Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you. ― Bethany Hamilton

Welcome to the big column to end the week, “Caught My Eye” (CME)!

If you are a first-time visitor, welcome! CME is the once a week column that is posted here every Friday morning. This is when I take a look at some of the stories I did not have time to write about during the week. There may be some sarcasm and pointed independent commentary so be warned!

Here are the topics that “Caught My Eye” this week:

• Go Easy On Me, Kid
• Debate Second Night
• Joe 30330
• One More Thing

“Go easy on me, kid”

Before I start on this section, I’d like to apologize to anyone I called “kid” or “kiddo” in my life. I meant no harm.

I also want to apologize to anyone I called “chief” because I was referring to someone in charge and not using it as a Native American term. I served for twelve years in the U.S. Air Force and a Chief was the highest enlisted rank (Chief Master Sergeant). I used “Chief” as a sign of respect.

Ok, at the debate Wednesday night former Vice President Joe Biden told U.S. Senator Kamala Harris to “Go easy on me, kid” when they greeted each other during the introductions. Twitter went wild with some calling it condescending and with others calling it patronizing with still others saying it was obnoxious. I saw one person call it sexist.

I think it was 76-year-old Biden being Biden, and that’s it.

It was reported that Harris said being called a kid did not bother her.

We seem to be getting to a point in this country that just about anything said bothers someone. It’s getting old and it’s getting old quick. We need to toughen up some and worry about more important things.

I’m not kidding.

I’m getting to the age where being called “kid” would make me smile. I smiled the other day when I was carded buying alcohol (to cook with) until the nice person behind the counter reminded me that they have to card everyone…

Debate Second Night:

I cannot say who won the second night of the debates Wednesday night. It was a toss-up in my opinion. Several people did well and some not so well. Here are some thoughts.

Joe Biden looked old, but he was better in this debate than his first.

Kamala Harris did not have a good night. She never seemed to be able to say much substantial in the allotted time.

Cory Booker did well, but he’s no comedian and he should be careful with his attacks on Biden.

Tulsi Gabbard was supposedly the most searched for candidate following the debate. She went after Harris and scored some points. That performance put her in the top tier. Gabbard was the only candidate on the stage with military experience. I like candidates with military experience.

Kirsten Gillibrand had pretty much one big moment and that was when she said that if she’s elected president, her first order of business would be to “Clorox the Oval Office.” It was reported that her campaign began selling “Clorox the Oval Office” stickers after the debate.

Joe 30330:

CBS News and others reported that at the end of Wednesday night’s Democratic presidential debate, most candidates told voters to visit their websites. Joe Biden told people to go somewhere else: Joe 30330. That is not a place, nor is it a full website name. So, some viewers were left guessing what the former vice president meant. Others were able to decode the odd numerical message: Biden seemed to have misspoken, and meant to tell viewers to text 30330.

Thursday afternoon I received a fundraising email from the Biden Campaign that said:

We’ll be honest. We’ve spent all morning brainstorming ideas for a clever email to send you about 30330.
(In case you missed last night’s debate, Joe meant to say “Text Joe to 30330” but left a word out. Oops.)
The funny part is we text Joe all the time about emails like this. We’ll wonder “should we send an email responding to this Trump attack?” and ask Joe what he thinks.

So the campaign asked supporters to send a donation of $3.03, $30.33, or $303.30.

That is a nice rebound, team Biden.

One More Thing:

I’m a shopper and I like it to shop. I love it when I get a good shopping cart to push around the store. I hate it when the cart squeaks or pulls to one side or the wheels rattle. It ruins the experience.

I have been known to use WD-40 off the shelf to fix a squeaky wheel on my shopping cart or if I’m in a grocery store, I have used some non-stick cooking spray to fix the problem. Psst, don’t tell.

This week when I was in Sam’s Club I noticed they had new shopping carts! This made my day so much that I took a photo:

This is a tough-looking cart and quite stable. Thanks to Sam’s Club for investing in new carts to make my shopping experience even better!

Is this a great country or what?

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