Whatcha doin? Thinkin'

Just ... thinkin'.

A woman at work always says goodbye when I leave with the admonition to "Drive safe!" And I think, "Isn't it supposed to be 'Drive safely'?" Because the adverb form of "safe" would describe how she wants me to drive. And then I think, "But I suppose there is a way in which 'Drive safe' could be correct." You see, if "safely" describes the manner in which I conduct my driving, then "safe" could describe the conditions under which I drive. So if I am going to "drive safe" and there is a riot downtown, I wouldn't go that direction because it's not safe. And if there's a hail storm on my normal route, I'd want to go a different route because it's not safe. So that would be possibly correct. I wonder which she means?

You and a friend greet one another. "Hey, how are you doing?" You answer, "I'm doing good." Or is it "I'm doing well"? So I'm thinking that both of these can be correct, but they mean radically different things. The adverb "well" describes the quality of "doing". The adjective "good" describes the nature of what I'm doing. So if I'm doing "well", it would mean I'm healthy, happy, comfortable, in relatively good condition in life. If I'm doing "good", it would mean that the things that I'm doing are beneficial to family, friends, and society. I'm doing good things. Of course, if you suggest "I'm doing good", be prepared for the biblical answer: "There is none who does good; no, not one" (Rom 3:12). I suspect you're thinking you're doing well.

The other day I was fantasizing. I was walking through the florist section of the local supermarket and I imagined going to a florist's shop and ordering a bouquet ... for the florist. Think about it. We get benefit from buying flowers. They please our wives and our mothers. They say "thank you" to secretaries or friends. They're a nice thing. But does anyone ever think of saying thanks to a florist with flowers? I thought it would be fun. Especially to one I don't know. Just a gesture of good will, you know?

You see, these are the ways my brain works sometimes. My son listened to some of this one day and said, "Really? This is the kind of stuff you think about?" "Yeah, it is." "Wow! Not entirely sane, are you?" But there's method to my madness, you see. Someday, when I get old, someone will ask, "Does your dad suffer from dementia?" And my kids will have to say, "Who can tell?"

Whatcha doin? Thinkin'. Just ... thinkin'. Wink, wink.