End of Year - End of Visit

Well, we made it through the week and yesterday I returned my nephew to his home. He is a sweetheart and really no trouble but my husband refuses to remember that he is slooooow. That's why he lives in a group home. He never remembers to unlock the door when he steps outside (yes, he smokes) and always locks himself out. I will say "Don't forget to make sure the door is unlocked". He replies, "I won't Auntie" and then, ten minutes later, the door bell rings. Multiply this by 15, every day, sometimes more than 15 since he also loves Dunkin Donut coffee and has to walk over there. Ding Dong. Ding Dong. My husband was crazed. I reminded him that this is the way the visit with us ALWAYS is and if he can't remember that, how does he expect my nephew to remember the door? To myself I had to say...."and who's the slow one?"

What a Kerfuffle!

This big to-do over Rick Warren and the Inauguration is sooooooo stupid. Where was the outrage over Reverend Wright? Oh, I know that many blogs commented and talk radio was going on about Wright and eventually word got out but honestly...that took forever and now? He's back in the pulpit and all is well with the world. I guess if Rick Warren were spouting hate towards America and white people and threw his Christian beliefs under the bus, as they say, all would be well with him. Honestly. He has never said any hateful things at all. He doesn't agree with the gay world and that's all that you have to do to warrant destruction. I don't think many Muslims agree with that world either and I have yet to see any moves towards that religion. Not that I want any major kerfuffle but be real. This is such a study in human nature. Pick a fight with the guy who will back down and then feel your power.

Later.

How Embarrassing

Reading about Bernie Madoff and how he is responsible for the “off” season in Palm Beach. The gala events are less gala because of the losses people suffered with his investment plan scheme. But even worse than that, they are embarrassed. Think of that. Embarrassed. I guess trusting a friend with your bazillions of dollars and finding that that friend is not trustworthy can be embarrassing. Imagine how “embarrassed” they will be when they wake up and find that all those politicians they support, beginning with the big O, are lying to them. Imagine how “embarrassed” they will be when they finally open their eyes and find that there actually are scientists out there who don’t back the Goricle’s screed about Mother Earth being doomed if we all continue to exhale. Imagine how “embarrassed” they will be when they find out that there really are “terrorists” and they really are of the Muslim belief and they really, really don’t like us. Imagine how “embarrassed” they will be when they find that the big O and his team, those people they put in office and support so fully, really will be right there, next in line to Bernie as their remaining funds are pulled out of their accounts so that the “wealth can be spread”. I can’t imagine how “embarrassing” that can be. Can you?

Jolly Holly Ho Ho

Oh Christmas tree! Oh Christmas tree! Wherefore art thou Christmas tree?



I am once again, this is the second year in a row, not putting my tree up. Now, stop with the looks, I mean it. I know those looks. I used to give my mother that look. My reasons are not of the bah humbug variety. Seriously. Not. We have a house that snugly fits four people tops. We entertain in the Spring Summer and Indian Summer since during those times the weather is such that we stay outside. Christmas Eve will see at least 14 people jammed, and I mean jammed, into this cozy cottage. The dining table is moved into the living room and a card table is placed at the end and the kitchen area where the dining table was moved from has a fold away table put in place which holds food and people who cannot sit at the bigger table and we also have been known to use TV trays for the corner seats and so, as you can plainly see, no room for a tree. Oh, once upon a time I put the tree into the mix but now, all those tiny tots are bigger that I am and the tree? She has no place to be.

I love no tree when the season is over because as you can plainly see, no tree means no clean up of the area, no removing ornaments and storing in hard to get to places and so on and so forth. Now, before the festive eve of Christmas, I feel sad that we have no tree. The answer of course is a bigger house, smaller family, someone else do the cooking and serving and ask us over. Fat Chance on any of those things. I have a good rant in the works to get rid of the pent up rage I feel when I deal with one of the sisters-in-law. Later with that one.

Why are some of the family members so determined to make every family event THEIR family event? Help me through this and I swear, next year, I am booking a cruise.

Take a Look at Her

Just thought I would change my mood from where it was and do this. My darling girl with her Christmas scarf. Isn't she pretty? That scarf will be removed immediately since if it remains on for more than the length of time it takes to take the picture?, she eats it. This is her second Christmas scarf actually. She has been with us for two years now and she is the best. She loves everything and everybody. The group we adopted her from is called For the Love of Dog and they are ever searching for Rotties in need of homes. They travel all over the country and bring the pooch(es) back for fostering and then adoption. They take care to see that the dogs are well behaved, trainable and in good health. A great deal of time and effort in addition to funds are expended to be sure these dogs are shining examples of the breed. If the dog is not a good fit with the person or family that adopts it, they take the dog back. In fact, they insist on taking the dog back. Our Christmas giving will be to them as well as a couple of other agencies.

And now, I must return to the real world. I think today I will avoid all headlines and talk shows. I am in a slump and there are too many horrors out there. I will call my girl and scratch her ears and feel my blood pressure lower.

Later.

The Joy of the Seasonings

The joys of the seasonings are moving away today. My refrigerator is groaning under the weight of the leftovers and the interior is awash with Tupperware containers which all look alike. Can't tell the stuffing from the Brussels sprouts. The sandwich making time is increased tenfold due to the constant opening and closing of the containers and shuffling them around and before closing the door to the fridge, making sure that all is in balance so that when the door is next open everything remains where is is rather than bouncing off your foot and onto the floor. The bounce off the foot thing has been perfected here since if anything goes straight to the floor it usually breaks open and spreads out. The foot first drop seems to soften the blow and, while not always 100% successful, it often prevents the crash and muck thing.



We had more turkey than usual since we celebrated the family day on Sunday last. Most of the young folk are either nurses or work in retail and on the actual Thursday were working or had worked very late Wednesday and were scheduled for work early on Friday. So the turkey and all the rest were here on Sunday...I picked my nephew up on Wednesday and he will stay with us through the weekend. We were invited to a friend's for the day Thanksgiving and again there was more food than brains at that place. If we had bigger brains they would have said, "Whoa!! Stop with the food already. You are FULL! I mean it Stop now or else." and so forth...none of that was said and we rolled our way home where my nephew said as we walked in the door, "Auntie, do we have any pie?"

Groan...Hope your holiday was as lovely. Good Food. Good Friends. Lovely Family. All together at one time or another. God is good and has blessed us enormously.

Move On . Gemma

I have been sulking and pouting for way too long. I have to shake it off, suck it up, rub some dirt in it and whatever else I was told when I was a young'un and get on with it. Grow up! It's only an election.

You know, the funny thing is, I really don't care for McCain...what I didn't want was more socialism in the world we inhabit. Somehow I thought he might be able to stand firm for Democracy, Capitalism and the American Way! I don't think he would have, at least not where controlling the borders is concerned, or national health care or more welfare to everyone except the worker bees....get out! Without work there is no income and without income there are no taxes....get out! Go to work with you! Hi Ho Hi Ho and so forth and so on.

And so I work while my "betters" the ruling class, the elected for life politicians who care not how they win as long as they do, decide how much more they can drag out of our meager paychecks and whether they are at the point where they are immune from the fear of losing. I think that the whole balance of power thing has become unbalanced and we are living in that so called tipping point... there will be outrageous things happening with no outcry from the masses and it will be clear to the powerful that they have even more power than they thought. Once that becomes abundantly clear...hold on Hannah!

Years ago I joked about the amount the government takes, I said that our entire paycheck should be deposited in the government account and they should just send us what they think we need to live. I think that very idea is percolating in the power seats as I speak.

It's for the Dogs - -

In Massachusetts there was a question on the ballot regarding dog racing. There are two tracks where greyhound racing takes place in Massachusetts. The ballot question to ban racing received a big yes and so in January the two tracks will close. Not to be a spoilsport here but do you really think that will help anything? All over the country are race tracks and the dogs here will be moved there or what? How's the unemployment issue for the people working at the track? Do you think that the tracks will remain as dog parks? How's this work for the creation of those casinos?

What a bunch of manipulative doodads we are surrounded with. And what fools are out there willing to be manipulated.

Later.

God Help Us

Well, it looks like very few people thought about what they were voting for...they went with the "cool guy". God Help Us All.

God is on His throne and in charge and He has ordered us to respect the authority of the government. I and those I know will unlike the others who for 8 years have trashed and smashed it. I can understand putting this new president in but honestly, John Murtha? We live in a very sick place don't we?

I have a nasty head cold and with that comes a headache...add that to the news and I must go sit with coffee and my Bible. Yup. I going to go cling to the Bible. Hope you have something to cling to that will last a little longer that the promises of this man we just installed as president.

Think Before Voting

Well, this is it. This is the big one Elizabeth. The husband and I are driving for miles to check in and vote. We are only two but we are hoping that there are two more and two more and two more out there. We are voting for McCain and we really wonder why there are apparently intelligent and normal seeming people who are casting their ballot for the O. The Big O, and I don't mean that in a disparaging way, it is just a fact. The man is like a Ninja. What is he about and why do you think the little that has escaped his cone of silence is something you want to impose on us? We do know that he will raise taxes as he has told us so. We do know that he wishes to impose the universal health care upon us that has failed or is failing in Canada and the countries of Europe. We in Massachusetts are suffering with the imposed mandate to be insured or the state will pay for you. The bill gets larger every second. The Big Dig boondoggle looks well done actually. We do know now that he is cavalier about bankrupting the coal industry, he is against drilling and nuclear energy. Wonder how he feels about candles and burning wood to keep warm? I think we will soon find out. We know he wants to disarm us and reduce spending on the military so that he can arm a civilian task team to keep order. He told us that.

If the normals who vote for him think he's only flapping his gums, they are so wrong. O's circle of friends, neighbors and advisors are very hard core overturners of our and your way of life. Once the single party rule is entrenched, the rest of the country will be run like Massachusetts. Corruption and unleashed power is ugly. The voters exercise their power at the ballot box and the legislature disregards their vote....think roll back the tax increase in Massachusetts, think referendum for single sex marriage to be voted on...disregarded -not once but twice. The process is followed the efforts are herculean, the signatures obtained the vote is taken, the people speak and the legislature turns a deaf ear.....it works here folks. No reason it won't work on a bigger scale.

Think about what you are voting for - not who. Thank you

Re-Cycling

This is a re-run of a post from September 2007

This is how I feel today too!



For the record, I am a child of the 50's and 60's. I went to college from 61 to 65 in Harvard Square (or just outside of it). My contemporaries served or died in Vietnam. My female friends burned their bras, yes, they did and marched for the ability to obtain birth control, not abortion, birth control. Do you believe it? Abortion was later. We tip toed around sexual freedom and drugs were a huge unknown out there on the horizon believe it or not. We smoked, just cigarettes, and on occasion snuck a drink with a fake ID. We had curfews, yes we did.Our schools were all female or all male and when co-ed, the dorms were all segregated by gender. We had rules upon rules upon rules most of which were designed to allow us to reach adult age without ruining our lives. When the rules abound the rebellions are fairly harmless. We didn't have to do much to break a rule since there were so many. We wore bermudas on campus even though they were not allowed during the week. Yes! We did! We talked during study hours and left our dorms to smoke cigarettes on the grounds even though, you got it, it was not allowed. Oh yes, we were the scamps and rebels. We were safe though! During the 4 years of college we knew of one pregnancy and that resulted in a wedding. We talked about everything unlike our mothers who never shared the truth with anyone most of all not with a family member. We would have known about any huge issues, there were, after all, only 85 of us in our class. We all knew each other and although we had our separate groups, we all interacted, if only to talk about each other.We didn't have cell phones or phone lines in our rooms. Each floor of the dorm had a pay phone and believe it or not, in our three story dorm each of the pay phones worked on the same number so if one was in use on one floor neither of the other two would work. They were extensions of the first phone. How did we survive? Yet we did. One TV in the common room on the first floor. Imagine getting everyone to agree to watch one show? We learned how to co-operate or do without. Actually I don't remember watching much TV. Mostly we gathered in the smoker and talked forever.We gathered and talked but not about much. We talked about tests coming up weekend festivities or boredoms. We talked about people places and things. I don't recall much going on in the political arena and yet we lived through the Kennedy assassination, the Great Society and the evacuation of Saigon. Most of our friends were engaged to or married to boys of draft age who either enlisted to avoid total loss of control or pursued diligently student deferments. There were none, that we knew of, who skipped to Canada or joined the Kerry nonsense. I don't know about you but during the Watergate fiasco I turned the radio and the TV off and walked away from just about every serious discussion since somehow, without delving into the political scene, I knew the playground scene. Yes, I was trained to be a teacher and I could see the bullies on both sides. The side that won had the big microphone and they are still pounding on it. They protect their own and pig pile on the other side. It's been going on for centuries and it is still going on. I was tired of it back then and boy am I now. I could go on and on (and probably will later) but for now.....I have a bagel burning and coffee to drink. Later.

Just Wondering

Is You Tube Knitting Lessons a code phrase for something off beat and edgy? I don't know what it is but ages ago I wrote about my grandmother teaching me to knit and crochet and do needlework and I was 4 when she first sat me down. I learned in the most awkward way ... sweaty pudgy little sausage fingers of a four year old tugging and knotting and crumpling but, as the family tales would tell, I learned eventually and now, thanks Gram, I have the ability to pass some time and yet be productive. What could be better? At any rate, I wrote of this and also said that I would like to knit in a more acceptable manner...use the needles more efficiently, move the yarn with less of the pudgy fingered four year old showing up. I referred to some knitting lessons on You Tube and since then, I mean, not many people read this outpouring but it's quality not quantity right? Of the not many who read most are referred through a google search of You Tube Knitting or one of my other all time classic hits, Signs of a Sociopath and yes, I mean a certain not blood related relative.

So, if you are looking to drive up your traffic? Jump on the YouTubeKnittingLessons or Signs of a Sociopath train. It moves right along

Disappointment

Someone stole our McCain Palin sign. My husband is so upset. I am so disappointed. I guess even one display of thinking outside the box can't be tolerated. I guess, in this era of diversity, the only diverse that is accepted is theirs. Our diverse thoughts and lifestyles are examples of what cannot be tolerated in the era of tolerance.



I am so disappointed in our world. We live in dangerous times.



Okay! now that that's off my chest. Let me say this.......Go McCain!!!!! We went out to dinner on Sunday night..it was the husband's birthday. We went to a Japanese place that has hibachi grills or whatever they're called. There were four of us and we sat at a table with three young women. They were in their late 20's and early 30's.... true young'uns. At some point in time, they, not we, brought up the election. We were reluctant to get into it since we had preconceived notions of where their loyalties would be. We shouldn't have worried. They are voting for McCain too. Imagine that? Here we are in the belly of the D-Beast and 7 of us at one table are bucking the party line.

My disappointment is waning and the times seem less dangerous. We capitalists will just go underground and when the Iron Curtain falls here in the land of the used to be free...why we will go to the trenches and broadcast our messages over Radio Free America. I will cultivate my Marlene Dietrich accent and sing, "Fallinggg in luff again, never, vanted tto, kahnt elp ittt". Cabaret was always my favorite musical...Things will be ok.

I know, I know, there is something wrong with me.

Not lonely

So yesterday I was all over the GREEN mentality and how they snoop into every orifice and dictate how we should live and breathe. I won't say I'm over it but I am without the same level of rage so - - - on to something else. "And now" as we used to say, "for something entirely different"

My angst level is dropping. I am working here at home for the most part. I am not alone in an empty house for 4 days out of 7. I am not lonely. That makes a huge difference for me. I don't mind being by myself. I just don't like being lonely. Make sense? Well here, for example, I am sitting at my computer with files and boxes and piles of paper. I am the only one at this end of the house. My husband and his secretary, our dog are at the other end with his computer and files and papers. Our house is small but it still has two ends. It sounds bigger on paper than it really is. Anyhow, I may not interact with either of those two for hours but.....they are there. I can hear him clear his throat, talk on the phone, curse occasionally when something goes awry. I am alone but not lonely.

I am so grateful for that. Have a wonderful not lonely day. I will.

Consume This!

This will be quick and I'll be back later but I just have to say I am SICK to death of criticisms regarding our conspicuous consumption......the answer? Don't buy stuff. Clean out your own closets. Recycle your own paper bags. Get your nose out of my garbage. Now! Go AWAY! I will NOT buy one of those stupid cloth bags and bring it back and forth to the store.....I! WILL!!! NOT!!!!!! Did you hear me?

If you think there is too much of everything then throw your stuff away, give it away, sell it. Then get thee to Walden Pond......bring your journal. Be one with Thoreau. As for me and my house? I will turn on my 75 watt bulb...not neon and jack up the pellet stove. I will drink wine and eat taco chips while I watch TV. When I'm done? I will BUY MORE STUFF!!!

Whew....

Have a nice day.

The Beast Walks Among Us

I am feeling that there are conspiracies outside our door.....Obama Soros. Stock Market Ups and Downs.....Bank Failures......stop me if I'm nuts....ok.... no one is stopping me.....I question the timing. I truly do. I think this Soros beast is truly from somewhere like the troubler of Job was from....do you get my drift? Don't care if you don't.....this is my theory. This Soros Freak??? He destroyed the Bank of England didn't he? And at that time he had nothing like the resources he has now. Am I right? I thought so.

Just a Thought

Mark Steyn at NRO has written about the massive voter fraud which is being uncovered in many states across the union. ACORN has been deeply if not singularly involved in voter registration illegalities. He said that some close to the source said that all the news that's being broadcast is nothing compared to the real thing...this has been going on for years.

Suddenly! It hit me! No wonder the Dems were so OUTRAGED that they lost those two elections. They knew how much they had worked to overcome the real voters. They enrolled all those felons and dead people and paid those homeless types to sign up and they even enrolled people multiple times. How could they not win??? and how could they lose except if someone else cheated even better than they did? You know, I have a sort of relative who is a basically corrupt human being. The corrupt of which I speak is not just the corrupt which we all are but this person is a LIAR, LIAR Pants on FIRE and she is also not averse to using your money as hers and then saying it's okay because you stole it to begin with. You know the sort of person I mean? The charges the Dems have been flinging about forever are charges of voter fraud!! He who smelt it dealt it as we used to say.

When you think someone is doing something to you and it's not true, well then, it's probably because it's the kind of thing you would do to someone. Right?

Crazy Place this World

From TheHill.com today:

" Federal prosecutors are trying to obtain scores of documents from Sen. Ted Stevens's wife, Catherine, to bolster their case that the Alaska Republican lied about gifts he received from long-time friends."

I know he's a sleeze but does anyone anywhere care about that Rangel Rat? Anyone? Tax evasion is not very large when public figures are concerned is it? Anyone out there care to go for all those years with rental property of that high quality and large rent and always booked and that income not declared and then say it works out to about 5000.00 that wasn't paid? Do you think that the IRS and the press would say "ok then , we hear ya! that's a mistake any of us could have made. Man oh man you are so right. Those notices in Spanish can be daunting. We would have ignored every bit of that earned income too for heavens' sake. Nothing to see here. Could someone get Sarah Palin's high school grades please? If you can't get the real deal well then ... put something together that will pass that fake but accurate thing Dan Rather used so wonderfully well."

I am so sick of this whole Moscow on the Hudson performance art of the Main Stream Medial

Happy Sunday all -- God is on His throne and in charge. That thought keeps me sane.

Do as I Say not as . . .

Just a quick note. Went out to dinner last night with a neighborhood couple of friends and before we left my husband and I were walking the dog. As we walked we rehashed the evening before. I had been at our other domicile - working still - and he spent the night here with the pooch. He watched the debate, I chickened out. Yes. I admit. I was anxious and stressed over so many things that watching the debate was too nerve wracking for me. As we all now know, I should have watched. My husband was so excited as he related every detail. I personally think it's more about how great looking she is that blurs his opinion but I have to admit she is more than capable and clever and intelligent as well. Courage comes to mind as I look at her pictures. Anyway, enough of that, back to the tale at hand.

As we walked and talked I calmed him down by saying that we were going out and had no knowledge of where our neighbors political opinions rested so get this rave out of his system and prepare to talk about dogs, weather, how about those Red Sox. You know. Dinner talk. He agreed and off we went.

Who started the conversation after her second glass of wine??? Yeah. You know who. Oh Well. We can always move.

Only kidding. I really didn't talk politics but I did bring up unions and maybe that's as good since the neighbor husband was retired from a union job. Oh well, I fell back on my "Unions had a place back in time. . . . " fade to "How about those Red Sox"

Just My Two Cents (about all I have left)

Just read that the MSM has overplayed that sky is falling, we're all DOOMED thing to the point where no one really buys into this current CRISIS! As a matter of fact, my husband and I were at Lenscrafters Monday. He had broken his glasses and I was really tired of that Les Nesmith look. The employee who was fixing the glasses of the woman sitting next to us was talking about this bailout thing. He likened it to a surgeon who said, "Let's operate. Forget the X-rays. Forget the tests. I just need to get in there and do something." Man is he right. I don't even think he is a conservative thinker. He just knew we are rushing to fix something that may not need as much fixing as being SCREAMED about.

Isn't there a law against screaming FIRE in a crowded place? Isn't the same principle possible with the Main Stream Media. They have been screaming FIRE for quite some time now and Depression and Civil War and -- oh yeah GLOBAL WARMING!!!! We're Dooooooooomed. Yawn, replies most of the public. Those are not the people interviewed however. Oh No. Give us the shrieking mimi's running around their front lawns in an apron waving a spatula. no. wait. that was a scene from Bonnie and Clyde. Remember that one? That, to me, will ever speak the kind of response the press is looking for from the public. Once we are driven to that state anything is possible. It was either Marx or Lenin who had to drive the peasants to the brink and even with their solid control of the propaganda delivery system they had a rough time. There were always the hold outs.

See. I think that without a solid anchor that kind of reaction is easy. That projection thing is being exhibited daily by the crowd with the bullhorns. They would certainly have folded by now. They don't have their Bibles to cling to. Let me tell you how firmly your anchor will be set if you're clinging to that Bible. Those who may not cling to that and aren't reacting at least have the brain the Giver of the Bible gave them, and they're using it.

I'm staying away from the TV for the week except for RedSox events, and even then, if it appears that the game is going south, I'm going to bed.

Cling to something folks and don't let those with the microphones get you crazy. In the words of Dr. Joy Brown, when people have no power they manipulate. Don't give them the power!!!

A Curious Rant

What’s going on all of a sudden with the horror of the Financial Meltdown? Could it really be a contrived crisis to force a major shift to the socialist agenda that is driving the Mainstream Media and the current Democrat Party?

Don’t tell me Obama isn’t some kind of Manchurian Candidate. I’m not that stupid and neither is he. He is another Lee Harvey Oswald if you want my opinion, by that I mean he has been selected and carefully groomed. George Soros has his hand up the man’s butt and is moving his lips. Bill Ayers is gleefully anticipating the day he is truly in charge……That Missouri slip up, you know the one, the one where they overplayed their hand and announced that all speech against their man Obiwan Obama will be suppressed and doors will be kicked in and people dragged off to work camps for that mind changing thing that we’ve been promised if he gets into power. His wife told us we will never be allowed to go back to where we were. That’s because we will be pulled out of our homes and they will be given to the right thinkers who elected the man. Well honestly, if Ashley Judd can say that women voting for McCain and Palin is like chickens voting for Colonel Saunders….I guess I can say what I just said.

Wait! Do I hear my front door being kicked in? Later.

I am Going Down for the Count

I am so ticked off. Just reading a blog written by a lady who had quite a career in show biz. She wrote about singing in cabarets and dives and old nightclubs and how she had to stop and how difficult that decision was and how thanks to that decision she saved herself from herself since there was nothing to do but drink on the road and also as a result of that decision and therapy she wound up in a FABulous career on Broadway and TV and ya da ya da yada.



I read all the comments from readers praising her for her courage and audacity and the strength she had to follow her inner voice. . . . Maybe so.



Many of her postings are about the swell parties she throws for her circle of friends, all of whom are in the business. They are well known, to a certain extent, if older and more or less retired. The surroundings the blogger lives in are quite elegant and she has help, at least she talks about someone who cooks and serves the tasty little luncheons. She has truly gorgeous china and her garden is out of this world. I wondered how she could have made such a lasting amount of money behind the scenes in show biz ...she certainly couldn't have in the dingy little clubs she talked about. I have been trying to Google the name and see how big her career truly was. To support her lifestyle she must really have some deep residuals or whatever they call those payments coming along on a fairly regular basis and if I look at my pitiful 401K drop much more after all those years of working and saving and ..... yeah-- you get it... How is it that there is no angst....there must be so much in whatever fund there is that all these twists and turns of the market mean nothing. Wish it were so here!

I digress. Closest I came to her name was a man (turns out to be her father I think) who donated a collection of art worth over 50 million a lot of years back. She must have come from a wealthy background and perhaps had some cushion of funds to help her make her courageous decisions.

I am not, although it sounds so, taking away from the angst she must have felt as she dropped her dream and turned to something else but what I am saying is that it appears that part of her ability to be courageous was assisted by the fact that she perhaps didn't need to worry about living expenses. There are people with dreams who have to pump gas or waitress or do what ever they can latch onto to put a roof over their heads and eat while the dream is pursued. Their dream is being pursued at half speed or less because they have to pursue some way to support themselves. The manner in which they live is less than luxurious because they can only devote half speed to that part of their lives where they can earn a living if they want to spend half on the dream. This blogging thing sometimes is just a great way to feed your ego isn't it? I have to stay away from some of these places where everyone is just a cheering squad for people who have enough -- do re mi -- to buy a cheerleader or two but blogger makes it possible for you to have one or several for -- Oh Gemma! Knock it off! I will but there is more.

That brings me to this liberal gang out there who are so willing to spend your money and mine to create the Utopia they are sure we need to live in. I picture them sitting in their lush surroundings watching us scurry around trying to earn ever more money to make up for what they took away in taxes. We are in their ant farm. How quaint we are. How interesting. How courageous they, the elite, are to make those hard decisions about our lives. You know, they would love to fund unlimited access to experimental health procedures, like chemo therapy but honestly! What good will it do for those ants? Their quality of life is so destroyed by their illness, their age and their odd behavior, the way they live and the things they surround themselves with. Better to limit the access to these processes to those who can appreciate them, the young, the strong, the people who think as we do.

Gads....I need a BIG glass of wine and I really need to tune in to some totally neutral place. Maybe the C.S. Lewis fan club. I will go there and read from their selections of the day. Lord Help Me!

Just a load of info

I just tried a brand new thing -- that fall test junk that WORKED!!!!! I am developing my technical abilities. Well, maybe. I am determined, now that a lot of the personal angst and agita that has been hanging over me like a big black cloud.....remember that cartoon character who always had the big black cloud over his head?? Well maybe you're too young..I am just returning from a luncheon with my mother's sisters and sisters-in-law, Man oh Man!!! what a crew! The youngest is 80 and she is recovering from a stroke. The others are way older and merciless. They were on that poor stroked out auntie like I've never seen since my mother died. There has never been any mercy in my mother's world. I remember falling down the stairs and she stood over me yelling "What the hell did you do that for?" Yup. That was my Mom. Man oh Man I loved her to bits. There is a strong gene pool in that crowd. Yikes, they are brutal.

Did I get distracted or what? That black cloud character -- I'm hoping is a thing of my past. I am going to move through the rest of the mess that is getting untangled from the family business and the married into hooked up with family I inherited and I mean I am moving on! I have a great idea about a blog that will involve a bunch of people and will tie my love of past and people and memories all together and I will be working on that (as long as the crazy folks that have been interwoven into my life will unbraid themselves and go back to their own messes and stop messing up me)

God will help me I know He will.....I pray for that without ceasing.

Fall test

Your Autumn Test Results

You are a playful, spirited person. You have a limitless imagination and amazing creative talents. When you are happiest, you are calm. You appreciate tradition and family. You enjoy feeling cozy. You prefer change to come slowly. You need a long transition period when your life changes. You find solitude to be the most comforting thing in the world. Being alone with your thoughts feels very peaceful. Your ideal day is chill and uneventful. You prefer to kick back and take it easy. You tend to live in the moment. You enjoy whatever is going on, and you don't obsess over the past or future.

The Autumn Test

Help Me Lord and Everyone on Earth

I am so dismayed with the news and things going on in my life and the political poison spewed throughout the airwaves. I truly thought that things were at the nadir of whatever I am trying to say....bear in mind, I'm old and I forget the words I'm searching for, worse still, this damned computer has a touch screen thing that would be the mouse if I didn't connect one and the connected one does not disconnect the mouse thing and I am NOT a typist and everytime my fat thumbs move in the wrong direction the mouse screen thing moves where I am typing to the middle of a sentence back in the first paragraph I started HELP ME HELP ME !!! O O I mean it Help me now.

Ok... no one has helped me yet so let me continue with my rantings.

The one thing that is choking me with outrage is this old bat in England who thinks that we should sign on to be murdered if we become demented or whatever else she thinks old folks become that is not in line with her social system. Bear in mind she is over 80 but "just fine thanks." Her name is Lady Warnock....google it and then pray.

What is wrong with us??? First we kill the unborn and have no sense of guilt since we have just moved tissue along. Then we kill the unborn as they are being born and we say that we don't want to inconvenience the already born and then we condemn those who didn't kill the born that might have been silly enough to be born in a condition that the "elite" have determined was not the perfectly acceptable condition that they allow to be born and NOW......we must get rid of all of the born that turns into something the "elite" would rather not be around to deal with.. you know, the old the fragile, the failing, the ..... you know, us. Anyone but them. They have the money to care for themselves and honestly, I think they think that somehow, those of us who aren't them will take their stuff and air and oil and who knows what ... away.

I'm off to pray for them and me and you and every living thing on earth...God Loves us everyone and He wants us to pray for each other....yes, even when the other of each of us wants those of us who aren't them to go away and go away without any difficulty.

Oh God Help Us Everyone.

Shame on You

I am so disgusted with the nonsense on the web about Sarah Palin and her choice to "allow" her child with Down Syndrome to live. What is wrong with people? Why is every comment so hateful and horrible? Here's what I know. A beautiful baby is alive. What is so wrong with that? Years ago....certainly 60 years ago since I am about to be 65......I was at my aunt and uncle's wedding..my aunt's twin sister, at that time she was certainly more than 30, had Down Syndrome. Gracie was my friend. I was 5 and she was maybe 30 but what did I know? Gracie was my friend. We chatted and sat together and Gracie was in our lives for at least another 30 years. I loved and still love Gracie. How sick are all of you who think this little boy shouldn't be sharing the air that you breathe? Man oh man..... I am so ashamed of all of you.. Imagine how God Feels?????

Man Rages and God Giggles

This Sarah Palin thing is totally out of control. Why is the opposition attacking her instead of McCain? Why are they so enraged over a Vice President for heavens' sake? God is surely having some fun with this one isn't He?

A Passing Epiphany

Just read a blurb on NRO by Kevin D. Williamson. He referenced a news report as follows:

HAVANA (AP) - Cuba has ordered jailed punk rocker Gorki Aguila, an outspoken critic of Fidel Castro and the communist government, to stand trial on Friday for "social dangerousness," a charge that could carry up to four years in prison.

This was preceded by the statement that All You Punks in Your Che T-Shirts ... should have a look at what your heroes do when they have the opportunity:

I had an epiphany. Of course! What has taken me so long? These advocates of brutal killers and dictators are merely showing us what they want our world to be like. Any one who dares to disagree or think differently than the Che lovers will be arrested and beaten and - - -whatever it takes. The devotees of those petty and brutal tyrants would never see themselves as outside the circle of power. They would be wielding the whips and rods as they stride through the streets. They would be wiping that smug self satisfied smile off of the faces of those others who think they are better than ... well, you get it. They are merely playground bullies who have never had the support of anyone around them to allow them to bully without consequence.

We live with our own potential Taliban. That curtain of civility that separates us from barbaric behaviour is getting thinner and thinner. Take a look at Canada and what they have done with their hate speech nonsense. There are boards empowered to hold hearings based on a complaint brought by anyone. The accused must hire legal defense although the board is under no legal restraints or held to any rule of law. The accuser doesn't have to spend a penny to ruin someone because that person has a stray thought about whatever the accuser says offends him or her.

No criticism allowed! Or else! The Obama followers are thrilled! Finally they glimpse that power seat they have wanted forever as being within reach. Bill Ayers is more than likely frothing at the mouth anticipating finally reaching the goal he set for himself way back in the 60's.

OK it's a conspiracy theory but there is some truth to it...especially that idol worship of dictator thing. I really think that.

Speech! Speech!

Wow! That's all I have to say. Just WOW! Stayed up watching her speech and am I glad I did. It was perfect and everyone seems kind of speechless about it. Great!

Editorial Strategies

What a bunch of adolescents run the media. I just read that the feeling is Palin will resign because they're calling her names and picking on her family. Way to go MSM! Really great strategy! Can't you just hear the editorial meetings? "Well we really have nothing much but let's just pick on that one little thing and make it seem insurmountable." See how I've given them credit for having big words in their vocabulary?

"Well that's a good start but let's call her some names like puny and weak and unprincipled"

"Nah, let's just spread some really vicious rumors that might have some basis in truth. I remember one time when this girl thought she could be prom quieen instead of me? Well we fixed her. We told everyone that she was making out with the most wicked nerdy girl in the school. Then we said that she was throwing up every morning and you know what that means. Then we said that the guy who dropped out of school last semester was at her house every time her parents went away. Boy! Did she lose votes. Yup! I won. I think we can do the same thing here. Who's in?"

Oh My

Is it me or is there really a dark cloud over the coming election? Are we really ushering in the hopes and prayers of all those old '60's radicals who wanted nothing more than to blow up the system and shake their clenched fists in the face of "the Man". If that Bill Ayers and the woman he chose has been behind the scenes and if the Chicago machine has been tutoring the B O man then we are in for a treat as grand as the Clintons who felt that if you have the key to the house then . . .everyone is your servant. Right????

Oh bless us everyone. I think we should all read the Old Testament and get ready for the next Nebuchadnezzar. He wasn't as refined as Stalin. That's all I have to say.

Togas R Us

That toga thing? I just read that Obie Wan's speech will appear to be coming from a Roman or Greek amphitheater.......check out the post at Powerlineblog.com -- The Temple of Obama --- it is exactly what I have been thinking of!! I must be a prophet.

Togas for The Politicians

Before I forget about this... over the weekend I walk with some neighborhood ladies who are also my friends. We pound the pavement for about an hour or so depending on how hot it might be determining the distance. We generally go almost 3 miles. During that 3 mile jaunt we blab constantly about everything and anything. On Saturday we ventured into the political arena and trust me, it can be very tricky. For the most part they are Dems but not terribly liberal. They know I am a major conservative right wing gun toting bible thumper and tip toe around me as I do them. This walk however we agreed on one huge thing. Our elected officials are a law unto themselves. "Do you know who I am?" is one of their favorite phrases and is usually heard immediately after they have been told they are no different than any other citizen waiting in line for ... whatever. We decided that every politician should wear a Toga. That immediately identifies him/her as a truly important individual. The back of the Toga would have a D or R followed by the last name of the individual wearing it. This would take care of anyone who doesn't know who they are and it would also, perhaps, change the behavior of the Toga wearer. Perhaps if they were ALWAYS recognized they would try to keep a lower profile, be more considerate of others, wait their turn, not accept bribes - oh you know, any number of behaviors might be reduced.

What do you think? I'm all for it. Uniforms must be worn at all times. Just like a police officer must wear his/her gun even when off duty...so must they wear the Toga. The Togas could be designed so that the state they represent is noted. Imagine. There you are at the airport when ahead of you is a Toga wearing gentleman from your home state. You know immediately that he represents you in the legislative arena because of the Toga he wears with the colors of your state. You approach and let him know that he represents you. You let him know of a concern you have...he thanks you for your input. You shake his hand and let him know that you appreciate his concern. You tell him that you noticed he wears a D and you are an R but you will consider voting for him next time because he has impressed you with his regard for the little guy.

Yeah -- I think it might work.

Where Did the Time Go??????

Labor Day is this Monday -- one week from today!!!! Note the exclamation points. There are many. My husband is planning, as he always does, to invite the entire world around us to a cook out on Sunday. He smokes pork butt, yeah, I know, that sounds peculiar doesn't it? But and I mean of the Pork variety is great. All of the men in the neighborhood are true carnivores and it is a good thing since there is more meat than you can imagine. The husband, he starts this process months in advance. He buys the butt and makes his rub and applies it to the butt and wraps it and freezes it and buys some more and so on and so on and then........he smokes it for hours and hours and hours and then TA-DA!! It is ready to be pulled and saturated with whatever sauce you prefer. There is a true North Carolina vinegar base and one that more resembles barbecue and then everyone brings something so in addition to the meat there are salads and dips and cakes and cookies and on and on and so forth.

I merely run and fetch and keep the plates and napkins handy along with the plastic and glasses and -- oh yeah, I show everyone where the bathroom is and make sure the dog is in her room.

Problem is, I have no time off this year and will arrive late Friday so I only have Saturday to do what I have to do and I can't believe it's Labor Day in ONE WEEK! Gaccgkk! That is a choking fit kind of sound. I have to make lists. Bye!!

One Thing I Have Learned

Going through a lot of angst lately...lately? Well maybe still is a better definitive word for the end of that sentence. The point is that I have been exhausted, emotionally riding the roller coaster and working away from home for many more days that usual. The end of this wild ride may be on the horizon but then, as I know, the next chapter begins. I am in the middle of attempting to sell a family business and untangling years of snarled up finances, family grievances, bitter resentments and employee anxieties. Following this there will still be piece parts left that will be shared but there will be no employees. The bitter resentments will no doubt be present as well as the family grievances. The snarled up finances should be unsnarled and the management of the remaining resources should be in neutral hands. The disposal of the remainder should be dealt with by those neutral parties and then, and only then, will the ride end. Well that particular ride anyway.

If there's one thing I have garnered through this journey of pitfalls and pot holes it's the fact that there are very few blissful moments. Grab what you can when it appears. Bliss is so sweet that it has to be short lived. If it lasted longer than the few seconds it does, well then we would all have other problems as a result of that euphoria.

More Prayers for Other Things and People

I will go further into this when I can but I am just so in awe that I had to write it down. It has to do with praying and although it isn't about my cousin's sister-in-law, I am sure those prayers are buoying up that family. Here is another prayer testimony. I have a friend whose husband is a very heavy drinker and after many, many, many efforts he has finally consented to go to a facility for help. Pray pray and pray some more that he will actually stay there. In times past he would be out in 3 days then back to his life in less than that. This time he is staying, at least for a week he said. She got a call last night from him and in a voice she hasn't heard since the drinking thing began he said he will stay for as long as it takes. Praise God and keep the prayers going. I have more but I have no more time.

Up Date and Thanks

Thanks for your prayers. I wish I could say there has been a miraculous event but, well maybe there was. She managed to get away for the weekend with her family and except for her exhaustion, they all managed to enjoy their time. The kids are in softball tournaments and each were playing so she was able to see them. Maybe without the prayers that wouldn't have happened. Life is so hard isn't it?

A Prayer Request

I have a cousin who has a sister-in-law who is fighting a losing battle with leukemia. For the past three years she has been valiantly moving through the medical world of chemo and transplants and transfusions and on and on. Her husband has been maintaining contact with everyone through a truly wonderful service set up by the hospital which provides a website where he posts daily or weekly or monthly updates to the family and their life with this bombshell that went off in their midst. I have never met these people, my aunt told me about them and the website and I went there one day left a message of, I hope support and encouragement, and from that time on I have been included in the daily or weekly or monthly updates. It had been a while since the website was updated and I wondered. I have honestly prayed for that very brave woman and her family if not daily, more regularly than I have ever prayed for any.

This month, the updates began again. The news was not good and has not gotten better. The leukemia had returned and she was hospitalized and now, she has been sent home, treatment discontinued. She has a limited time left and her husband has asked us to pray for a comfortable time for her and her family. They want to share the last days in some semblance of normal family life. I pray for that and ask you to do so as well. We know the power of prayer and if we don't, trust me, it's powerful. Her name is Dee and she has a daughter and son and husband and dog who love her dearly. Pray for all of them if you would.

No news here -- Move along

I lost all respect for Colin Powell quite some time ago so this endorsement thing? Who really cares except the solidly entrenched "we drank the Kool-aid" gang.

What a GEM

It is still way too busy here. That shopping trip with the FIL was a hoot. He got into the scooter and worked it like a champ. We were in Sam's club and you know how there are places here and there where they give away free samples? Well every time the FIL went missing I would find him at one of those areas chatting away with the lady as if he were at a singles bar. He got turned down a lot but as he said "I;m a try harder". He'll be back ladies. Watch yourselves.

Meanwhile I am back to the grindstone. The end result will be a beautiffully polished gem I'm sure. That's where the name came from guys. My initials before marriage were GEM. My Dad wanted them to spell something and he, until I married, called me Gem...his unclaimed jewel....all right now....in unison "AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW"

Later

Day of Rest?

Things have been terrifically busy in my life lately. That is not to say I have been having a great time. I have been hoop jumping and tail spinning and running and fetching and fallin asleep so early because I get up so early to -- see previous action word.

I sit down here and want to write but I'm empty so I just poke around and read everybody else. I don't comment since one click of the mouse to jump from place to place is about all I can manage.

Today, Sunday, is to be a day of rest. Thank you Lord for providing this. I will be accompanying my husband to his father's where we will jam him into our car...it's not easy folks. We will then take him to lunch and then shopping at Sam's Club. They have those wheelchair/scooter things I believe and we need to shop, he needs to get out of the house....it will be a double accomplishment. Sounds good huh?

I will let you know how it all works later.

Another Media Marvel

Deported gang members are more violent than ever in their own countries and they learned all of their skills on how to use semi-automatic weapons here in the states. Yup. Thats what the CNSnews.com says. Go forth and read for yourselves.

Oh. I know. The entire premise is so false. When did we ever deport any violent gang member? We only go after the legal-at-the-time immigrant wife, married to a US citizen who has passed away. She has been here and gainfully employed for 35 years and upon her husband's death, and he was usually a proud member of our armed forces, we swoop in and put her on a plane back to the war-torn country from whence she fled.

But now, it seems, we are waiting for those violent gang members to hone their sem-automatic weapon skills and as soon as they attain the gold medal - - whoosh. Off they go to their country of origin where now they have some means of supporting themselves.

You know we have sidewalk stands where non-citizens with violent pasts are able to stock up on whatever weaponry they seek. Oh, and those skill providing camps exist in the basements of most churches...you know, the evangelical sort of church where rabid right wingers spout their nonsense about freedoms of all sorts.

Man. We live in a wonderful world don't we?

And to think that I wanted to start this day with a quiet Bible reading.

Separated at Birth

Just a stray thought here. Were Keith Olbermann and Al Gore separated at birth? Seems they might have been. At least the brain part that's connected to the shrieking hysteria part...that much I know is the same. Now if they could only connect the part in both of them that results in rational sane thinking and I guess that won't be happening any time soon.

Maintain Your Rep

Just read a headline where Pelosi states that Bush is a total failure. Man. What standards is she basing that on? She is not doing so well herself, is she? With all the bashing and insults and finger pointing and outrage spinning around, I had a thought. Yes. I did. Do you know that ad with the angry baseball manager? He runs onto the field and kicks dirt and gets into the face of the umpire. You know the one I mean? Well. It looks like they're having a rip roaring knock down drag out battle and they are just yelling things like, "you're looking really good. What're you doing differently?" The last phrase where the manager says to the ump, "you'd better throw me out. I have a reputation to maintain." That's the one that got me thinking.

After these boobs in Washington grab the microphone and scream about the other boobs. Do they leave the room quietly saying to the boobs they just screamed at, "Give my best to the missus."? Is all of this anger real, or do they just have a reputation to maintain.?

Just thinkin'

More Class Warfare.......

So after I wrote that last bit I go to the news and find, in the Wall Street Journal, that the Service Employees International Union, the SEIU is rampaging against all those capitalistic pigs known as private equity firms. They are pounding the drum to that familiar old tune, "they're rich and we're not. Take their money away. Give it to us. We'll be sure to distribute it properly. Lots for us and not so much for you but you'll be thrilled because it's money you didn't have to work for." You know that tune. Well let's see how that union treats their members. From the Wall Street Journal today:

"Public records based on the SEIU's own filings show that the SEIU National Industry Pension plan – which covers some 101,000 workers – was only 75% funded in 2006. Put another way, the plan had only three-fourths of the money it needs to meet its retirement obligations. And the national chapter is only the start. Some 13 local SEIU pension plans in 2006 were less than 80% funded; several didn't reach 65%.

Some of this might be the result of poor investment performance, but the main problem is that the SEIU hasn't negotiated adequate employer contributions to the plans. This is a common practice: Unions and management take credit for bargaining deals that promise generous retirement benefits, even as they ignore how they'll be funded.

On the other hand, SEIU leaders are highly attentive to their own pension funding. A separate fund run by the national union, this one covering the benefits of SEIU officers, was 103% funded in 2006. The top SEIU guns are set for their golden years."


What's that? A separate fund for the pensions of the very important union officials? One that actually has money in it? Why what a novel concept. It sounds like the situation we have in my country, the USA, for elected officials. Did you know their pension is 100% of their salaries? oh, yours isn't too bad. Did you know their medical insurance is never going to be socialized? oh yours will? too bad. Did you know they never have to pay for their insurance even after retirement? Oh you do? and more than you had to pay before you retired? too bad. Hmmmm...do they belong to a different class of people than we do?????



Chauffeur...this big important officer of the union/elected official needs to be carried to his car and then drive him across the street to that luxury restaurant where a glorious dinner awaits him. All those hungry people you have to walk through? Never mind them. They have plenty of food stamps and cardboard for their shacks. Push right through them.

Back to the Misery

Just read that our Congress in it's wisdom has passed a House rule that prohibits legislators from using the internet to keep constituents informed. All information must be disseminated from "official" websites. Man. Are we becoming more and more like 1950's Russia or what?

Then again. They use the same controlling mentality about everything. No Drilling. No New Technology unless of course it's the new we want. "Nuclear Power No!!! It only works in France! Let them ride bikes and use blankets. Call the chauffeur. I have to go two blocks to my office. Thank goodness all those peasant cars are off the streets....now we can move about the country. We are the important citizens after all."

The I just read in the New York Post that Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins are being overrun in their Greenwich Village neighborhood by demonstrators who want the construction of a new hospital to go forward. St Vincents would build 3 blocks from their residence. The hospital currently provides massive assistance to the indigent every year and this newer facility would expand their ability to help. The demonstrators were referred to by Robbins, according to the story, as "those people". Oh, and the wildly liberal and charitable couple were attending a meeting protesting the expansion. Oh. I'n sure they want to help those poor things. They just want to help them somewhere other than near their home. Chauffeur!

Now I get that class warfare thing! We have the class....they don't.

Words to Ponder

I'm reading In the Woods by Tana French. I just began and so far so good. I have just read an amazing paragraph that I must quote. "Why must I?" you may ask. "Because" I will answer. And because has to do it, I really can only say that it is one of those thoughts that you mull over for quite some time.

I don't often remember much about all the books I read. Sometimes I will come away with a general mood, you know, happy little story, very dark tale, that sort of thing. Other times just that it was a good read, held my interest, I actually finished it. There are some books, and I don't remember the titles or authors, where the author put a few words together that linger on. One that runs through my mind over and over is "He has just come through the most serious and painful surgery known to man. He had his eyes opened." How can you beat that? Right! You can't.

This thought is another that will stay in my mind. The book is about a fellow who is a homicide detective. This is how he describes their method of enticing a suspect or witness to provide them with information. Here goes:

"I knew what they did was cruel. Humans are feral and ruthless; this, this watching through cool intent eyes and delicately adjusting one factor or another till a man's fundamental instinct for self-preservation cracks, is savagery in its most pure, most polished and most highly evolved form."

I know a person like that, gender will remain unknown. He/She is not in law enforcement, just feral and ruthless. This person is not trained in the skill of manipulation, this person is a natural and no one ever sees how truly savage this person is. I had no words to describe him/her until now.

Summer Stuff

Played golf yesterday for the first time in about 2 years. I LOVE GOLF!!!! Seriously. I do. Today of course I am barely able to move but I don't care. I actually had a par of one of the holes and bogeys on two others. The rest is like horseshoes....close but they don't count.

Today I am on vacation. I am lunching with ladies and talking about fluffy things about which ladies speak. I am learning that the older I get, the less I can talk about. I understand why widows went into the nunnery and chose those orders which included a vow of silence. I am almost ready for that - except for the widow thing. Been there! Done that! Would rather delay a second run for quite some time. Better I go first.

Oh Bother!

Life is such a crazy ride isn’t it? People take off in so many different directions. Everyone has their bag of pain that they drag around some real and some imaginary. The pain in my life has been loss of family and I mean that in both the literal sense in that all of my immediate family has passed away in the last 8 years, and in the figurative sense in that most of the in-laws and offspring have worked themselves in a snit over something or other and have turned their backs. Now some of that back turning began quite some time ago and some of it has been manipulated by others in the past 2 years.

Do I own any of this? I’m not sure. I try to analyze things from others viewpoints. I use that “you have to understand” game on myself. I do understand to some extent. I have realized that understanding why someone behaves badly doesn’t ease the pain if you are the one they are behaving badly with. I have come to the conclusion that it is for the best if they behave badly at a distance. I am now experiencing the frustration of those who want very much to continue the behave badly game but because they have isolated the favorite target, they have no one to behave badly with except each other. Interesting. No?

Some of the bad behavior has gone way too far and now, since there are shared business concerns which must be dealt with jointly, a counselor has been summoned to ease everyone into a spot where communication, even if through others and with witnesses, can take place. The counselor has counseled and feels he has made “great progress” . He hasn’t said this out loud but the instinctive feeling I have is that I am being pressured to “let bygones be bygones and let’s hear it for - - “ Some of those counseled are showing a gentler kinder side and he feels that we should have a group hug. He hasn't said that in so many words but the tones and attitudes speak volumes. He thinks we should not just all get along but turn the clock back to the beginning of time and start over. You know what I mean?

How bright is this guy if he can’t see that they are tired of kicking the cat….they want me back…….the games can then begin...again.

I’m not going!!

Oldie but Goodie.. Frat Boys.... Rich and All

Got nuthin' and when that happens I go to Sitemeter and see what might bring people here. The term "spoiled, rich, frat boys" is evidently still being googled. Here is what I wrote back in February and as usual, when I read what I wrote, I am amazed that I actually wrote it. What's that about I wonder? Anywho.....here it is.....

I was just breezing through the various spots I always do in the am and in the NRO blogs someone was referring to the Duke mess and the phrase "spoiled, rich, frat boys" was used as it always has been and that has had me pondering, as I often do. Aren't those the words that used to be used to describe GWB?, at least back in the day when we had a "kinder gentler group of critics. The answer is, yes. Then as an amateur student of human behavior I pondered some more. This nasty persecution, sorry, prosecution of those boys is really a classic case of transference. The professors who signed that ridiculous letter condemning the boys are really GWB haters who couldn't get close enough to him to show their contempt on a personal level and here, right in front of them, are living breathing representatives of the qualities they began to hate GWB for. Those terms of hatred have since, in the case of GWB evolved into more "sophisticated and nuanced" areas. What are they now? Oh, yes - Halliburtonchimphitler or something equally intellectual and fact based.No wonder the whole Duke thing is so incomprehensible. It has as much basis in fact as the memes thrown around about everything Bush, Iraq, Cheney ya-da, ya-da, etc.Lucky someone in the press got a grip and turned to the facts when they were reporting the on-going train wreck at Duke. I wish the same would happen in the GWB area. Hope there are no other "spoiled, rich, frat boys" out there without body armor. The natives are lighting their torches and marching on the castle.

Fly Away

Here's what I am sick of ---- the word androgynous-- that's what! In most of the world and I am talking here of the animal world which most of the weirdos would insist we are part of..... there are two of each species..... male and female.... only in this NYT world of mush and such.. we are what we chose to be and often we are neither male nor female but somewhere in the zone of whatever.

Go create your own planet and while you are at it . . . . . fly off to it. Thank you very much......bye now!

That's a Great Idea! Let's Study It

There is a difference between posting directly to Blogger and doing this Word document which will be hashed and rehashed and finally copied and pasted when it’s ready. Somehow, I feel more creative when I am writing direct to the blog. This version makes me self-conscious. The direct route eliminates the “has to be perfect since you can take your time with it” agony. Direct is – wham – spell check – post it. What could be better?

Random thoughts:

Just listened to J. Vernon McGee as he is taking us on the Bible Bus through the Book of Job. He is saying that although Job is a truly righteous man, he is still a man and as such is a sinner. Job’s sin is the sin of pride. He is almost boasting in the proclamation of his righteousness. We know God felt that Job was righteous since that’s how the whole ordeal started. “Look at My servant Job.” And Satan did. There you go. But as the ordeal plays out, Satan was right but wrong. Job does fall victim to the sin of pride and as C.S. Lewis said, that’s the big one Elizabeth. Maybe he didn’t quite say that but you know what I mean. I have to say that J. Vernon always hits the nail on the head. I was always so puzzled about Job. Why, if he is such a righteous man, and he was, did he suffer so? That pride thing was hidden way underneath and had to come to the surface in order to be fixed. I’m not through with that lesson yet…the Bible Bus is still rolling on but thought I would expound on my latest epiphany. This Job thing makes so much more sense now.

As I often do, as I become mired in epiphany, I must search for more sides to the story. I was googling the Job issue and came upon an analysis by Robert Sutherland. The introduction to Mr. Sutherland is that, among other things he is a Senior Fellow at the Mortimer J. Adler Centre for the Study of Great Ideas. Does anyone else find that wildly amusing? Doesn’t it sound to you as if a group of 10 year olds got together and came up with that name? They tossed around a few before zeroing in on that “Study of Great Ideas” part don’t you think? I know these places are “think tanks” and are filled with gigantic brains and those brains think thoughts so wide and deep that I get the bends thinking about how deep they go. I go back to the name of that center and can’t help but think that Rocket J Squirrel is on the Board of Directors along with Mr. Peabody. I hope that I hear the “Great Idea” before I am told where it was studied. Then I might not be taken with the laughing fit and I will actually hear it.

Later

In Poor Taste

Coming up empty but these headlines caused me to think...there are more wildfires in California and they're heading to the Big Sur...what can be left to burn? From my vantage point here on the East Coast it seems that between the mudslides and the fires of the recent past there can't possibly be much left to burn. Just sayin'.

Save the Planet?

Just read on a blog that they were disabling their ice-maker because it uses so much energy and that is soooo green. Have to ask. How does using less energy in my house bring more energy to those third world countries that have none? (I guess my next question might be, shouldn’t we be trying to help those countries raise themselves up instead of rushing to join them in poverty and lack of comforts?) How does my lack of an icemaker help reduce the temperature of the planet? Will fewer ice cubes here increase the life of the planet by one breath? Isn’t God in charge of all of this? I read somewhere, oh yeah, the Bible that we are unable to add one minute to our lives. Is it different for the planet?

It just all fits in with the Communist Code or is it the Mother Earth Code or the Goricle's Code. Don’t try to work to get what your neighbor has, take it away from him and make him as miserable as you are…..now that’s fair and balanced.

I know, there are no Communists in existence and if there were they would be swell and self sacrificial and not at all like Stalin or Marx or Castro or Chavez or -- I forgot. They were/are all swell and remarkable if I am reading the papers correctly. Sorry don't read the papers anymore.

Developing Capitalists

Just read on a psych type blog that young people, regardless of the age, support socialism since it lends itself to the illusion that it is fairer. Well, when I was young, I never went for that nonsense. I think it was because life was never fair and no one in my living area ever said it was. Life was sport. Life was competitive. Living well meant that you had to play the game, show no weakness, be tough, in your face, well - - you get it. And I was the girl and I was the baby so imagine what the older boys were like!!! My Dad was a self employed, hard working, great provider for his family. He had room for everyone in his home and never said a word about his wife’s family ever. My uncles and aunts. . . my mother’s brothers and sisters came to our house for dinner, for weekends, for weeks and months at a time when they needed to. My oldest brother, who always had a hair across his you know where about my Dad, finally said, after my Dad died, that he always admired my Dad’s generosity. He realized how tough it must have been for a young family to take on more people and when quarters were not spacious to include other families. For us, the kids, it was no big deal to shove over and let anyone else in our rooms or beds or space. It just was the way it was. For the adults, it must have been kind of squeaky to have all those other people and only one bathroom. You are the only one working and all the others are home, eating the food you pay for and using all your stuff. Of course, back then, we didn’t have much stuff.

One of my many, many cousins was asked how many were in her family. “Oh I have one sister.” “That’s it?”, the questioner responded in amazement. “You always appear, to me, to have come from a large family.” My cousin then explained how all of us, from whatever age always piled in together, especially in the summer since we had a summer place right near, not on the ocean. “We put boards on the kitchen chairs to provide more seats. The table leaves were in and the table extended as far as it could go. Add water to the soup or the beans and open another can of something or other.” We always laugh about those summers. We agree that that is what made us neat travelers. Never unpack or you lose your stuff. We learned to keep our very few things in small areas and put away. If it could be seen it was up for grabs. That communism stuff is ok when it comes to family and friends who are going through hard times but honestly. Every one of my relatives who bunked in with us found jobs and got their own place and every one of us missed them when they left but honestly, when there’s only one bathroom? Give me a break! That turns out capitalist kids every. single. time.

More Chesterton

because I love him and find this statement to be so relevant....If he only knew what the Nanny Staters were doing to us.



Can we throw smoking into this, maybe seat belts and helmets and baby seats for 12 year olds and cell phone use and on and on and on...........

"The free man owns himself. He can damage himself with either eating or drinking; he can ruin himself with gambling. If he does he is certainly a damn fool, and he might possibly be a damned soul; but if he may not, he is not a free man any more than a dog." - Broadcast talk 6-11-35

GK Chesterton

My country, right or wrong," is a thing that no patriot would think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying, "My mother, drunk or sober."
G. K. ChestertonEnglish author & mystery novelist (1874 - 1936)


How right is he???

Ray of Hope

What a ray of hope to read that neither Mugabe nor Ahmadinejad were included in the UN Summit Dinner held in Italy. Equally hopeful is the number of demonstrators protesting the Iranian madness and the sanity that seems to have made a return to public discussion. It seems that men of substance are blaming Mugabe for the horrors in Zimbabwe. Well at least they are blaming him for the hunger there. Mugabe, as he has done in the past, blames Bush (why not) and Blair. This time the press actually printed the blame Mugabe story first and his dribblings as an after thought. Funny isn’t it? Perhaps that sanity has always been there and it just was not part of the press’s party line. Why quote men of character and good sense when there are tyrants and dictators to prop up. The press and our vocal politicians have never met a socialist/communist they didn’t love. Push the agenda until perhaps you can read in the winds that the people, that great unwashed mass out there in the hinterland, yes those typical tax payers, gun lovers, bible toters, those people of all shapes, sizes and colors, those people are just not buying it. Ever one to be on the winning side those people of the press are perhaps realizing they had better throw us a crumb and appear to be real reporters without bias. Riiiight! I’m liking that ray of light whatever the reason it is being given the opportunity to shine.

Snake Pit

I have been in a terrible slump. The news and keeping away from it is so hard. The constant drumbeat of "gloom, doom, doom, and we are the problem" is driving me nuts. In addition to that I have been facing huge chunks of disappointments in real life. People are not who they seem to be. I trust too much. I am an idiot! There are so many knives in my back that I look like a porcupine. Some of those knives went in so easily I barely felt them and they had to be pointed out to me. Some day this will all be a book.

Behind the door of my home, when I'm there, all is well. My husband and dog are there for me. I have a few close and wonderful friends. I am lucky they are there. I must concentrate on the good and leave the snakes to feed on themselves. They will you know. They only have each other and they know they're snakes. I will pray for them.

Pre-Show Publicity

Yesterday I had this thought on that silly squirrel of a man who used to be the President’s press secretary. You know. What’s his name? The man who was invisible after he left the position. You know. The man who was beaten like a redheaded stepchild every time he opened his mouth. You know. The man, or should I say, silly boy dressed like a man, who is the darling of the press today because he is doing Finally! What they wanted him to do for all the time he was at the podium.

As far as I am concerned his book is nothing but a way to donate millions of dollars in advertising and propaganda to the DNC and avoid all those silly rules the rest of us have to follow. The publisher gives this guy who knows how much money and he spews forth all of the pent up garbage he has squashed since he was called fatso in the 3rd grade. He is wined and dined and on the news and seen as a “whistleblower” although it is long after the fact. He will be and has been on every news show morning noon and night. If he isn’t on personally someone will read some skanky tidbit of nothing but his insecure and poor me rantings that have no factual back up. Everyone will ooooh and aaaah about “Bush Lied” as if that hasn’t been disproved time and time again. The people who want to believe that still do. The people with an independent mind have done the research and know the truth. The release of this garbage is timed to carry the drumbeat through July and bring the convention into the world as the place where the Messiah will be announced. Like Kerry not many years ago, he will march to the podium, light will shine down upon his head and the world will breathe a sigh of relief that we will finally be free. Free at Last!!!

Oh Bother. What a load. Yawn. Get a new director. That show folded real fast the last time it came around.

Aches and Pains

Hit a bucket of golf balls yesterday. Last season my husband had a high ankle sprain that was delayed healing by his continuous stepping off curbs incorrectly and falling while carrying heavy loads of laundry and basically not wearing that huge boot that he was ordered to wear ALL the time. Couldn't golf without him as he would feel very bad so we both sat out the season. Now! He has been healed for the whole winter and we are ready. We went to the driving range with a buy one get one free coupon. I, as one would, went for the biggest bucket to get the most bang for our buck. Fortunately my husband was the voice of reason and talked me down to the medium size. I can't imagine how much pain I would be in now if I hadn't listened to him. We shared the coupon so we got two medium buckets for the price of one. We are so frugal. By the time we were almost to the bottom, the groans and moans from both of us as we bent down to pick up a ball and then bent down to tee it up. That was before the true muscle pain set in. Should have gone for the small bucket. Motrin!!! You should have been there last night.

Now I have to meet my friends for a 3 mile walk. In my case it might be called a shuffle. At least the sun is out, the sky is bright blue and all the dogwood trees are blooming. I will be the creaking groaning woman sneezing as I try to keep up with the others. Later.

No More Propaganda, Sorry I Mean News

I am fatigued by the manipulation of the ruling class which is composed of the elected legislators both federal and local. There is a pattern emerging, at least to me. . . read this from a biography of Leon Trotsky:

"Trotsky's perspective--which is also, in this case, Marx's--is that history is inevitably moving toward communism all on its own. The more the workers are exploited, the greater will be the number of people who side with them. Eventually, according to Marx and Trotsky, worker exploitation will become so bad that a critical mass of the people will see the "true face" of the for-profit economic system, and will take over the state in order to put in place a different economic system where everyone has ownership."

The system where everyone has ownership. Hmmmm. Now let's see which political party is more attuned to that system. Hmmmm. How are the gas prices? How are those profits at the oil companies? Is everyone feeling exploited enough? No? Well then turn on more restrictions and tax everyone more so that production might be reduced here as well. What a great way to exploit everyone. Yes! Not only will the prices increase but now? Man, what great fun, there will be a shortage. Lines at the pumps, reduced availability equals more costly freight, all products and most especially food will soar. Oh lets pay the farmers even more money to let their land sit idle. Throw in some food stamp money because there will be more peasants, sorry, make that citizens who will need them. Thank you George Soros for whispering in so many ears. Oh. Maybe not just George. But thanks anyway. We need that drumbeat of misery and the actual mess that Congress has created for us in order to seat the right person in November. Let's find one who can tell us how miserable we are with style and grace. Yes. We. Can.

I am laying off the news for a while. Baseball and basketball will fill me up thanks.

Nature or Nurture??

There's a picture of my Dad in the book case here. He is at the office and maybe he's in his fifties. He is wearing a suit but the jacket is off and his white shirt has the sleeves rolled up. He's a handsome dude, honestly, he is or was. He is leaning on a counter and has one hand on his hip. He is holding a cigar, he smoked them forever and when he had to quit he held on to one and never lit it up. Point of this is that the pose he is holding in that picture is one he assumed in another years and years before. He is standing next to a Model T or A or whatever, an old Ford from the 20's or 30's and he has one hand on his hip and the other on the car. My mother wrote on the picture "Little Man Big Car". She was, as they say a "buster". I just noticed that tonight. The pose not that mother was a "buster" I knew that forever and am told I have her qualities. Why? I wonder, did I just notice dad's pose?

I saw a special ages ago on the PBS channel and it concerned a group of kids that were filmed on the first day of nursery school and then 5 years later or so and then so much longer and the point of the special was that there are some things that never change. They showed the first film and the last tape over twenty years later and sure enough!!! The poses were so similar that, even if you couldn't recognize the faces you could certainly recognize the body language and the behaviors. Hmmmm! Nature? or Nurture???

I am going to try to scan those pictures of the handsome dude who was and is my father and you can see for yourself.....have to figure out that scanner first. Later 'Gater!

Just a Thought or two

Long week for sure. Next week probably the same but there is a baseball game on Tuesday and we will be there. Of course they, they being the Red Sox, are on a losing streak and my fervent desire is that they break that streak by or on Tuesday. The ride home with the hub will be so gloomy otherwise.

This week our niece graduated from nursing school. She is so dear to us. It's funny isn't it, how some kids have a really rough childhood, parents feuding and indulging in adult beverages or other things, shuttled off from time to time with relatives, barely enough money to survive - those things and yet some kids grow into such wonderful, beautifully mannered, goal oriented and disciplined adults. It is funny. Isn't it? Because other kids with some troubles turn into adults who behave like they were raised by wolves. I have all manner of that around me. This girl though? She is an amazing woman.

The graduation brought out that part of me that yearns for order and tradition. The graduating class was dressed in nurse caps, white dresses or in the case of the men suits, white hose and shoes and each carried a red rose. It was lovely. The graduates were all ages and sizes and came from any number of places and backgrounds. They were all joined by the determination they shared to make a change in their own lives and make a difference in the lives of others. As Joanne Woodward said in some movie that sticks with me for who knows what reason, "My heart was full."

Now I must off to the office, roll up my sleeves and plunge even deeper into the bowels of this business in which I find myself entwined.

God Loves Us

Woke up to the Word on radio as I do often. The message often gets garbled as I am half awake. Sometimes it turns into my dream and when I finally get to the awake part I have great confusion over the dream and the radio and ....I'm sure you get it. This morning I was listening to Nancy Leigh DeMoss (sp?) and she was talking about how, when times are challenging (I love that expression) and life is tough you don't often have time to do this but later, when the calm hits and it will, you discern the hand of God guiding you through the turmoil. I have to confess to this. It is true.

I came downstairs and made the coffee and prayed to not hate some people as I do often. I need my heart to be changed and opened by God and every now and then I think I've got it and I hear something or think something and WHAM!!! There it is. That blind consuming RAGE and I am almost out of breath because of it. Enough of that. I am praying and praying to God that the RAGE be reduced to rage and then changed to I don't care and then turned to I wouldn't throw them anchors if they were drowning and then to yeah okay we can co-exist and then love as is the command to do to thy neighbor.

Whew! See why I need to pray mightily? Back to the story. That one where later, after the crisis, you look back and see that God was there all along and that's how you got through it.

Well I checked through the Web spots that I do and there is a story about how not religious these people are but they were raised to be. Adolescence and life pulled them from their respective churches and now religion? Not so good for them, they say. They want to enroll their children in school and there is a long waiting list but if you are a member of the local church then? You get on a priority list. Their children mean the earth to them. The school is a wonderful school. You got it. They are going to church. I mean to tell you God knocks on that door and hunts you down and will find a way to get to you. Don't ever tell me that God is not in charge of this universe. Call that what you will but He found a way to get them to church now, didn't He? I would leave a comment on that blog but she would hunt me down and do me in. I feel safe here. Silly me.

I am back to praying now. I know He will get me there. Have a nice day.

Dopes

Woke up this morning and maybe it's the weather, maybe not but I am in a "What the *&#?" kind of mood. That **&)%? fill in the blanks to use whatever you may normally use.

First I read that UMass has been asked to rescind the honors they granted to that Mugabe horror. They have been dragging their feet because they have no precedent to fall back on. It's never been done before. What do we do???. And these are the educators we rely on to train our young. I guess researching the guy's character before honoring him had never been done before either. I guess opening your eyes to see the horrors he has inflicted on the people in his country was something unheard of. I guess we just honor any true dictator that comes our way. I guess total destruction of a healthy economy is a skill we admire and want to encourage in others. Thus, we grant honor and distinction to all we can find who fit our mold. Blech!!! Send those administrators more money. It's for the children.

My blood pressure is rising and I must off to the medicine cabinet. What a mess!

Happy Mothers' Day - What Else?

Happy Mother's Day Mom. I lost you on May 9, 1999 and have ever since reached for the phone to call you at various times since that's what I did for as many years as I can remember. I called you every single day if I didn't see you. Talk about enmeshed! But somehow it wasn't that at all. You were my friend finally after years of mothering and smothering. We laughed and cried and had these little differences of opinion which anyone in the world would have called a fight but since you told the world that you and your daughter never ever fought, what else could those discussions have been called? Debates? Sharing ideas? Oh well, never the less, we always apologized if necessary and you never really had to now did you?

On Mother's Day you were always in Florida. Dad eventually had the year down to Florida and here. You would leave in October and return mid-May thus always missing Mother's Day. That is why I always called you on Mother's Day and I feel the need to do so now. For those of you who checked the calendar for 1999, you will take note that in that year May 9th was Mother's Day. Yes, the one year she was here she decided not to be.

My mother always told the story of how, on Mother's Day at her church when she was a child, the kids would be given carnations, either pink or white. One color meant that your mother was alive and the other? Not. She was always so sad for the children with that color and she was so glad she had her mother and the moral of that story was that we should be glad too. We were. Really. She just had some trouble accepting our limitations in telling her. Somethings are said with actions as well as words and I spent all of my life loving her and trying to convince her that I did. She was a powerful lady in my life and she is in my mind and on my mind.

Most of our "differences of opinion" revolved around the actions I took to have a life separate from hers. She certainly wanted me to since that is the goal of parents. She knew that was the goal. It was just a very painful thing for her to achieve. Achieve it I did, in some cases with her blessing and in others not so much. In the not so much cases I usually regretted tossing her cautions aside but as most of us do, I had trouble letting her know. As I got older and we became more friends than not, I would go back over some of those moments and she was so thrilled to hear that her words made an impression. I'm glad I did that. Those confessions were gifts of untold value to her.

I could go on and on and suppose I have in the past and will in the future. Suffice to say that I wish the color of my carnation were the other and Mom, I love you and wish I could pick up the phone and tell you so.

Hope everyone with the other color carnation is either with Mom today or telling her they wish they were. Happy Mother's Day to all.