Flying high, flying free as a summer breeze

Sid and Marty Krofft sure knew how to get stuff stuck in a kid's brain.

So, I was looking for sarcastic gratitude quotes online and stumbled across this stumper:

I get the gist, but it just is so dumb. Who knew that altitude, and flying, would be this week's theme?

Bismark North Dakota's Big Boy

You can get the sandwiches and burgers "flying style" -
basically like something cooked in a pie iron (aka pudgy pie maker)

So, I really AM grateful. I got to spend a lot of time with North Dakotan friends while in Bismarck for a work trip, including a home-cooked, family dinner (the night before going to Big Boy) and good conversation with a 5th grader and a 2nd grader. 

My meeting was at the Heritage Center - I skipped
the "Guns of North Dakota" exhibit

The five days before that, I got to hang out with my lovely cousin Sarah, who was visiting from Ohio. 

After Sarah left and before I got on the plane to Bismarck, I raked up 15 bags of leaves - that's quite an accomplishment in a tiny South Minneapolis yard. It turns out, I guess, that what I thought was an allergy from leaves is actually a cold. And, a couple of hours ago, while eating my dinner, a piece of a tooth slated for a January crown (after my insurance coverage reboots for the year) just broke off. It wouldn't be such a big deal if we hadn't just paid a dude to exterminate mice and hadn't just gotten on the schedule for at least $15,000 of home repairs. Oh, and we just bought a new dryer.

But I HAVE a house to fix. I have insurance coverage most of the time. I can sleep in a bed to get better when I'm sick. I have clothing to dry. I have't done much biking but have been going to a gym. That's a pretty first-world problem. 

So, I'm grateful, sure. I just don't know that I'm at MY ALTITUDE.