I returned home Wednesday night from a road trip with my bowling team. We drove to Reno, Nevada where the national bowling tournament is being held this year. It's not that we are really good bowlers, it's just that it was a good excuse to go gamble. If you fork over the money, any league bowler can participate in the nationals. I bowled about half of the nine games under my average and half over my average (159) so I guess it was an average bowling trip. As for gambling... it was another losing trip. I had a great time in spite of the losses.

As we were driving down the highway south to Reno, I became aware of something so very disgusting I can't get it off my mind. Here I am 54 years old and I finally figured out something about a particular type of trash on the sides of the road. For years I have noticed plastic bottles of amber liquid sitting on the sides of the road. I have never really thought much about it before, beyond the fact that somebody must have pulled off beside the road for some reason or another and had accidentally left their soda sitting there. Talk about clueless! I have no idea why, all of a sudden, on this trip I figured out that these bottles are full of urine! Of course I had to google this crazy idea of mine to be sure. And apparently according to this article... "Jugs of Pee appear to be a national epidemic, although reports continue to emanate chiefly from the West. The littering of highways with urine-filled plastic bottles is traditionally linked to weak bladdered long-haul rig drivers, despite official denials by trucker trade associations." To read the rest of this article, check out this link: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/rant/pee.html Now the new road game is "count the jugs of pee". Ugggg!

 

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to spend time with a group of people who I rarely spend time with. Welfare recipients.

Let me start my rant with a few facts. I am fifty four years old and Sam is almost sixty. We've both worked since we were in our teens. I did take one year off after the birth of our daughter and when I went back, it was only part time and I am still part time to this day. Even so, Sam and I have good work ethics and make enough money to take care of ourselves. So I get a little irritated when I hear about people, like some of them who I spent time with this weekend, that don't work and take full advantage of government hand outs.

I can't understand how people, too lazy to make their own way, get away with this time and again. Several of these people I spent time with this weekend have histories of drug abuse. Years of drug abuse. Enough to make them unable to work? Apparently... for several of them are on social security disability for the mere reason they can't function in a job situation because they have fried their brains. Bullshit! They just got lazy from the drugs! So for that they get a paycheck from our government. And they have the gall to cry because they need a raise? Are you kidding me??? These people had the same opportunities as me but they made bad choices. What ever happened to consequences for your actions. I'm tired of these people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. Why shouldn't they have to suffer for their mistakes, we (the working class) do.

There were several young people there who don't work, as well as young mothers with two and three small children. Guess who puts food in these mouths?

I was floored to listen to one man who told Sam and I he was disabled with a bad back. This guy is several years younger than me. I asked him how he hurt his back and he said it was job related, from several years of driving around as a salesman. Hard work he said... all that driving. I couldn't help but think about all of the truck drivers out there and all of the miles they put on and still drive after years of trucking. I wondered what Sam thought as he listened to this conversation. Sam, self employed with a well drilling business, works by himself and believe me it is HARD physical labor running that heavy equipment. At one point this man who has a bad back, had somebody grab him from behind and lift him off the ground in an attempt to pop his spine. That doesn't seem like somebody with a disability to me!

Okay, back to this group of people I spent time with. Almost every single one of these people who hold their hands out for food stamps, or whatever they are called these days, are grossly overweight. Hell, it's obvious they are getting too much in entitlements! I happened to be at a potluck picnic with this group and the food they brought was outrageously fattening and plentiful. I'm sorry, but I think people who get help with food should be made to learn how to prepare food from scratch. Just like in the good old days. Learn how to make meals with potatoes, rice and flour, etc. Learn how to prepare well balanced and nutritious meals. No more fast food and convenience food. If they aren't working all day long, they might as well spend some quality time in the kitchen. They shouldn't get to be fat!

As I sat around and listened to these overweight people talk about their ailments and their aches and pains, I couldn't help but think that many of their problems stem from their weight. Then I realized they also get free medical attention and I was very resentful. I won't even go into my insurance rant because I get so worked up over it, I'd only lose sleep. I don't want to go there tonight.

So how did I end up with this particular group of people this weekend, you ask? It was a family gathering. A side of the family I don't see very often. I love them very much but, my god, their lifestyles make me so damned angry. They abuse the system just like millions of others do too.

There definitely needs to be some changes made to the welfare system. I hope there is a solution out there somewhere for the sake of its and our future. I actually felt cheated, being in the minority of working people.



 

Why yes, of course we are doing our taxes on April 15th. Doesn't everybody? Being self employed (both of us), we generally never get a refund so there is no incentive for us to be in a hurry to file. We'll spend several hours with turbo tax, have a few arguments, drink several shots of whiskey and soon enough, our taxes will be e-filed . . . then we'll drown our sorrows by imbibing in more of that old fashion pain killer. It's the same every year.

The Nonsense Contest is over and out of the eleven entries which I reviewed, I received six thank yous. Its not like I sent out rude reviews. It really sucks to put up a contest, and get that sort of behavior back. Only three contestants out of five who were awarded gps for placing even bothered to reply back with a thank you. It's discouraging to say the least! I will probably not waste any more effort hosting a contest, if that's what can be expected in return.

May 1st will be my sixth WDC birthday — longer than I have stayed at any site. I might be getting a bit burned out though since I find I'm spending less and less time here. I've been encouraged and discouraged here. Recently, I had a judge of a contest make the comment that the comic sans font I normally use was not appropriate for my story. Are you kidding me? Now how's that for discouraging. Also I have not been inspired to write any new poetry in quite a while. I don't even try. It's not writer's block... it's just lack of interest. Maybe I just need to take some time away. We shall see... the writing bug may bite me when I least expect it.

In the meantime it IS getting close to Farmer's Market time again and I need to spend some time this next month before the market starts doing some rock painting in preparation. Summer is going to take me outside a bunch with yard work and camping and jeeping. Even if I don't do much writing, I'll still be doing things I love.

Turbo Tax and a bottle of Jack are calling to me... guess I better go.
 

I got a review on one of my poems that was totally ridiculous. I suppose I ought to quit allowing them because when reviews come from the hands of some inept reviewer such as this person... it loses all purpose. It was easy to tell that this review was written to fit a broad variety of poetry:

Title: A good title that is suitable to the subject of your poem.

Spelling,grammar and punctuation: I could find no errors.

Flow/Rhythm: The rhyme scheme is very good, as is the rhythm. the flow is nice and easy. The form is very nice, being centered on the page, which I think looks attractive. This, of course, is a matter of taste, and what I prefer.

Rhyme: Rhyme is nice.

Word Choice: Word selection is good and makes for easy reading.

Suggestions: None.

There was not a single rhyme in my poem! Good Grief!! I wonder if this reviewer even read my poem.
 

My good friend Bob (Candlemaker) put this to me today: "What would you list as your positive and negative traits." Why? I don't know, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to reflect on who I am. Maybe it's a good time to evaluate this person I've become and note if there are some things that could/should be changed. Wait... should a person try to change at this late date? hmmm I'll ask myself that after I make the lists. Here goes:

Positive Traits

1. I am eternally optimistic
2. Whatever I do, I do my best
3. I am trustworthy to a fault
4. I always try to be as fair as possible
5. I am a non-conformist
6. I hate being the center of attention
7. I'm normally very quiet around people
8. I'm considerate of others
9. I'm a kidder
10. I keep my body fit
11. I'm usually a happy person
12. I'm honest

Negative Traits

1. I think our society is mostly ridiculous
2. I sometimes judge people before I know their story
3. I have bad road rage
4. I think I'm always right, and usually I am
5. I am a non-conformist
6. When I drink, too often it's in excess
7. I won't take crap from others
8. I can hold a grudge for a long time
9. I'm extremely shy in groups of people I don't know
10. I let winter get me down
11. I'm too blunt sometimes usually
12. I hate politics and politicians
13. I'm impatient


That was harder than I thought it would be especially the negative list. I find some of what I put in my negative list I actually consider good stuff, but maybe I don't go about dealing with it in the best way. Like not taking crap from others... I lack subtlety when I feel confronted or cheated.

I think it might be more accurate to have people who know me well make the negative list. I bet there are things others notice that I don't. But of course that might be too painful. I'm going to have to ponder this some more. I might be adding to this list often.
 

A couple of weeks ago, we received in the mail, a promotion from Buick. If we went to our local dealer and test drove a Buick Verano we would receive a $50 American Express Reward card. Well, it just so happened that it was time to take my car in for it's 25,000 mile check up, so last week while we were at the GM dealer waiting for my car, we thought we'd take Buick up on it's offer. Why not? $50 could be a nice dinner somewhere for us.

Evidently it was a slow day because there were quite a few salesman just hanging around the showroom floor. So we walked up to one and showed him the offer from Buick. The guy looked at it and rolled his eyes. Right away we could tell he didn't want to be bothered with it. He called over another salesman and gave it to him. The next guy read it over and gave the first salesman a look that I read as "You didn't just try to pawn these freeloaders off on me, did you?" They didn't have to say it outloud, Sam and I could tell we were getting the run around.

The second guy tells us, "Here's the deal folks, we get people in here with these kinds of special offers and THEY have no intentions of buying a car. They just want the free stuff. So what we do is skip the test drive, give 'em what they came in for and send them on their way. All we ask is if you are asked in a survey how the test drive was, give us a favorable response." He was trying to wash his hands of us!

Sam says, "Look, I am waiting for my car to be serviced. I have no intention of buying a new car because mine is just fine. But why wouldn't we take advantage of this offer while we are here?" Then I said, "Can we at least look at the car?" How ironic, we are begging the salesmen to show us something and they don't want to.

When it was determined we would not go away until we were shown the car, then they got into a discussion as to whether they even HAVE a Verano on the lot. A third salesman, probably low man on the totem pole, had wandered over during the course of the whole explanation of how this should be handled. He informed them, yes, there is one. The first two turned to the third and said, "Take them out and show it to them." I turned to see that the third guy was slowly backing away and staring out the window like he wasn't hearing. The first salesman said to him, "Do you have a plate?" The guy is still staring out the window like he was trying to figure out how to get out of having to take us out for a test drive.

Finally Sam said, " Fine, we don't have to go for a test drive, just point us to where the car is so we can LOOK at it."

As you can imagine, we could hardly believe how we were being treated. Could these guys not see the BIG picture? We may not be buying a car that day, but we are potential future customers. We had actually already bought two cars from that dealership in the past six years. Our salesman was not with them anymore, so here was a chance for somebody to make an impression on us by simply being nice. It wouldn't have taken much . . . just a nice handshake, a "hi my name is ____, let me take you out and show you the Verano". A little enthusiasm would have went a long way with us.

Wait . . . that's not the end of the story. The third guy did end up taking us out and half-heartedly told us a few things about the car. I must say it is a VERY nice car, BTW. If I were in the market I'd think real hard on it. So this is how the story ends: (unless I decide to contact Buick)

We came back to the showroom, the third salesman then gave the promotional brochure we had gotten in the mail to yet another gentleman and quickly disappeared. Sam and I stood around for a while, waiting for . . . well we didn't know what else to do. Nobody was telling us how to proceed. I finally decided to just go sit in the waiting room and wait for our car. After a while, another guy came and said, "This is what you do to get your promotional $50. Take this card (the one we brought in), go to this website and type in your ID number (pre-printed on the card), then type in this BAC number" (their dealership ID... a number he had written on the card). Good... it's over! God what a bunch of hoops we had to jump through just to get a measly $50. Not feeling like it was worth it at all.

We get our car and go home, Sam pulls up the Buick website, types all the numbers in and it's rejected because there should be six digits in the dealership ID number and he gave us FIVE! Sam calls the dealership and explains to the gal on the phone what has happened and that he needs that BAC number again with SIX digits. The gal asks him, "Who was your salesman?" It was at this point we realized not one of the guys ever told us their name. Sam tells the gal he had dealt with five different people and he didn't know anybody's name.

Then she had the nerve to say to Sam, "Well, maybe you should just come back down here and start over."

I would have slammed the phone in her ear about then. But Sam went ahead and described the third salesman to her, the one who actually showed us the car. She put him through to that salesman's phone and it rang and rang and went to voicemail. Sam hung up. We never called back. The offer expires tomorrow but we refuse to jump through anymore of their hoops. When Sam's pick-up needs replaced in a few years, we will not even consider shopping with them.

Note to salesmen: Treat everybody as if they have just won the lottery, because you just never know!


 

Today, I am going to rant in a way that definitely shows my heartless side, but I don't care. It is what it is. Why won't Uncle Asshole die!!? Over the course of many years, this disgusting man monster made life a living hell for so many people I love. For the past several months he's either been in the hospital or in a nursing home. It is my opinion that if his doctors really knew him they would not be so kind as to keep him alive. I just wish he would die and give my aunt some peace for the remainder of her life.

Back in the late 60's or early 70's, I really don't remember when it was exactly, but I was still an innocent child. That's when Uncle Asshole made me touch him. I knew he beat his own kids and I was afraid of him, but as a kid, there were so many things I did not know about or understand. In the years following, his evil ways started to come to light, I realized he molested his kids as well as beat them. I discovered he molested other young girls in our family too. I was one of the lucky ones. It never went further than the touching thing for me. When my dad found out, he threatened Uncle Asshole with a gun, so he left me alone after that.
I remember going to the courthouse with my mom and telling somebody what I knew. Some of my other cousins were there too, but we were not allowed to talk to each other. I believe he went to trial, but nothing happened. I was sheltered from that ugly family matter as it was swept under the rug. It's just been in the last 10 years or so that I finally asked my mom what happened. He was ordered to go to some sort of rehabilitation classes. Why he was allowed by the courts to continue to molest for countless years, I still to this day don't understand. Apparently he does not have to register as a sex offender, because I have looked him up and he's not listed! I have never forgotten about a letter to Ann Landers I read years ago, from a sex offender who said, they, himself included cannot change. There is no rehabilitation to fix these sick minds. I believe him because years later, after Dad died, and his threat with him, the monster started molesting my little sister. I would probably be shocked at how many lives he messed up. Forty-some years later I still cry when I think about what he did. Thank goodness they are tougher on creeps like him these days than they were then.

Why should he keep on living? Why do doctors keep people alive when it's just a matter of time. They know he's a goner yet they prolong his miserable life? In the meantime, what is left of the family savings for my sweet little Aunt to live on is being eaten up by medical expenses. No doubt he will hold on until she is left destitute. Why can't he step up and say, I'm 78 years old just let me die? Because he's a damned coward, that's why! He's afraid to face his maker. No... it's hell... he knows he's going to hell! Pathetic excuse for a human being! I'll never forgive him. I want him to just DIE!



 

(In-law, that is)

We got the news last night in a series of e-mail pictures from Shannon that she is engaged.

Russ proposed to her while they were hiking on top of the Sandia Mountains, out of Albuquerque. First she sent pictures of the view from atop the mountain, then she sent a picture of her "favorite view". It was a picture of the beautiful ring on her finger. I'm so thrilled for her.... she is a very happy girl right now. She wants a summer wedding, but since they are in the process of a move from Albuquerque to Seattle in the next month, she's not sure if things will be settled enough to get a wedding planned for this summer. We might be waiting until next summer... which would be a good thing since I didn't know quite how to tell her we spent her wedding money on a motor home! haha

We can always hope she doesn't want to stick with tradition where the bride's parents pay for the wedding. Maybe they'll start a new tradition where the groom himself pays for everything. Yeah... that works for me. He's loaded... especially now. He's got the best treasure of all.... he's got Shannon.
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UejelYnVI3U

I heard that 70's tune "Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road" today and I can't get the stupid thing out of my head! Crazy how something so ridiculous is still remembered forty some years later. I remember a gal I went to school with (a former beauty pageant contestant) actually sang that song at our 20th class reunion. Interesting choice, I thought.

This all brings to mind a night in my past where, by some miracle, I escaped being doused by one of these cute, black and white furry creatures. (this one wasn't dead in the middle of the road though)

We'd been having trouble with wandering dogs all that summer (we don't have dogs ourselves). They'd been coming around at night while we slept, terrorizing our outside cats. Several mornings we'd find the five gallon plastic bucket in which we stored the cat food in, tipped over with the lid off. It was very irritating to be feeding all of the neighboring animals as well as our own.

One night I woke up to a loud racket outside and decided I was going to go out and scare off the thief. Sam was working out of town at that time so it was up to me to take care of business. I quietly snuck out through the front door and tiptoed around the side of the house. Sure enough the bucket was tipped over and even though it was dark, I could tell the intruder was still chowing down. And, even though I was blind, because I had not thought to put on my glasses before heading outside, I could see this thief was smaller than I had thought I'd find. I determined it was one our own cats who was getting into the food each night!

So I soundlessly crept over to where it was preoccupied inside the bucket. I got down to it's level so I could get a clearer view of exactly which cat was the culprit. Then, getting even closer because of my poor vision, I said out loud, "Which one are you?"

The creature back itself out of the bucket and turned to face me . . . nose to nose. My eyes had had time to adjust by then and it didn't take long for me to realize this was not a cat but a skunk! I wish I'd have had a video of that moment because I suspect I defied gravity and broke the sound barrier all in the same instant. I swear I was back inside the house the exact moment I saw the white stripe. I never knew anyone, let alone myself, could move THAT fast!

No spraying was done that night... but several nights later we were woke out of a sound sleep by this hideous odor wafting through the house. We'd left the back door open and the skunk must have had a run-in with one of the cats and sprayed the back steps. For the rest of the summer, whenever I put the hose to the steps, the smell revisited us. Ugggg!

Oh yeah, there was a dead skunk on the highway a week or so later... stinkin' to high heaven.
 

My husband had a dentist appointment this morning so I let him take my car to town because it gets better gas mileage than his pick-up. On his way back home, less than a mile from our house, he hit a dog. It was one of those unavoidable accidents. Apparently there were three very large dogs chasing a pick-up truck coming toward Sam. Right at the point where Sam and the pick-up met, the dogs decided to stop chasing and return to their yard.... right in the path of my car which was traveling at 55 mph. Luckily he only hit one of them, but it had to have badly hurt that one dog. Sam stopped, but the dog had managed to get up and go into his yard. The other two dogs were barking furiously at Sam from the yard, so he stood beside the car hoping somebody would come to the door and see what was going on, but nobody ever did and he wasn't about to go into the yard with those dogs, so he came home.

My car was damaged some, which really bums me out. The owners of the dog should be liable for fixing my car, but now, how does one go back to the house after having left the injured dog there unattended? How do you tell the dog owner they have to pay for a damaged car when their dog might be dead for all we know? How do you prove the damage was caused by their dog, with no witnesses to support your story?

We have a very high deductible on our insurance, so the carelessness of others is probably going to cost us. We are both just sick about this. It's just not right. Too bad Sam didn't take his pick-up to town today.

Why can't people be more responsible for their dogs? There are too many that are allowed to roam free. I have seen dogs on the road at this location more than once, so, if they had just gotten loose today... I'm pretty sure it's happened before. You'd think the owners would figure out how they get out and fix the problem. Maybe they don't care. Poor dogs.