three oddities in Ohio to consider...

First up, "THANK YOU FOR NOT PICKING OUR NEIGHBOR'S FRUIT" a sign at the John Johnson Farm. Years ago the LDS Church owned the land where the tempting fruit now grows and folks got used to just taking a sample now and then when the moment beguiled them. The land was sold to private family farmers (several years ago) who would prefer consumers of their fruit to have purchased it prior to eating. The church agrees; and suggests so through the signs along the shared fencing.
Next, this amazingly shocking hot pink gas and tire station I found driving around Cleveland. At first I noticed the obvious colour of the building, then started to see that the colour somehow found it way onto the cars in the facility! Across the street was a bakery that was almost as vivid only in turquoise green and brick red. Between the two colourful businesses the street was a shock of colour and advertisement, fighting for your attention and dollars.
Lastly is a final tribute to someone who adores Chevy s-10s. This was one full block of granite! It is full sized and if you look closely enough you can see where the weight of the truck has made the tires slightly flat against the road, or in this case, grass. The detail on this monument was laser perfect and something that caught my eye from a block away. The point? That this particular tomb stone carving business would not be deterred by degree of difficulty, or choice of sculpture, to honour that loved one. They are the best in town and will/can carve whatever you wish to represent you throughout eternity.

All three of the above examples are meant to get your attention and focus your way of thinking for just a moment; just enough time to leave a decision making impression. Whether subtle or in your face we are challenge each day to make decisions that can impact our eternal course. Some influences are very easy to interpret, while others are more gentle and restrained. Yet the choices we make now (based on those influences), even the small seemingly insignificant ones, can matter eternally.

I am off again to the land of glaring, in your face influence...unfortunately most of the influence in this land will be of the negative variety. Things which pervert and distort reality in hopes of luring us and our morality away just an inch or two further from what would matter eternally. Those inches add up and soon, before we know it, we are so far from what we had originally set as a goal it feels almost impossible to go back and get on track again. Lucky for me, I have other choices in this land of indulgence. Lucky for me I know I have the power of choosing for myself.

So we head out for yet another conference in Las Vegas. I am so very blessed to have family close by, the temple to visit, and Thor to keep me company in a land of illusion.

Have a grand week! I will try to post more photos from Ohio while I am in Vegas. In the meantime, what are some of the odd things in your neighborhood that try to influence the folks in your town?