Mike won the drawing this week. Also, In-N-Out with Taylor Swift. Should be Chicke-N-withOut Taylor Swift.

But before I talk about Taylor, I should mention that the $500 drawing this week produced the name Mike Palmer. Mike managed the Les Schwab on Court St. in Pasco for many years when I ran my tire store in Basin City.

We spent numerous days in meetings around the country and riding to Prineville for even bigger meetings. Mike’s a nice guy and is a sportsman extraordinaire. I remember when I had my paintball field, he would bring his entire store crew out in the evenings to play paintball.

I would guess Mike is ineligible as he is the kind of guy who would most likely be hunting grizzlies in a loin cloth, shooting guns at anything that flies and sharpening his arrows on his two front teeth rather than following my blog rules. Mike, check out the rules for the cash contest above. If I’m wrong, let me know and I’ll send $500 cash to you.

So, I’m looking for a kindred spirit like myself. That is, someone who snoozes and loses. Mike Palmer kinda falls into that category but in the long run, Mike’s a winner. I want somebody like me who is a loser on a regular basis.

Someone who is handed a big fat opportunity in life but keeps dropping the ball. If you’ve had a few of these dropped ball experiences, drop me a line and tell me why you’re a bigger loser than I.

I’ve had many of these buggers but am just going to list three.

Opportunity One occurred a couple of weeks ago. Since I’m constantly concocting filler for this blank space, I keep my eyes open for interesting situations. Unique photos help fill in the blanks.

I had just pulled into the Costco gas pumps and started pumping high octane into the Vette. All of a sudden a big black 1-ton pickup pulled up in front of me going the wrong way and screeched to a halt. The truck was not only going the wrong way but was on a slant on about a 45-degree angle to the pumps and driveway.

The big burly driver got out and began making preparations to pump up his machine. It instantly ticked everyone else in the vicinity off. A guy at the next island over told the offender he wasn’t supposed to be doing it like that. The guy swimming against the current gave him a couple of loud obscenities and continued getting ready to pump fuel.

I finished filling but could see that I wasn’t going to get past him. I didn’t feel like mixing it up with the obnoxious pumper so I started looking for the attendant. He was several islands over and oblivious to what was going on. I walked over to him and pointed out the mess this guy was making.

The scene was completely out of the ordinary and I thought that I should take a picture. I chickened out because I didn’t want the dude to go four-wheeling over my low-slung machine after he finished filling. The attendant came over and he and the offender started arguing. I decided to leave so I carefully backed out around the cars behind me and left.

A minute or two later I started regretting not getting a picture because it was a scene totally out of the norm. In fact, I turned around and went back but by the time I arrived, the guy was gone. Trust me, it would have made an interesting picture. Missed out.

Opportunity Two occurred a few years back in Leavenworth. A group of us were there to watch the Christmas lighting of the town. The women went shopping and the men-folk walked around town. After a bit, we decided we were hungry and decided to drop in at a pizza joint.

As we sat eating our pizza, an entourage of beautiful ladies walked in, sat down and ordered. They sat down next to the table where we were eating. We talked with them and learned that one of them was Miss Washington and the others were her attendants.

During that period of time, I was cranking out a wacky newsletter every Christmas for relatives and friends. I could see that this was a great opportunity for me to slide my chair in next to Miss Washington and get a picture for my holiday brochure.

Guess what? I chickened out. I’m usually a pretty brazen guy but must have left my facade in the car. I meekly ate my pizza, said goodbye to the beauties and walked out with my friends. Missed out on a photo op for the ages.

Opportunity Three happened in LA. Our son Will was competing in a Jeopardy! Teen Tournament. During a break in the filming, we headed for lunch at an In-N-Out burger joint. We got our lunch and sat down at a table. The next table over, eating and drinking just like a normal human being was none other than Taylor Swift. She was talking shop to a guy that looked like he might be her agent.

I ate my hamburger and fries and sipped my shake while Taylor Swift did the same with a hot dog five or six feet away. I chickened out. I ended up minus a cool picture for my newsletter and was stuffed full of a hamburger, shake and forever regret. Again I missed out.

I wonder if anyone else misses out on opportunities like I have? Little windows that are wide open for a few seconds and then slam shut forever more.