Steven Helmer Publications

Even though I got picked on a bit because of this, I figured I would share it because it was a bit bizarre and I'm confident I didn't imagine it. I was at the office yesterday, sitting at my desk and, out of nowhere, I had a puff of smoke in my face. I have no idea what it was. It came from behind me, as though someone were standing back there smoking a cigarette. But, I couldn't find the source of the smoke and didn't see any time before or after that. At first, I thought maybe I was imagining it or there was a smoke-like stain on my glasses that was giving me an illusion. However, in addition to seeing it, I could smell it too and it burned my nose the same way it burns when I accidentally inhale smoke while grilling. Because of that, I'm positive it was really there. It was a little unnerving, to be honest, and I spent most of the afternoon trying to find the cause. I even attempted to do a video feedback on the security camera but that turned out to be p...

OK, to be fair, I don't blindly put things in my cart and do take a moment to at least glance at an expiration date or look for mold (especially with produce). However, I had to do some grocery shopping yesterday evening and was beginning to feel as though I was in an episode of the Twilight Zone. It seemed as though every aisle I walked into had someone closely inspecting some sort of food item. And, when I say inspecting, I mean they looked at the food the same way an antique collector would inspect an item to determine its authenticity. Photo Courtesy of Pixabay For example, I needed some buns (I made brats for dinner) and, when I went into the bread aisle, there was a woman already there. I waited patiently for her (she was blocking the aisle) as she took probably a dozen loaves of bread off the shelf and examined each and every one of them before settling on one. I thought this was a bit odd and, when she walked away, ended up (out of sheer curiosity) picking up one ...