to use.

Diarrhea

Let’s just call it the “D word” and get on with my last and final ugly word. It was coined by Hippocrates, derived from the Greek term “to flow through.” Leave it to Pepto-Bismol to create a song and dance routine out of a gastrointestinal disease.

In a recent TV commercial, a young attractive couple sit down in a restaurant. You sense an uncomfortable look on the man’s face. All of a sudden, the woman jumps up. Fortunately, she and the four others, who come from out of nowhere, all happen to be dressed in Pepto-Bismol pink. They break into song and dance, acting out the words- nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach and, wait for it… make their big finish with the “D word!”

Meanwhile, the young man, already not feeling well and now mortified his issues have been announced to the entire restaurant, has learned some good lessons: never share intimate health details with someone you’ve just met and remember to make sure to scrutinize the dating websites even more next time.

Neologism: Acute colon
Rationale: A play on words and a kinder way to have to hear a diagnosis.

Next project: I’m going to start wooing the Merriam Webster Dictionary editors to see if any of my neologisms will become real words.

Author’s Note:
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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

A Curly World

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Photo Curly World

Whether wild or demure, never underestimate the power of a curl. Little is known about this type of hair, that I, along with approximately only 15% of the Caucasian population seem to have been born with. As I get to know them more personally, those little ringlets are always surprising me when I least expect it, going about their merry way, with no clue they are a constant metaphor for life. 

While straight hair is lighter, due to its individual strands, curly hair moves as one unit and gets less tangled. When this force fiercely bands together, the coils and twists always get their way. I have finally realized when I want to part my hair on the right side and those stubborn spirals decide to undercut me and make it a left part day, it’s a subtle reminder to just go with the flow. 

But, this wasn’t always the case. During my entire teen years, with songs by the Beach Boys playing nonstop in my head and dreams of having long, straight hair like the girls they sang about, I persistently waged war against my hair. Curl Free, to straighten my hair, led to ironing it- luckily, I remembered to use a towel between my hair and the iron. I finally realized it was time to throw in that towel when setting my wet hair in juice cans overnight resulted in the words “Tropicana” to be imprinted across my dry hair. 

Securing those untamed locks in a bun professionally steered me through my business years. It was an outspoken hairdresser that finally convinced me to cut my hair short. With nothing more than a photo from Playboy magazine, he was able to counter my objection of not wanting to look like a boy. 

I naively thought I had won the battle. This outwardly well-groomed appearance helped to create the no nonsense persona I always wanted. But, just because the curls were chopped off, doesn’t mean they, and the personality traits that accompany them, weren’t still there. So, who was I? Was I the straight as an arrow me, that meant business, or the curly fun-loving and outgoing me?

COVID kept us all from haircuts and as my curls began to reappear, I somehow felt comfortable to welcome them back, not that I had much choice. This time though, it seemed these old friends were popping up at a time when I had decided that maybe the methodical Linda could coexist with my alter ego, Lola. 

According to Glamour magazine, curls are one of the biggest beauty trends for 2022. “Expect to see curls everywhere!” they reported. Whether wavy, curly or kinky, the three types of curly hair are known to be easier to care for. Flowing freely, they are smugly aware that, as their numbers increase, curly heads could single handedly transform the hair care industry, with blow dryers, hot rollers and curling irons going the way of the bubble hair dryers and bobby pins. There’s a curly hair movement out there and it won’t stop until it makes waves.

 Author’s Note:

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Life’s Souvenirs

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Photo Souvenirs

How is it that a trinket, of little or no cost, and only meaningful to the beholder, can stir up such emotions?

Souvenir #1
Whenever I look at the price ticket I’ve saved all these years, I smile to think how my negotiating skills started to develop at a young age. It was all due to a $13 dress that I wore to my first dance on a Friday the 13th.

Smiling and confident, I wait for just the right moment to approach my mom. I introduce my case in a short concise presentation and finish by making my request known. Bargaining commenced, both sides cordial, but willfully strong as to their intended outcomes. When the dust settles, we shake on a mutually agreed upon resolution: the black velvet dress with the white lace collar would be my mine to wear to the dance… and also on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and every other upcoming holiday.

Souvenir #2
After the Camino in 2018, we travel to Finesterre- Latin for “the end of the earth.” I situate myself on a flat rock and sit cross legged with my eyes closed and my hands in prayer at my heart. I hear the sound of a flute. A young man has chosen this spot to play for tips. His melody is harmonizing with the sound of the waves and I experience such peace. For a moment, I feel as if I am outside my body and wonder if this is what practicing meditation correctly feels like. The word “peace” keeps coming to mind and I tell myself that I don’t want to forget this feeling when I go back to my busy life. Eyes now open, I feel energized, yet so serene.

As we head back to our hotel, I notice two older pilgrims walking toward us. The one that looks like Santa Claus – except he’s wearing sandals and shorts – stops in front of me and hands me something. I hesitate and shake my head no, but he insists and says “Yes, for you.” As he walks on, I look down to see what he has given me. It is a card with a lovely hand drawn picture of a dove that I’ve since framed. Across the bottom are the words “Peace, Paz.”

Souvenir #3
The shells that I keep on my dresser always remind me of the 100 steps to the beach we would count out loud, as we ran up and down them. It holds memories of the time my younger sister stood on a sand hill, and with hands on hips, declared she was going to be a nurse when she grew up, get married and she and her family were going to live in our summer home. She did and they did!

Sauntering down that same beach years later, the heart shaped rock my sister found and handed to me stirred me out of my daydream. As the ocean waves repeated the same, never-ending crashing sound around us, just as they had back then, it seemed that nothing had changed, yet everything was so different.

Hang on to your memories and your mementos, keep them close and, once in a while, let them remind you of a time in your life that’s passed, but is never really gone.

Author’s Note:
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Pencil Me In?

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Photo Pencil Me In

I have the uncanny ability to tell you what I was doing on any given day, beginning as far back as 1969. This has less to do with my psychic abilities and more to do with the small month-at-a-glance calendars distributed for free each year by Hallmark. For years, appointments along with noteworthy occasions were documented neatly in those small squares. Once Hallmark no longer cooperated with my calendar dependency, I graduated to a Filofax, the epitome of personal organization.

Recently, one of our neighbors announced, after a vacation to New Mexico, they planned to relocate there. They quickly sold their home, car, RV, truck and most of their furniture to other neighbors and were on their way, mentioning they planned to “pencil things in” as they went along.

That stopped me in my tracks! You see, in all of my calendars nothing seems to appear in pencil. I am strictly a pen/permanent marker girl. If you pencil things in, you are, in fact, winging it and have the ability to change or even erase your plans. I seem to have been born without the “play it by ear” or “off the cuff” gene. Which brought me to thinking about the yellow stick that started it all: the pencil.

When Hyman Lipman invented the pencil with the built-in eraser in 1895, writers everywhere were eternally grateful, no longer having to carry around a stale baguette under their arm. Before Hyman’s invention, the baguette was known to be the most effective way to erase ink off a page.

The best graphite came from China. In order to promote the fact their pencils carried the best quality lead, Chinese pencil manufacturers started painting their pencils yellow, the color associated with royalty.

Pencils have made their mark on history. In 1800s England, stealing a pencil meant banishment to the penal colony for seven years. Once graphite was found to be the perfect coating for cannonballs, it became a precious commodity on the black market. Mining workers were forced to strip before heading home and consumers were hoodwinked into purchases of wooden sticks painted yellow with black tips. During World War II, rotary pencil sharpeners were banned in England and people were encouraged to use a knife, thought to be a less wasteful way to sharpen.

Famous authors have drawn on the simple pencil for inspiration. In a 1935 article in Esquire magazine, Ernest Hemingway acknowledged the pencil as a means of constantly and easily refining his work. Working in his father’s pencil factory as a young man, Henry David Thoreau was responsible for introducing the measurement for the hardness of pencil lead. Having calculated levels from numbers one to four, the number two pencil became the standard in the U.S..

A single pencil has enough graphite to draw a line 35 miles long or write 45,000 words. Even though I have since moved on to a calendar on my iPhone, perhaps I should try to sharpen my skills, introduce the pencil to my writing world and not worry about being so precise. Write or wrong, it may be pointless, but it’s worth a try.

Author’s Note:
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Think… Before You Ink

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Photo Tattoo Henna                                                             My Henna Tattoo
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Who Was That Masked Man?

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Photo Masked Man

The next time you are fussing about wearing a mask, think about Clayton Moore. Starting in 1949 and, until his death in 1999, he wore a mask (over his eyes, not his mouth and nose, but still?!) while portraying the character The Lone Ranger. 

Initially starring on the television series of the same name, he later became the Lone Ranger full time, making nationwide public appearances. Ironically, wearing that mask to conceal his identity made him one of the most recognizable characters in the world. 

As the fictional story goes, he was the sole survivor of an ambush on Texas Rangers. Nursed back to health by Tonto, an Indian who became his loyal companion, they roamed the Old West together, aiding those in need and fighting outlaws while in search of Butch Cavendish, known to be the leader of the ambush. 

Why did The Lone Ranger call his Indian companion “Tonto,” Spanish for “fool?” In return, did Tonto call him “Que no sabe,” Spanish for “(the one) who doesn’t know” or “Kemosabe,” thought to mean “friend” in Tonto’s native Potawatomi language? And speaking of the Potawatomi, how did they manage a $390 million expansion project in order to build a successful casino and hotel in what was once a desolate area in Milwaukee, Wisconsin? This is what you think about when you have a little more time on your hands. 

Come to think of it, I may have more in common with Clayton than I thought. We both understand how hiding your identity behind a mask can make you feel more introspective.

As The Lone Ranger spoke those famous words “Hi ho, Silver, away!” he’d urge his horse to rear up on his hind legs and dramatically descend into a fast gallop, not dwelling on the past, but heading to new adventures. I think I’ll keep that in my saddle bag the next time I need a reminder to unmask my fun loving side. 

Author’s note:
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