What does a bad day look like?
What does a bad day look like? This series takes a look at the mildly frustrating to the seriously unfortunate.
Tune in every Tuesday for a new edition, or scroll down to browse previous topics.
From here to Timbuktu
August 11, 2026
If you have a pulse, you’ve likely heard this English idiom sometime in your life. “From here to Timbuktu.” But, do you know the when and the why of the reference to Timbuktu?
Around the mid-1800s, the idiom began to be used when Timbuktu (founded in the 12th century; today, Mali) in West Africa was a wealthy salt and gold trading center but its faraway location presented extreme travel and safety challenges. The place was widely thought to be at the edge of the earth and many European trials to reach it ended in disaster.
So, next time you’re having to go out of your way, stuck in traffic, or attempting to put together a trip with numerous sites to see, you might well say that you’re trying to go “from here to Timbuktu.”
Rear-ended
August 04, 2026
You just got off work and on the interstate, ready to live the rest of your day. Suddenly, your shiny new car is hit hard from behind. The force of impact causes your head to snap back against the headrest and you’re suspended in a state of shock. Being on the interstate puts you in further harm’s way, so you must pull over to the side, call the police, and get out of the car to find out who hit you and get the person’s information.
You go to open your door and even have trouble doing so. The person who hit you walks up and helps open your door, having also pulled his car over behind you. He has also called the police.
You exchange information and the offending driver is even nice enough to get a picture of the back of your car and send it to you. The police arrive, write up the incident, and ask if you’re injured. You respond, describing discomfort in your neck and back. They insist upon you going to the ER. Not easy to do when your car has to be towed and you are left without transportation. You get a friend to meet you at the towing place and she takes you to the hospital.
At the ER, you have a CT scan, learn that your neck injury is whiplash, and your back injury is barely addressed.
After you’re released from the ER, your friend takes you by the pharmacy to collect the items detailed by the ER team and then back to your house. You are alone again and realizing your world has changed. You are in pretty horrible pain; you have no way to get to work tomorrow; and you have to keep going because the dog needs walking.
Being rear-ended is not for the faint-hearted.
A bad day, but a good laugh
July 28, 2026
I knew my last day as an intern at Boldsquare would be difficult. I had to say goodbye to my intelligent and bubbly superiors who had provided me with so much marketing experience in one summer.
I was planning on writing some sappy letters, but to make matters worse, the grocery store didn’t have a single goodbye card in stock. There were birthday cards, mourning cards, and friendship cards, but nothing appropriate for my situation.
Well, limitation breeds creativity, so I worked with what I had. Some irrelevant cards and a sharpie were all I needed to turn a sad situation into a fond (yet bittersweet) memory. Looking back at these cards still puts a smile on my face.
This week’s edition was written by Jacob.
Overstaying your welcome
July 21, 2026
An Arizona man made his home on federal public land. The program is strictly intended for short-term use, namely, 14 days. KTLA News tells us that “the man, Mark Aaron Gatz, 65, was arrested after authorities discovered he had turned a portion of the Tonto National Forest into a massive illegal campsite overflowing with roughly half a ton of trash.”
Gatz managed to live undetected for nearly a decade, authorities said.
According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Gatz admitted to living in the forest for about eight years. He spent the last two years of that period at a single campsite in the Strawberry-Pine area near Payson.
KTLA says that the scale of the encampment and the amount of debris shocked U.S. Forest Service officers.
Officer Michael Norton said he “observed approximately 1,000 pounds of trash” at the camp. The debris scattered across the landscape included clothing, tools, tires, plastic bags, bike frames, ladders, and multiple gallons of motor oil.
Do not sail list
July 14, 2026
Apparently, “smooth sailing” does not apply to cruise passengers across the board. Case in point, two families from a Carnival Conquest cruise had just arrived to the debarkation area in Miami when members of both families began a huge free-for-all. With the debarkation port under the authority of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office (MDSO) sprang into action, noting the incident was deemed “a mutual combatant incident.”
Other passengers in baggage lines looked on as the brawl escalated between the two families while police were attempting to pull people apart.
“We are appreciative of law enforcement’s swift response and handling of the matter,” the Carnival spokesperson said in a statement. “We do not tolerate such behavior, and 16 people have been placed on our Do Not Sail List.”
Content source: People, “Massive Cruise Passenger Brawl Caught on Video Leads to 16 People Being Put on ‘Do Not Sail’ List,” Natalia Senanayake, June 22, 2026.
$250 first date?
July 7, 2026
Yelp! Hopefully, you’re saying that concept is nuts! Even though the idea is out there on TikTok and evidently put into practice enough to make it a thing, Gen Zers are saying no thank you to the high cost of a first date.
Recently on LinkedIn, Sarah Foster commented regarding Gen Zers’ dating philosophy, “When money is tight, romance is what gets cut.” She emphasized that Gen Zers and Millennials are more about “investing for retirement and spending time with friends.”
Gen Zers, born between 1997 and 2012, between 13 and 28 years old, number about 69 million in the U.S.
More power to Gen Z!
Take this show on the road
June 30, 2026
A truck hauling fireworks exploded on Interstate 75 in Tennessee, providing an unplanned air show for drivers and passengers in the area. News channel WTVC observes that the truck “was traveling without several federally required hazardous materials safety measures, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.”
WTVC news also reported, “What many drivers saw as an unexpected fireworks display could have been much worse, investigators say. According to THP, a post-fire inspection conducted by its Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division uncovered multiple hazardous materials violations involving the shipment.” And the driver of the truck has been charged with multiple hazardous materials violations.
Watch the video in the news article here.
The day the music died
June 23, 2026
You might recognize “the day the music died” from Don McLean’s “American Pie” in reference to the tragic 1959 plane crash claiming the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson but for today’s news, we are remembering Clive Davis, a titan music industry executive who used his well-honed people perception skills and intuition to find something special in ordinary folks. The free enterprise entrepreneur took a chance on people who subsequently collectively provide the soundtrack of our country’s culture.
We can relate to finding and building unique talent—or helping hone skills to produce standouts—as we train executives and teams through TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis. Our TapRooT® Instructors work closely in public, virtual, or onsite courses to tailor essential root cause analysis to fit your needs.
Equipment thief caught by new tech
June 16, 2026
A man who stole a boom lift, drove it to the Knoxville Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, and vandalized the Hall of Fame property was apprehended by the Knoxville Police Department through new technology,
From WVLT:
“According to the department and court records, 42-year-old Justin Hensley stole the lift from a construction site on Main Street and either crashed it into the [Knoxville Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame] building or threw a rock at a window, breaking it. In total, court records said the damage would cost 8,000 dollars to fix, though nothing appeared to have been stolen.
“Court records also show the boom lift is valued at 360,000 dollars.
“KPD also said a new piece of technology helped officers catch Hensley. According to the department, officers snagged a photo of the suspect using KPD’s Real Time Information Center. The center uses a network of cameras available to officers for researching cases. In this case, Hensley was caught on camera and identified using the footage.
“Hensley was charged with felony theft and felony vandalism.”
A bad day for crime; a successful day for the good guys.
Content credit: WVLT, “Man charged after stealing boom lift, damaging Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, Knoxville police say,” Camruinn Morgan-Rumsey, published: Jun. 1, 2026 at 2:17 PM EDT; updated: Jun. 2, 2026 at 10:08 AM EDT.
Alligator bites
June 9, 2026
Fortunately, not a whole lot of folks can say that an alligator bit them. But, this one guy from Broward County, Florida, is bringing charges against an airboat company with the assertion that an alligator bit his face during an program offered as a free “alligator encounter.” The company is Airboat Rides and operates in Midway, Florida.
Learn more from WKMG here.
