TO BE FORGOTTEN OR TO NEVER HAVE BEEN KNOWN

Both of my grandfathers died decades ago. One I knew very well and the other is just a hazy image floating around in the memory of a five year old boy. Both men did great things with their lives. They traveled across the ocean as immigrant children with no money and became successful. One owned a grocery store, and the other became the mayor of a small town for over 30 years. 

Yet, when they died, their past died with them. Sure, they are remembered by older family members and friends, but most of them have passed away now. All of those wonderful stories or adventures told over dinner or a glass of wine are now lost forever. All that’s left are a few black and white photos with cryptic captions on the back.

As I sit here entering another phase of my own life, I wonder too if I’ll be remembered in years to come. Will my memories fade as friends and family move on? Probably. So very few of us are blessed with accomplishing something so wonderful or tragic that we make our way into the history books. Sure we’ll have Facebook accounts that live on for a few years and maybe even an obituary tucked into a photo album but, for the most part, we’ll all fade away like the colors of a painted barn.

So what are we to do with such a bleak destiny ahead of us? It’s one of life’s mysteries and I definitely don’t know the answer to that one. But I say there is something worse than being forgotten, and that’s never being known. Therefore, live each day to its fullest and share it with everyone and anyone near you. That’s the best we can do as humans. 

It’s better to have been known and forgotten than to have never been known at all. 

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“That’s An Excellent Question.”

Is it really?

Of course, it’s not. This phrase is one of the most overused remark in the English language, just under, “I know, right?”

Most of the time, they are really stupid questions but people still use this phrase. I’m guessing it was first introduced in some kind of communications seminar in a dingy Holiday Inn hotel or maybe one of those Kumbaya self-help seminars where everyone sits in a circle and holds hands. Wherever it came from, it needs to crawl back into its rabbit hole and disappear.

So, what are we to do the next time we hear it and cringe? You could just walk away and scream. That would work, but what if you had a really good come back line to throw in the speaker’s face and make them lose concentration. Now that would be golden. Maybe something like “How is that an excellent question?” or “Is it also a good question?” or “Do you say that to all the people you sleep with?” or “Is your butt jealous of all the shit that comes out of your mouth?”

I’m sure you can come up with a few of your own, but whatever you do, the next time you even remotely think about saying those four dreadful words, DON’T.

How To Remove Sealer From Brick

If you want to remove a sealer from your patio brick, use a hot water power washer.

There, I said it. Nothing more, nothing less. I’ve tried several different methods and, quite frankly, this is the best way to go. If you go to your local rental company on a Friday afternoon, they will usually rent the machine to you for the whole weekend and charge you for just one day. You’ll need a truck to haul it around though. Make sure you use a machine that has at least 3500 psi but you don’t need any more than that.

Here is what my brick looked like after the sealer had turned into an opaque haze:

I tried muriatic acid and it did nothing. I used a sealer remover, which sort of worked, but was so slow, tedious and expensive. Finally, I saw a video about using a hot water power washer and gave it a try. Here are the results:

You can see the difference!!! Spectacularmongo!

The hot water power washer peeled the sealant right off. It was messy and it wasn’t fast but it worked really well. Make sure you wear old clothes because you will get dirty and wet. The gun is hot so wear a long sleeve shirt, plus, steel toed shoes are a MUST. This washer will tear your toes right off.

Now, my brick is back to its original form and I am loving it!

Good luck.