As self-appointed officer of the Social Behavior Police, I find it my responsibility to notice impolite people and comment on them. Throughout my observations there is one breed of social deviants that seems to be more crass than others. This special person is one who really isn’t ashamed of their deviance. They aren’t hiding behind the tinted glass of their car like Last Minute Merger Man or Mr. No Blinker, and they aren’t committing their improprieties in private, only to let the effects ripple into our lives. No, these people are a bold type, brazen and unashamed of their approach.

I am talking about Mr. Line Cutter.

I met Mr. Line Cutter again at a McDonald’s in Western North Carolina. I was at the end of the line, but I must note that there was only one person in front of me ordering, and he was my friend that was traveling with me. While I was waiting to order I noticed Mr. Line Cutter out of the corner of my eye rise from the table he was seated at, and flank my right side, money in hand.

Upon catching his eye, I took the appropriate defensive actions needed when dealing with the bold line cutter. First I casually stepped forward, stating my intentions that I was the next in line. I also casually made eye contact with the cashier as if to say, “Hey, I’m Next” and prematurely removed my wallet from my back pocket.

My cues were nothing new to Mr. Line Cutter, and this stately military-like gentleman knew just how to respond. He slowly stepped up to the closed register that was adjacent to our line and stood. Once my friend finished ordering and stepped away, the cashier said “Can I help whoever’s next”.

In one quick, gazelle-like motion Mr. Line Cutter sidestepped in front of me to make his purchase. In an effort to save my pride I motioned my arms as if to kindly say, “Here, go ahead, you can sneak in front of me”.

Mr. Line Cutter had one-upped me again.

The boldness of line cutters never ceases to amaze me, and while they take on various forms and methods the outcome is always the same. There are a few ‘cutters’ I think you should be aware of…

The Ninja Cutter
The Ninja Cutter tends to work in secret. He lurks within the shadows waiting for the opportune time to strike. The moment you let your guard down to glance out the window or send a text message the Ninja Cutter slips in front of you completely undetected, and assumes the position that he has been there the whole time. He is stealth, quiet, and nearly always successful.

The Oblivious Cutter
The Oblivious Cutter is the cutter who pretends they don’t know what is going on. They will walk up to the end of a long line and quickly develop a confused look on their face. They will then wander to the front of the counter and stand in front of one of the closed registers. When an associate informs them that line is closed they act completely surprised, if not perturbed. In an effort to calm the customer 7 times out of 10 that associate takes their order. They aren’t as accurate, but they also get a few less black eyes as well.

The Blatant Cutter
The Blatant Cutter’s name says it all. This cutter will walk up to the front of the line without a care or concern for the people behind him. He creates no story and he hides nothing. Typically, he is of the size and stature of a linebacker, and others are afraid to confront him While he has a 100% success rate, he also spends a lot of time changing the tires on his car.

The Friendly Cutter
The Friendly Cutter will walk into a line and notice someone they know is already waiting. While they aren’t together, the friendly cutter will head straight to their friend and enter into a conversation. As the conversation fades they will slowly blend into the line behind their friend.

Filed under: Stress Relief by kfroman
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For the faithful three followers of this blog, I just wanted to send a quick update on what has been happening in the Kyle Froman Creative design studio (ahem, corner desk in the back of the kitchen) over the past few months as I have not sent out an update in a while!

• I recently launched a new website design for an Asian Restaurant located in Franklin, TN. You can check out this new website design at http://www.chingasianbistro.com

• I have been partnering with Mephisto International on updating their micro-website; which is a resource utilized by shoe dealers around the nation.

• I am currently working on a new website design for a Bar-B-Que restaurant that will be opening in Spring Hill, TN in the very near future. Jack of Hearts BBQ has some killer BBQ, and I am excited to be working with them on their new website design. I will also be helping them with various print design projects from business cards to menus.

• I am in the finishing stages of launching a new website for Speech Language Services in Nashville, TN. As soon as this new website design is online I will post a link for all to see! You can see a thumbnail preview of the site inside my website portfolio page.

• Last month I re-designed Motor Racing Outreach’s website, bringing a new look and functionality to their website. Check out the new website design at http://www.go2mro.com.

• MatadorStore.com’s website design and shopping cart project is now officially online! This project has been a while in development now and includes a customized OpenCart shopping cart application.

I could go on and on about the new graphic design projects and website design projects that have been keeping me busy, but for now, those are the highlights!

Filed under: About KF Creative, Graphic Designs by kfroman
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Taking it in complete stride, this photo of Micah is the ‘culmination’ of a small bump we noticed on Micah’s leg back in February.

At 18 months old, we noticed a small bump that appeared on Micah’s shin. We didn’t think much of it at first, assuming it was maybe a small pimple on the skin, or maybe even a bug bite of some sort. Only the bump did not go away. Instead in continued to increase its size, and transition from flesh colored to an inflamed red color.

We eventually found ourselves at Micah’s pediatrician. The initial thought was of no concern really. It was initially diagnosed as “folliculitis”, yes that is a big word for this Southern boy. Folliculitis is simply an infected hair follicle.  No big deal…

We began the process of treatment, and initially it appeared to help, only then it took a turn again, and we were back where we were with a large, angry looking bump on Micah’s shin.

Thankfully, Micah got sick. Yes, a father just said thankfully his son got sick. Go ahead and call child services! Anyways, Micah developed some chest congestion so we had to schedule an appointment to get some antibiotics to clear up his chest stuff. While we were in the office we figured this would be the perfect time to ask again about Micah’s leg. You know that drill, bundling your doctor services. “Oh, while you are at it, can we show you this…”. Don’t pretend like you haven’t done that before!

The pediatrician looked at the bump again, and told us that if this round of antibiotics did not settle the bump we needed to visit a dermatologist about it.

We went through the antibiotics and the bump stayed big and angry.

We finally found ourselves at a dermatologist who looked it over, and diagnosed it as Spitznevus, a benign mole that can oftentimes be mistaken for melanoma.  The dermatologist referred us to a pediatric surgeon, to make the decision as to if the Spitznevus needed to be removed or not.

We were able to make an appointment with the surgeon for August (their earliest opening), however after we made the appointment Micah bumped his leg, and his angry bump began to bleed excessively. I’m not talking about a ‘cut your finger off’ amount of blood, but it was still more blood than you could imagine seeing from a small bump! We went through all of the hoops and were able to get an early appointment for the next Monday.

The pediatric surgeon took one look at Micah’s leg and said, ‘That needs to come off, and he will have to go to sleep for it.’ Loving, comforting words right? She said, “it could be Spitznevus, but we need to look at it.”. We were given an appointment for surgery the following Tuesday.

The surgery itself went well, Micah handled it like a champ! The hardest part was keeping food and liquid out of him, but we persevered! A few zzzz’s and stitches later and we were on our way home. The incision was around 2.5 inches long, and we aren’t sure how wide since it was pulled close. It didn’t phase Micah though, by the time we were home he was running around and playing like nothing happened.

The following Monday, Micah’s Birthday, we were to go back to the surgeon’s office to receive the Pathology results as well as to have Micah’s stitches removed.  When we made it to the office, the Pathology report was not ready yet, but the stitches came out without a hang up (no pun intended!). Again Micah did great, sitting still while the doctor did her thing.

Later in the afternoon we received a call from the doctor that she spoke with the pathologist, and things were looking very suspicious, so they needed another week to study things, and make sure all of the margins were proper (that they got all of the bad stuff out).

This is where our anxiety set in. We knew there was a possibility of the “C” word, but we never really thought it was that. We figured it was the Spitznevus, it would get cut out, and that would be the end of it. Now we are left with this statement for another week??

Micah’s 2 year appointment was scheduled for the next day, so we went through with the appointment despite the anxiety we had over everything else…and we are glad we did.

Micah’s regular pediatrician had spoke with the Pathologist the day prior, and had a much more vivid picture of what was happening than what we received on the phone.

He shared with us that there were definite abnormalities, the cells were moving and doing things they shouldn’t, but it was fully localized and had not spread beyond the point of the bump. He said they call this dysplasia (closer to the benign end of the scale than the malignant end).  He said that un-removed, dysplasia can lead to metaplasia, which leads to malignancy. If all of it was removed, that should be that. But that is why they are studying it further, they wanted to be sure they removed all of it so that there was no risk of cells sticking around that could continue to move across the spectrum towards malignancy.

We should have these results soon, and are believing that it was all removed the first time around. If it wasn’t, they will have to go back in and take more, but it is worth it to know that they removed all of the dysplasia (despite the heartache of going through the whole process again).

The moral of the story, if you notice something abnormal on your child, have it looked at immediately! Had we continued to let this go (like Dad was doing, such an ‘everything is fine’ kind of guy) we could have been facing a completely different outcome.

God is good. God is faithful.

We will let everyone know the final outcome when we know it!

#################

UPDATE 7/15/2010 @ 12:00PM

We just received a call from Micah’s doctor that the pathologist is certain they removed the entire thing from his leg, so no more procedures.

They did say that the pathologist is still studying it to see ‘what’ it is as it is quite unusual/abnormal. They also informed us that it has garnered the attention of several pathologists that are wanting to study it as well, which she said is very rare.

What all of that means we don’t know, what we do know is that at this point they got it all, and Micah doesn’t need another procedure.

Filed under: Our Life by kfroman
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I am sure it is difficult for many of us to maintain a sense of balance behind the wheel with so many important things to do. Amidst all of the grooming, texting, calling, eating, reading, and emailing that prioritizes our time as we navigate the busy highways of our nation, I understand the need to eliminate a few things in order to maintain a proper balance while driving. We certainly wouldn’t want anyone to become too distracted behind the wheel.

So I guess I cannot blame people for choosing to eliminate turn signals from their driving repertoire. Safety is certainly a priority. I personally wouldn’t want to become distracted while trying to maneuver my car from lane 1 to lane 4 then back to lane 1 at 90 MPH all while balance a cell phone on my shoulder, with a frothy Late in my left hand and a newspaper in my right hand. I fully understand the danger in attempting to signal your lane changes in this situation. In fact, this is probably why most of your higher end vehicles such as BMW’s, Mercedes’, Jaguar’s, Bently’s, and Rolls Royce’s are not even equipped with turn signals as standard equipment anymore.

Hang on a minute, I need to merge onto the interstate….

…

…

…Okay, I’m back. Can you believe someone just drove by me brushing his teeth? Was he using his turn signal, nooooooo….

Filed under: Stress Relief by kfroman
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Audio Enhancers, a speaker cabinet manufacturing company, asked that I would develop for them a postcard for direct mail promoting their newest enclosure for ’small vehicles’.

Nothing says small to me like the VW Bug, so I knew the Bug had to be incorporated into the design. Using a great stock photo, I did a few photo effects and texture effects and landed at this finished design.

Filed under: Graphic Designs by kfroman
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I am not a big straw person. I don’t know if I just feel more manly drinking from the rim of my glass or if I just haven’t mastered the delicate art of sipping my drink through a miniature hose, but in most cases I just don’t do straws.

It seems, however, that fast food restaurants with the drink fountains behind the counter force you into drinking from a straw by handing you your cup with a lid. Maybe they want you to see their fancy advertisements on their straw wrappings, or maybe they just don’t trust you to make it to your table without spilling your drink over your tray and asking for a new order for free to compensate for your own mistake, but regardless they practically force you into straw usage.

Now I could remove the lid and go strawless. But with the time, care, and effort that my drink was prepared with I find it better in said situations to complete the ensemble with a straw.

So after receiving one of these neatly pre-packaged drinks at one of my favorite fast food restaurants that doesn’t serve cows I headed over to the condiment counter to select the perfect miniature drinking hose for my drink. I’m not a perfectionist, so I don’t dig to the bottom of the stack to select the perfect wrapper, I tend to just take what is on top. As I lifted the straw I noticed that it felt a little lighter than a traditional straw felt. I have an acute sense of weight, to notice that something weighing only .000001 ounces to begin with felt a little on the light side is a tremendous gift.

As I continued to lift the straw wrapper, I noticed that the end of the wrapper was neatly ripped open, straw removed, and empty wrapper placed back on top of the straw stack. It seems that some person must have just learned of a great tragedy as they were strawing their own drink. In a frantic rush to attend to the tragedy they had to toss the empty straw wrapper wherever it may fall. I mean seriously, why else would someone not be able to place their straw wrapper in the garbage can no more than 24 inches from the straw holder.

I can only assume that this same person is the man that I saw walking with a can of coke, who upon completing his can tossed it over his shoulder and continued to walk. Oh wait, it couldn’t have been him. The can didn’t have a straw.

All I can say is that this makes me think twice about visiting one of their homes. And if I do visit, I am certainly not going to grab that loose strip of toilet paper laying on top of the roll…

Filed under: Stress Relief by kfroman
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In April I began working with a company out of Texas, Matador Clothing Co.

In addition to developing a new e-commerce website for Matador, I am also partnering with them on several print designs, from business cards to exhibitor displays.

Today we finalized the business card design. When printed, the “M” in Matador will be a red foil stamp, as will the “M” on the reverse side of the card.

Filed under: Graphic Designs by kfroman
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Jack of Hearts, some of the best BBQ in the mid-south, contacted me about designing a flyer to promote an upcoming BBQ & JAMS series that they were launching in Franklin, TN.

This flyer is where we landed.

Unfortunately BBQ & JAMS was cancelled before it officially launched, but we still ended with a great flyer design that hopefully Jack of Hearts BBQ can use in the future!

Filed under: Graphic Designs by kfroman
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Kyle Froman Creative’s primary purpose is to provide creative and innovative website design, graphic design, logo design, branding strategies and marketing materials to non-profits and small to mid-sized businesses without ‘breaking the bank’.

Specializing in static website and promotional designs, Kyle Froman has been providing web and design work for his clients since 2000. As a self taught designer, he prides himself in creating fresh, unique website designs. Every project is considered a unique piece of art, and the service you receive is unparallel.

When working with Kyle Froman Creative, you receive more than just a crisp looking website. Having received a business degree from one of the finest business schools in Nashville, Kyle takes his marketing knowledge from his education as well as his hands on experience and melds it into your website or graphic design project. His goal is not only to create a nice website or design for you, but to create one that meets your business or organizations objectives.

Working with integrity and excellence in all that we do, Kyle Froman Creative is certain to provide for you a finished product that you can be proud of!

Filed under: About KF Creative by kfroman
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