A Real Good Example...

I've been talking incessantly about how much rain we've had this year, nearly 70 inches to date for 2009. So far, it is recorded as the 5th wettest year EVER, and the year is not over. We have two more months.

Another big storm came through last week and it poured all day Thursday, dumping almost 7 inches of rain in less than 24 hours. Our state was hit with damaging winds, violent tornadoes and flash flooding.

This video of a rescue demonstrates clearly the danger even our city dwellers are facing because of the over-saturation of the ground and the continued rain fall. The video was filmed in Little Rock on 7th Street, a mostly residential/neighborhood business area.



An update on this situation from the Arkansas Times:

The Times has managed to get hold of Thomas Hudson, the young man seen in the KARK video heroically swimming out to rescue a mother and her young child from a submerged car on 7th street last night.

Hudson, a local photographer, said that he had gone to Whitewater Tavern for a drink, and had heard about flooding below the nearby viaduct. One car had already been submerged there, though the occupants were able to escape unharmed. While in the bar, Hudson and other patrons decided to walk over to 7th Street to see if the car had been pulled out yet. That's when they saw another car, the SUV seen in the video, go into the water.

The SUV didn't seem to have gone in very deep before stalling out, Hudson said, so he decided to back his truck down to where it sat and see if he could pull it out with a strap he had in his pickup. By the time he got his truck to the edge of the water, however, the SUV had started to float. It was soon dragged by the current into deeper water, and began to rapidly sink. The woman inside yelled to him that she couldn't swim, and that there was a child inside. By that time, a firetruck had arrived, but the firefighters were still staging their gear. That's when Hudson made a decision. "I said screw it, and I went in," he said.

By the time he reached the SUV, only the back windows were above water. The doors were locked. In the light from the firetruck, he saw the child's face pressed into a tiny pocket of air at the back of the car. He tried punching out the window, he said, but couldn't break it. Soon, a firefighter arrived with an axe and broke the window. The firefighter pulled out the child, while Hudson managed to pull the woman out by her leg.

In the end, the Arkansas Times asked Hudson the obvious question: when there were so many other people around, why was he the only one who went in to save the woman and her child? His answer is a near-perfect encapsulation of what it is to be a hero: "My thought is that if you're in a position to help someone and you can do it, you have a moral obligation to do it," he said. "I ask the opposite question: what if I hadn't done it?"

It's a beautiful mornin', ahhh... I think I'll go outside a while... An jus' smile ~ The Rascals

It is beautiful this morning. No rain. The sun is out. I went for a 2-mile walk and it went great ~ done in 30 minutes. It started out at 42 degrees, but now it's about 50 degrees.

The rain has been incredible. Lots of flooding everywhere, even in our county and town. A couple miles from where we used to live out in the country, rescue workers had to use a canoe to reach a stranded motorist who'd left his car that got stuck in rushing water over the road. I wondered how our old house fared. I think the house is probably okay, but I'll bet the garage totally flooded since it is about 2-1/2 feet lower than the house.

Any way, I slept well and I'm feeling pretty good. I feel even better after my walk. I have really missed getting outside.

Tom went to the church to pick up the cross he made for the sanctuary wall. He's putting rope lights in the back to set it off against the wall. It's beautiful.

When Tom gets home and after my shower, we are going shopping for Hagan's birthday gift, then for supplemental groceries (milk, stuff for salad, etc.).

It looks to be a nice relaxing (and dry) weekend.

Just When You Think It Couldn't Get Worse...

This afternoon from the Huffington Post:

Jon Gosselin And Octomom Set To Date On Reality Show
Kate Gosselin may go back to being a nurse, but her estranged husband's next career move is reportedly to date Octomom Nadya Suleman on television.

In Touch Weekly released the following statement:

According to former Cheaters producer Bobby Goldstein, Jon has agreed to star in a cheesy new reality show in which he'll date Octomom Nadya Suleman, who called Jon "hot" recently. "I heard that Nadya has an insatiable desire to spend time with Jon and to put their families together," Goldstein tells In Touch. "And I had the idea that this could be a very entertaining fiasco."

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE only if your near a shower. Please tell me this is not for real!

Three Words: Whiskey...Tango...Foxtrot !!!!

Rain is usually the thing that fucks up people's day, it pisses them off and makes them want nothing to do with it. ~ Johnny Depp

I knew I liked Johnny Depp.

Yes, it's raining again. Still. Perpetually. Repeatedly. Unceasingly. Continuously. So far this October, it has rained 20 days out of 27. Some bright, shiny, happy, smiling weather guy on tv said it differently, "We've had 7 days of sunshine this month!" I say, "Shut the hell up, Barry! Those were just unrainy days!"

So, as of yesterday, central Arkansas has received 61.53 inches of rain so far this year and we are on our way to breaking in to the top 10 wettest years on record. And, baby, I'm here to witness the record breaker! Lucky me.

I'm cranky. I'm pissy. I'm grouchy. I'm completely unmotivated. I just wish Thanksgiving was here so I could get the hell on that airplane that will take me to another part of the country and a much needed change in scenery. I already have cabin fever and winter hasn't officially even started yet.

With my luck, Thanksgiving week will be the only freakin' time all year that it rains in California!

Headline: "Five Ways to Look Skinnier Without Surgery"

The answer is simple: 5 pairs of Spanx.

Yes, they are a lie, but they're a good lie.

Happy 41st Anniversary Tom!

I have been thinking a lot about how to honor this day, 41 years of my life with you.


I thought about writing about what it's been like to be married to you, but I couldn't do that without chronicling the events that we've experienced together and that would be a book, not a blog post.


Instead, I thought I would merely list some of the things I love about you.

I love that you are a big guy in stature, but have such a gentle nature.

I love your compassion and acceptance of people, regardless of their background or politics or any other differences.

I love how you love me so openly and never hesitate to display your affection.

I love that you sometimes bring me flowers for no reason except that you love me.

I love how you quietly reach out and hold my hand when we are watching television or a movie.

I love that you cry at the touching or sad parts of movies or television shows, sometimes even before me.

I love that you love our sons no matter what.

I love how you show your grandchildren how much you love them, even when they are being their silliest or most outlandish.

I love how you work so hard with rarely a complaint and I love how proud you are of the work you do.

I love you for teaching our sons their basic work skills and work ethic.

I love how you took care of my mom while I established myself at my new job, making sure she went to her doctor's appointments, took her meds, everything, including fighting with her doctor to finally get her tested for dementia.

I love how you are so comfortable in your own skin.

I love your confidence.

I love your integrity.

I love how charming and charismatic you are.

I love how other people, especially women and children, gravitate towards you because you are so warm and safe.

I love how strong you are, even though you don't think you're not as strong as you used to be.

I love that you really love vegetables.

I love how your arms wrap all the way around me when you give me a hug.

I love how you always touch me, on the shoulder or back or head, when you pass by me in a room.

I love that you always want to kiss me good-bye, even when you're only going to the store.

I love you because I can tell you anything and you're never shocked and always supportive.

I love you because I don't ever have to pretend.

I love you because you always tell the truth, no matter what.

I love that you make coffee for us every single morning.

I love that you cook the best pasta dishes I've ever eaten and you enjoy doing it.

I love that you put on cologne after your shower even though we are staying home and it's only for me.

I love you because I can completely trust you.

I love you because you have taught me so much about myself.

I love that you tell me you love me every night before we go to sleep.

I love the smell of your skin in the morning.

I love you because you are my soul mate, and you believe I am yours.

I love you because you are the sexiest man I know.

I love all the little quotes we use that no one else understands, like how we sometimes start a phone conversation with "And let me tell you why..."

I love you because you are the first person who ever really loved me unconditionally.

I love that you think I'm pretty and sexy whether I'm skinny or fat.

I love that you make laugh every single day, no matter what is going on.

I love you because you are a nicer person than me.

I love you for sharing with me the best 41 years of my life.

Some Things Friday for October 16, 2009

Friday. I don't know why we like it so much. We still have to work. It's still a few more hours until the weekend. But we love us some Friday, don't we. It's all about anticipation and hope. Tomorrow we don't have to work so tomorrow will be awesome. Yes, tomorrow is Saturday, the official first day of the weekend and our anticipation will be rewarded and our hopes for a wonderful day will be realized. This weekend we are hoping to be rain-free. The first in quite a while.

Tomorrow we are planning to go to Little Rock for the Argenta Foodie Festival. Several restaurants will be offering morsels of their usual fare and some of the better establishments have jumped on board. That's a good thing.

Tomorrow night we are going to a local pizza joint, Gusanos, where they mercifully make something that slightly resembles a gourmet pizza (spinach, artichokes, chicken, mozzarella and feta ~ no red sauce!)and will feature a band called Ten Cent Hat. John Michael is a young, 20-something worship leader at our very small church, but he is also a student at a local university and a member of the band. They play some of their own original music, but mostly covers of oldies and southern rock. It will be fun.

But, for today...

Some Things I Love:

1. Tom. Our 41st anniversary is Monday. Freakin' unbelievable! We've spent two thirds of our lives together.

2. That Goldie's new owner sent us a photo of her with their other dog. She looks pretty darn happy, don't you think?

I am certain we made the right decision.

3. I called just in time to get into a Photoshop class! It is now full!

4. We sold our tickets for Wizard of Oz and Cirque Dreams Holidaze. We will be gone for both of those performances, but at least we have a little money in our account to use towards our season tickets next year.

5. Facebook!! I am reconnecting with family and friends I haven't seen in ages. It is like my past and present are converging...in a very good way.

Some Things I Hate:

1. That Tom has to lay off The Kid today. Work has slowed down. I hope work picks up before The Kid finds a new job so Tom can hire him back.

2. Praxis Financial calls every single day! I don't know who they are or why they call, but they call every day at about the same time. We've stopped answering the phone when they call. So this is a message to Praxis Financial: STOP FREAKIN' CALLING ME!!!

3. Having to carry a purse. I really wish I didn't have to carry all that stuff with me. It's more of a nuisance than a convenience. I'd like to just be able to put stuff in my pockets like guys do and have my hands free.

4. Low waisted jeans. I have a pair. Believe me, it's not pretty.

5. Having to use the U.S. Postal Service for anything.

Some Things I Just Don't Get:

1. Why all of those talking head types have to always yell through their monologues. STOP YELLING AT YOUR VIEWERS!! Please.

2. Why Russell is still on Survivor. He's an ignorant pot-bellied pig and must be voted off!

3. A new poll was released yesterday. Hillary Clinton is now more popular than Barack Obama. Now, while this would have thrilled me to no end last year, I am scratching my head. Why do this now? What's the purpose? Wouldn't it be more telling to compare Bush and Obama in a poll?

4. Why kids are allowed to take scissors to school...in fact, required...and they can't take plastic forks or knives for their lunches. Huh???!!

5. I am still dumbfounded by the fact that there are only 55,000 people who live in Conway, but there are 5 McDonalds, two of which have double drive-through lanes, and all of their locations are packed at all hours. You would think this town eats nothing but McDonalds' burgers.

So that's it for the week. Quite enough actually.

A Special Day Today

Today is my husband's birthday. Today he turned 64 years old.

As is very characteristic, he didn't want anything for his birthday except a nice dinner: Mussels in a Saffron Cream Sauce and Chocolate Flan Cake. He feels like he has everything.

Tom is one of the most loving men I've ever known in my entire life. He has loved me unconditionally from the first time he said, "I love you." And loves his sons, daughters-in-law and grandkids more deeply than they could ever realize. He would do anything within his power for any one of us.

Tom is a man who'd rather give than receive. If you ask him if he is able to do something for you, he doesn't even think twice before saying yes. If it needs to be done and you ask him to do it, it's done.

Tom is also one of the happiest people I know. I joked with him last Sunday as he headed for church that he was going to be the happiest, most upbeat person there even though he was a little depressed. And I was right. He opens the door for church goers, welcomes them with a warm "Good Morning! Good to see you," often shaking their hands or patting their backs.

People are very comfortable with Tom, so much so that even restaurant servers and gas station or grocery clerks find it easy to reveal their very personal problems, issues and idiosyncrasies after Tom merely says "Hi! How are you today?" I tease Tom, asking him to please not ask people how they are because they will tell him, and 30 minutes later, I will still be waiting to leave for the destination or event for which we will now be late.

Tom is a hard and disciplined worker, rising early every single morning without an alarm clock, following his morning routine of coffee, oatmeal, packing his lunch and out the door around 7:15 am. He will work hard all day long, come home, shower, eat dinner, watch a little tv, then do it all again the next day. On weekends he can barely contain himself and by 8:00 am or so, he is out in the yard, in the garage or working on some other project at hand. When he does relax, he prefers to do so on the water in his old sailboat.

So, I have a Chocolate Flan Cake in the oven. Yesterday, Tom bought the mussels and I will cook them in his favorite sauce for dinner with lots of bread on the side to sop up the sauce. And he will think he's had the best birthday ever! Because that's just the kind of guy he is.

Happy Birthday, Honey! I love you and yes, I am grateful for being able to share this life with you.

"Without enough sleep, we all become tall two-year-olds." ~JoJo Jensen, Dirt Farmer Wisdom, 2002

And, today I am about 2-1/2 years old.

Really, I'm pissed. You've all heard the story about Little Bitch across the street.

I started this blog Saturday morning, but I was too tired to continue.

Let me back up a bit by saying that I have been sick since last Thursday. I spent the better part of Thursday in bed with a slight fever, stomach issues (no need to be graphic) and sleeping intermittently. I am still not feeling well this morning and I don't think I feel strong enough to go to my Strong Women class.

I slept fairly well Thursday night, even though I had slept most of the day and Friday I felt a little better.

Friday night it had stopped raining and we decided to open our bedroom windows slightly because the weather has cooled off nicely. Tom and I love to sleep with an open window. We always have. Even when we lived at Lake Tahoe and it was snowing, we'd always have our bedroom window open just a little to enjoy the fresh, cold air. In doing so, we've never had an issue with noise until we moved to this house.

I know have blogged about the noise issue before, but I think I did so when I first started blogging on Myspace before I started this blog. I'll try to make a long story short.

The people who live directly across the street from us are a couple with a son and a daughter. The parents were both teachers (The Dad has since retired) at the local high school. When we moved into this house, The Son had already moved away from home and The Daughter was a senior in high school. About 8 months after we moved in, The Daughter graduated from high school. That's when the issues started.

Party, party, party...nearly every single night. Cars parked up and down the street, loud radios, drinking, revving engines, trips to the liquor store (and this is a dry county, so they have to DRIVE about 18 miles to the next county to buy their booze). Yes, the graduate is underage, as were all of her friends. And, yes, the parents were home...except we learned that it was The Mom who was always home (and drinking with them) while The Dad was off somewhere hunting or fishing or both. So, every time The Dad left for one of his little trips, which was often that first summer, we could expect a party. And, several times after midnight we would call the police.

That first summer was just pure hell, even with our windows closed, until finally in late July Tom decided to have a talk with the Shift Commander at the Police Department. He visited the Police Dept. at the beginning of the night shift, sat down with the Lieutenant and laid out the continuing problem.

• Parties every single weekend, generally Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, but often, too, during the week because it was their summer break.
• Noise (music, cars, revving engines, drunken behavior) until at least 2:00 am, often until 3:00 am.
• Beer cans all over the street the next morning (although at one point, The Mom did take the initiative to put a garbage can out near the curb so the kids would have a more "appropriate" place to throw their beer cans). 
  
• The Mom is home with them, drinking with them, making excuses for them ("they just want to have fun because they just graduated!").
• Kids drive...DRIVE A VEHICLE... to the party having already been drinking and kids leave the party having been drinking.

Finally, the Lieutenant agreed that the next time there was a party, there was reason enough to believe the  kids would be drinking and would be tested, as would The Mom, and when the results were positive, she would also be arrested AND the school board would receive the arrest information.

Tom saw The Dad two days later and had a talk with him, explaining his visit to the Police Department and letting The Dad know the consequences of any further parties. It's been pretty much a party-free zone since then. The Daughter (affectionately known in our house as Little Bitch) moved out of the house that August to attend college, but came back shortly thereafter when she couldn't hack it (surprise, surprise). Then The Daughter moved out again, but comes back periodically to spend the weekend or whatever and those are the times when we can expect (when The Dad has gone somewhere) her coming and going at all hours of the weekend.

The Daughter came back to visit last weekend, The Dad left Friday morning, so we had an issue Friday night. The Daughter gets in her car, starts it up and the music starts blaring immediately. She leaves and, after a short time, comes back, music blaring, pulls into the driveway, turns off the car (and, thankfully, the music), but simply must click her remote at least twice, if not three times, to lock her car, so we are subjected to "BEEP," "BEEP," "BEEP." And, perhaps, she has brought a friend home with her and they can talk loudly and giggle during the entire exit from her car until they finally reach the back door and go inside. Then there is finally quiet again. At 3:20 am, after 5 times going and 5 times coming back, I got up and closed the window.

Saturday morning I was exhausted, in tears, hating everyone and everything, especially where I live and feeling just as sick as I did Thursday.

Look, I know it's because I lived in the country for so long where all we ever heard during the night were crickets, frogs, coyotes, owls and an occasional bobcat. Before that, we lived on an acre of land surrounded by other acreage in Vista, California. We never had to deal with beeping cars, parties, loud music. We always had quiet neighbors or lived in quiet neighborhoods. Moving to this house has been the biggest adjustment I've ever made. Honestly, it's an even bigger adjustment than moving from California to Arkansas.

I was still tired and sick yesterday, so Tom went to church by himself. Though today I am feeling a little better, I think I will rest one more day before attempting to tackle the week.

Pop Quiz ~ Are you ready??

Yes, this is a test. If you are over 40, you will not receive any special dispensation. If you are under 40...well, you can take your chances.

~~~~ WARNING ~~~~
Completing this test ... and doing well ... will make you feel older than you did five minutes ago.

So, get out a piece of paper and a pencil (with a good eraser) and jot down the numbers from 1 to 20. Read each question and put the letter next to the number for each answer.

Remember, laughter and reminiscing are allowed.

Please leave a comment to let me know how you scored! P.S. My score was 19/20 (I missed #15)

Ready?? Begin...

1. In the 1940's, where were automobile headlight dimmer switches located?

1. On the floor shift knob
2. On the floor board, to the left of the clutch
3. Next to the horn

2. The bottle top of a Royal Crown Cola bottle had holes in it. For what was it used?

1. Capture lightning bugs
2. To sprinkle clothes before ironing
3. Large salt shaker

3. Why was having milk delivered a problem in northern winters?

1. Cows got cold and wouldn't produce milk
2. Ice on highways forced delivery by dog sled
3. Milkmen left deliveries outside of front doors and milk would freeze, expanding and pushing up the cardboard bottle top

4. What was the popular chewing gum named for a game of chance?

1. Blackjack
2. Gin
3. Craps

5. What method did women use to look as if they were wearing stockings when none were available due to rationing during WW II?

1. Suntan
2. Leg painting
3. Wearing slacks

6. What postwar car turned automotive design on its ear when you couldn't tell whether it was coming or going?

1. Studebaker
2. Nash Metro
3. Tucker

7. Which was a popular candy when you were a kid?

1. Strips of dried peanut butter
2. Chocolate licorice bars
3. Wax coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water inside

8. How was Butch wax used?

1. To stiffen a flat-top haircut so it stood up
2. To make floors shiny and prevent scuffing
3. On the wheels of roller skates to prevent rust

9. Before inline skates, how did you keep your roller skates attached to your shoes?

1. With clamps, tightened by a skate key
2. Woven straps that crossed the foot
3. Long pieces of twine

10. As a kid, what was considered the best way to reach a decision?

1. Consider all the fact
2. Ask Mom
3. Eeny-meeny-miney-mo

11. What was the most dreaded disease in the 1940's and 1950's?

1. Smallpox
2. AIDS
3. Polio

12. 'I'll be down to get you in a ________, Honey'

1. SUV
2. Taxi
3. Streetcar

13. What was the name of Caroline Kennedy's pony?

1. Old Blue
2. Paint
3. Macaroni

14. What was a Duck-and-Cover Drill?

1. Part of the game of hide and seek
2. What you did when your Mom called you in to do chores
3. Hiding under your desk, and covering your head with your arms in an A-bomb drill

15. What was the name of the Indian Princess on the Howdy Doody show?

1. Princess Summerfallwinterspring
2. Princess Sacajawea
3. Princess Moonshadow

16. What did all the really savvy students do when mimeographed tests were handed out in school?

1. Immediately sniffed the purple ink, as this was believed to get you high
2. Made paper airplanes to see who could sail theirs out the window
3. Wrote another pupil's name on the top, to avoid their failure

17. Why did your Mom shop in stores that gave Green Stamps with purchases?

1. To keep you out of mischief by licking the backs, which tasted like bubble gum
2. They could be put in special books and redeemed for various household items
3. They were given to the kids to be used as stick-on tattoos

18. Praise the Lord, & pass the _________?

1. Meatballs
2. Dames
3. Ammunition

19. What was the name of the singing group that made the song 'Cabdriver' a hit?

1. The Ink Spots
2. The Supremes
3. The Esquires

20. Who left his heart in San Francisco ?

1. Tony Bennett
2. Xavier Cugat
3. George Gershwin

ANSWERS

1. (b) On the floor, to the left of the clutch. Hand controls, popular in Europe , took till the late '60'sto catch on.

2. (b) To sprinkle clothes before ironing. Who had a steam iron?

3. (c) Cold weather caused the milk to freeze and expand, popping the bottle top.

4. (a) Blackjack Gum.

5. (b) Special makeup was applied, followed by drawing a seam down the back of the leg with eyebrow pencil.

6. (a) 1946 Studebaker.

7. (c) Wax coke bottles containing super-sweet colored water.

8. (a) Wax for your flat top (butch) haircut.


9. (a) With clamps, tightened by a skate key, which you wore on a shoestring around your neck.

10. (c) Eeny-meeny-miney-mo.

11. (c) Polio. In beginning of August, swimming pools were closed, movies and other public gathering places were closed to try to prevent spread of the disease.

12. (b) Taxi, Better be ready by half-past eight!

13. (c) Macaroni.

14. (c) Hiding under your desk, and covering your head with your arms in an A-bomb drill.

15. (a) Princess Summerfallwinterspring. She was another puppet.

16. (a) Immediately sniffed the purple ink to get a high.

17. (b) Put in a special stamp book, they could be traded for household items at the Green Stamp store.

18. (c) Ammunition, and we'll all be free.

19... (a) The widely famous 50's group: The Ink Spots.

20. (a) Tony Bennett, and he sounds just as good today.

SCORING:

17 - 20 correct:
You are older than dirt, and obviously gifted with mental abilities. Now if you could only find your glasses. Definitely someone who should share your wisdom!

12 - 16 correct:
Not quite dirt yet, but you're getting there.

0 - 11 correct:
You are not old enough to share the wisdom of your experiences.

"You never run out of things that can go wrong." ~ Murphy's Law #12

It's been a morning and a half and it's only 8:16 am.

Tom woke up dizzy this morning from sinus issues. It's a common occurrence when his allergies act up, but it's unsettling for him and takes a while for the sinus meds to take effect.

When Tom leaves in the morning, I listen to make sure he has used his clicker to close the garage door. Usually he remembers, this morning he didn't. I went through the laundry room to the garage and pressed the button and the big, rolling garage door started closing and I turned around and walked away and closed the door behind me. Then I heard the garage door stop...then go back up. WT?? Thinking our neighbor's cat had been in the garage and ran out and tripped the garage door sensor when she heard the door start to close, I went back to the garage and hit the button to close the garage door again. As I left, I heard the garage door stop, but this time it didn't go up again. Huh?? Retracing my steps to the garage, I opened the door and look around the garage to see what is going on. Nothing registers. I press the button again. The door goes up, but the rolling door looks crooked. Maybe it's my imagination. I hit the button again to close the garage door and it stopped less than half way down. Finally, it registers. Before leaving for work, Tom was apparently loading some stuff in his van and moved a step ladder out of the way and leaned it against the frame of the garage door. When the garage door tried to close, it stopped, wedging the step ladder between the door and the garage floor. It wedged it in so well, I couldn't pull the step ladder out.

At this point, while raising the garage door one more time, I noticed that the huge door was really cockeyed. Great! I removed the step ladder and walked over and pressed the button to close the door, but it still only closed 2/3rds of the way and stopped. I tried two or three more times, but it wouldn't close completely.

Today is my Strong Women class day. I can't leave with the garage door open. So, I called Tom. "I'll be right there," he said.

A few minutes later, he's working frantically with the door. Something came off or came loose or both. He decided he needed help, so he called The Kid, who was already waiting for him at the shop. But he can't get through to The Kid because the kid is apparently sitting in his car waiting for Tom and texting.

Finally, after several attempts, he got through and asked The Kid to come over to our house to help. After The Kid arrived, they worked on the door several minutes and finally got the door fixed.

"There," Tom says to himself, as the door opens and closes several times without issue.

Feeling relieved, Tom got in the van, put the key in the ignition and turned it...click. Nothing else, just click. Again. And again. And again. The fifth or sixth time, the ignition catches and the van starts, but a short discussion between us ensues and to avoid being stuck somewhere in Little Rock at a jobsite unable to start the van once again, we decide he should take the van back to the shop, have The Kid drive him back home to pick up the Extra-Bitchin' (Expedition, for the uninitiated) and use it to run his jobsite errands for the day. Tom came back home to pick up the Extra-Bitchin' and he also took a check with him to purchase a new starter for the van. Good thinkin'.

So moving right along, backwards to this past weekend, we went up to Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Several weeks ago, we bought a new, smaller dining room set from Pier One. I love it.



But, my bar stools didn't match because they matched the old dining room set. I saw that Pier One carried a line of counter chairs to match my dining chairs, so earlier in the week I purchased two of them, at clearance half price, at the Pier One store in Jonesboro. We drove to Jonesboro over the weekend to pick them up with the Extra-Bitchin' (obviously they don't fit in my small convertible).

This is one of the chairs from the dining set...



And these are my new counter chairs...



I am such a happy camper...except for the fiasco this morning. Oh, and the mess Tom and The Kid made last week in my house.

Yes, Tom had some time between jobs last week, so he and The Kid worked at our house. They scraped and painted the ceiling in the den and put up crown molding, sanded and primed nearly all the new trim in the house, replaced lights in the entry, hall and office and generally made a dusty mess.

I have decided today I will focus on cleaning up all of the dust that settled everywhere. I will forgo my Strong Woman class for today. I have all of the exercises copied down, the weights are in my car and I will do the exercise routine later this afternoon. Today, I will just dig right in to everything that needs to be done here at home so we can start the week anew. Starting fresh always feels good.

Patriotic societies seem to think that the way to educate school children in a democracy is to stage bigger and better flag-saluting. ~ S.I. Hayakawa

While thousands of people without health insurance drove miles to the Forum near Los Angeles to receive free medical treatment, our representatives in Washington, D.C., who have the best health care coverage in the nation, are digging in their heels over health care reform while bickering and probably blocking the addition of a public option.

How would our representatives feel if they couldn't see a doctor for a fever? What if our representatives faced cancer but couldn't afford surgery or chemotherapy? What if our representatives couldn't afford medication to reduce their high blood pressure and ward off a stroke or heart attack? Or buy a much needed antibiotic? Or buy insulin for diabetes in order to prevent diabetic coma, blindness or even death? What if it were their spouses, children or parents going without adequate health care? How would they feel then? How would they vote? How much longer would they argue? Would they continue to risk their lives and those of their loved ones while bickered over whose obligation it was and the taxes that would be necessary? Or would they work to find the solution...now?!

Our representatives say they love this country. They say they are patriotic and they wear flags on their lapels to express their patriotism. They say the United States of America is the greatest nation on earth, but are we? This is a photo of Americans in Los Angeles waiting for health care. The clinic that set up in the Forum was only seeing 1,500 patients, but there were thousands more than that. It looks like the aftermath of some sort of disaster or a care center in a third world country...


Patients without medical insurance wait for treatment in the Forum, a music arena in Inglewood,
Los Angeles.The 1,500 free places were filled by 4am. Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images

While our representatives and their families receive health care from the best doctors and health facilities in the nation, Americans are standing in line at the freaking Forum hoping and praying for a chance...just a chance...to see a doctor...ANY DOCTOR or other health professional.

An online dictionary defines patriotism as "actuated by love of one's country; zealously and unselfishly devoted to the service of one's country."

"Love of one's country."

"Zealously and unselfishly devoted to the service of one's country."

Conversely, the online dictionary also defines "unpatriotic", "showing lack of love for your country and being "disloyal = deserting your allegiance or duty to leader or cause or principle"

While these and millions more Americans live and die without access health care because of their inability to afford or qualify for health insurance, we spend billions for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We gave billions of dollars to automobile companies when CEO's said if they didn't get the money, massive layoffs would ensue. They received their money and layoffs ensued anyway. We bailed out banks and lending institutions whose leadership has advocated the riskiest of business practices. And, didn't I read somewhere that we've given $2 billion dollars to Israel? Money, money everywhere....everywhere else, that is.

When you look at that photo, do you see love of our country or unselfish devotion to the service of our country? I don't. I see blatant disregard and desertion of our country and it's people.

Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day; give him a religion, and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish. ~ Author Unknown

Can you tell by the title of this post that I am a little bit cynical?

I haven't written in quite some time and a lot has happened.

Goldie has gone to a new home. I didn't think I would cry when they left last night, but I did. I didn't think I would cry this morning when I wrote this, but I am. I see it as my shortcomings and failure, not hers.

We hadn't received any response from our "free" ad. Not one call. So I placed an ad on Craigslist. Within hours I had a couple inquiries and within 24 hours I had what I thought was a good home. She has gone to live with a couple in Fayetteville, two hours away in northwest Arkansas. They already have one Golden Retriever and were looking for another to keep him company. The new owner drove 2 hours to meet her and 2 more hours to take her home. Clearly, he was serious. Goldie, the man said, was just what he was looking for. He used to have two Rhodesian Ridgebacks that were raised as kennel dogs (like Goldie) until they were 5 years old when he rescued them. He owned them until they were 12 and 13 years old. When he met Goldie last night, he said her behavior was just like his Ridgebacks. He understood her and was completely gentle and comfortable with her. I felt like a self-centered bitch.

So, Goldie is living in Fayetteville and I think she will be much happier.

As to my post title, there's a little passive/aggressive thing going on with my church. In my last Some Things Friday, I mentioned the meeting we had at our church during which a short video was used. In the video, the pastor of another church (or it could have been at a conference or class) admonished the congregation, telling them that there were people "out there" going to hell because they weren't going to church and the people in the congregation didn't care. Obviously, I found that offensive.

I think a lot of Christians have trouble allowing other people to believe differently from them. For example, abortion. Bottom line, pro-choice or anti-abortion is based on religious or non-religious beliefs or a combination of both. Most Christians believe that life begins at conception and, therefore, abortion is taking a life. I get that and I'm okay with them believing that. But, not everyone believes the same thing and that's not okay with Christians. Anyway, I digress...

We've been busy. Real busy. We've been working hard, in town and out of town, and I've been sick off and on, so we haven't been to church much in the last couple of months. Last weekend, our church had a fall festival and while I was there one of the people in our congregation mentioned she read my blog. Long story, shortened, we are now receiving cards every week ~ "missed you at church Sunday!"

Why does that bother me? I think because I now know that everyone knows how I feel about that meeting and that I have decided to reduce my involvement, but no one has mentioned it directly to me. How do I know "everyone" knows? Because all of them are always talking about every little detail of other people's lives and conversations, in a "Christian" way, mind you, but talking none the less. I guess it's sort of like Christian gossip. So, anyway, if they think they know or are concerned with my reaction, why not just ask me what I thought? Why not just come out and say, I'm sorry you were offended...or didn't like it...or whatever. Let's talk about it. Wouldn't that be a great opportunity for a pastor to have an engaged conversation?

Of course, on the other hand, why don't I just say something? I think it's because my disagreement with the shame and guilt approach is profound AND I should have known better because I had enough warning bells going off. I have to take partial responsibility. Part of the reason we didn't consider going to this church in the very beginning was because of the prayer vigils in the Walmart parking lot. We received the church newsletter and post card invitations long before we decided to attend regularly. But, when we received post card invitations to join the launch team in prayer vigils in the Walmart parking lot to pray for the people who were shopping instead of going to church, we were convinced and thought, No Way is this for us! Months later, in spite of our feelings about those invitations, we visited several times and felt like some of our spiritual needs were met with the music and messages and fellowship. Now, after attending awhile and being involved on several levels, I'm seeing things I didn't see but should have.

What will I do from here on out? I'm not sure. I made a commitment to produce the newsletter and as long as I can continue to work it into my schedule, I will continue to do it. When we are in town, we will probably still attend on Sunday. There's a bible verse that says, and I'm paraphrasing, "God loves a cheerful giver." I don't think I'm as cheerful as I used to be.