Stuff I Like and Stuff I Don't Like

STUFF I DON'T LIKE - just because it's awful and/or because I have no control over it:

The weather. I just watched the weather segment on the late night news. I knew what it was goin' to be before it started. I had a sense of wasted time when it was over. Let me save y'all some time. If you live in North, Central, West, Far West or Northwest [as in Panhandle] Texas it's gonna be beastly hot and dry as a bone until at least mid-September, but more likely mid to late October. EXCEPT, if a monster hurricane hit the Gulf coast in the vicinity of Galveston Island, then we'll get rain in Central and North Texas for a day or so, the following days will be extra humid and hot, then it's back to HOT and no precip.

Knee-jerk defense of corrupt politicians because they "did good" in the past. First Al Lipscomb, now the long-time racist agitator John Wiley Price. It took the FBfriggin'I 9 that's N-I-N-E hours to remove boxes of evidence from his office. Don't know how long they spent at his house, the office and house of his chief aide and those of his top political aide. No he hasn't been indicted, yet, much less convicted. I just don't like him. Haven't liked him since 1985. He supported ACORN for criminey's sake!

STUFF I LIKE -

Kroger has done away with their across the board 10 cents/gallon discount on gasoline for Kroger PLUS customers. Their rewards system in now based on how much you spend in a month. You can now earn up to $1/gallon discount. Personally, I got 60cents/gallon off last week. Yeah, I'm likin' me some Kroger gas discounts.

When I quit smokin' [hold your applause, please] on the 11th I was usin' a No.7 brand E-cigarette. Saturday, an Eastern Star Sister told me about Vaporescence. It's a shop here and they have a location in Richardson, too. Their eGo-T blows no.7 completely out of the water. If you're a smoker or former smoker, this will make sense; for the rest of you, just skip through this part. The vaper is easier to inhale, no heavy drawing; it can be customized with a flavor like your tobacco cigarette at first, and later with a myriad of creative and tasty soundin' flavors.

If you're tryin' to quit or know someone who's tryin' to quit, tell them about this. I smoked for 40 years. I tried every, and I mean EVERY cessation product ever made. This makes it so dahm easy!

Stuff I like and ambivalently don't like, too

I'm finally scheduled for that surgery on my Achilles tendon later this week. I am likin' it because I am hopin' it will resolve the pain I've had for a year, now. I don't like it because I know, from the location of the repairs, it's gonna be a bear to heal. He's talkin' in terms of a splint while the incision heals [HOPEFULLY] during the first month. Then a month in a cast, yeah, been there, done that in March. THEN, at least a month in walkin' boot with a heel lift. While the Doc didn't mention PT, I'm thinkin' there's some MORE of that in my future, too. I shouldn't complain, it's what I've wanted, but y'all know me...I'm one of those folks who'd complain if they were hung with a new rope.

Arizona Shooter

OK, I'm gonna play Devil's Advocate.

I watched an update on the progress in Tuscon of the case against Jared Loughner, the young man who shot into the crowd gathered to hear Gabrielle Gifford. He has been deemed incompetent to stand trial at this time. When he eventually goes to trial, his defense will no doubt be "Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity," or whatever the equivalent is in Arizona courts. I do happen to think he's crazy as a bedbug, but I also believe this is no reason he should not be punished in some manner for his actions. That said, let me move on to what I am disturbed about.

He is being medicated against his will to get him to a mental state that will make him competent to assist in his own defense. No doubt this forcible medication had to be administered after a court order was obtained. This is a slippery slope akin to chipping away at 2nd Amendment rights by banning certain firearms or specific magazines. Free speech rights granted by the 1st Amendment being eroded by censorship in the guise of pornography laws and so called "Hate Speech" legislation is another example.

This action by the Arizona judicial authorities is just too reminiscent of Nazi judges ordering sterilization for "undesirables" and the imprisonment under the guise of hospitalization and unnecessary psychiatric medication of Communist dissidents for my comfort level. While I am generally opposed to granting accused and convicted criminals yet more rights, this worries me.

I think our Constitution and the Bill of Rights need to be rigorously observed and defended. This type of court action needs further debate and much more thought.

Jobs and Joblessness

I was watchin' a TV program [Parenthood] and was struck by how much our society's economic situation has changed. In this episode a man, in his early to mid-40's, married father of two teens, is fired from his job. It gave me pause.

Back when I was in the workforce, two weeks severance pay gave you enough money to make your bills until you found a job with commensurate salary and benefits. In extreme situations, you might not find a new job for a month, two at the very most.

Now? Now some folks are out there actively lookin' for any kind of work, not just in their "field" but ANY kind of job for months if not a year or more! I have lucky friends because I don't know anyone involuntarily unemployed so I have listened to the news reports and thought, "Oh, those poor folks."

Why it took fiction to bring this cold hard fact home to me I don't know. But I hope those of you who are in a job you hate but can't leave and those of you lookin' for work encounter better days just around the corner.

The Madness of Political Correctness

"Political Correctness" can be defined in these terms: A. the disinclination to communicate accurately about the reason or nature of something. In other words the speaker doesn't "tell it like it is." B. the deliberate distortion of truth and reality to advance a political agenda. This is a calculated tactic called "propaganda" in another time. C. the use of intimidation tactics to silence those who will not "fall in line." These can include giving the cold shoulder to the incorrect; calling them names such as bigot, racist, xenophobe; threats of violent protests over incorrect behavior; taking legal action such as suing for defamation or libel to silence criticism and attempts to disallow the incorrect their 1st Amendment right to free speech, i.e. hate speech laws. D. it can range from being annoying as it was in the U.S. ten or fifteen years ago to being a totalitarian state such as Nazi Germany, the U.S.S.R., China before capitalism, Southeast Asian despotically ruled nations or the fictional state in 1984. We must begin to recognize politically correct language and behavior and be brave enough to call it the brainwashing it is. Let's return to sanity, shall we?

Death Lessons

After 54 days in the hospital, my Mother died on March 11. I was fortunate enough to be able to sit on her bed and hold her hand from the time she communicated her desire to go until she crossed over. Her death was peaceful and painless and I don't think any of us can ask for more.

Mother and I had a complicated relationship, as many of us do. Ambivalence defined my feelings for her from the time I was 12. As I was sitting there holding her hand, I was able to let go of my anger and forgive her. Being able to do that has brought me a great measure of peace.

One of the positive things about this experience is becoming aware of how much I am loved. One of my oldest and dearest friends, Doris, was on her way home from Dallas and called to see if she could come visit. Not five minutes before she called I had the urge to call her and ask her to come to the hospital. My Angels were at work that day. My incredible Dearly Beloved Johnny called right after Doris and asked if he should come be with me. They sat on either side of the bed through the entire process. I was surrounded by their love and I will never be able to fully express my gratitude for these acts of love and care.

As I called family, my friends, and Mother's friends every one of them offered love, concern and help. In those first days they comforted me in words and deeds. They eased my burden immeasurably. Many of them are still offering gifts of love, care, concern, affection and help. I am truly blessed.

I have learned just how much work settling a parent's estate entails. So that you can ease that burden on your survivors, let me offer some advice. Have a valid will or trust. Even a holographic will will be enough. If you have some treasured belongings, leave instructions specifying what goes to whom and try to consider each individual's likes and dislikes. Add the executor / executrix as a signatory on all your bank/savings accounts. DOWNSIZE your belongings. I could not have met the two week deadline to clear out / clean up Mother's apartment without a lot of hard work on the part of Johnny, Megan, Roy, Flo, Matt and David. Buy more boxes, packing paper and bubble wrap than you think you'll need. It'll save time on repeat trips to the store. Home Depot has the cheapest boxes, btw. Something that would have helped in this process was knowing in advance which charitable organizations will make pick-ups and how much lead time they need to schedule these pick-ups.

And remember, we grieve and heal on different schedules. Don't beat yourself up if you aren't on the same timeline as you were when another close family member died. Lean on your family and friends. They love you more than you know. Give them the gift of helping you.

Concerns

On the news last night[sorry, I started this post around 10am] I heard a preview Obama had released of his State of the Union address he will give tonight. The thing that concerns me most is his "5 Pillars" agenda. How many of you are aware of the 5 pillars of Islam? These are basic tenets of Islam all Muslims must practice in order to be "good" Muslims.

While the pillars of Islam are not the same as Obama's pillars, I am concerned about the philosophical similarities of a platform of "5 Pillars" in light of the cultural jihad being waged in this country. Several officials of CAIR [ Council on American-Islamic Relations], the most influential Muslim civil rights advocacy organization, have stated publicly they would like to see Sharia replace the constitution and an Islamic flag flying over the White House!

Muslims are demanding religiously based concessions in the basic rules of our Society and some laws. In Oklahoma, a judge has ruled the Sharia law can be practiced in the Muslim community. Muslim women demand employers grant them the right to wear a hijab even when it violates a dress code every other employee must follow. I could go on and on, but that's another blog.

My other concern is the shooting of 11 law enforcement officers in a 24-hour period. At least 4 of these officers were killed in these shootings. As the wife of a retired LEO and the step-mother of a currently serving LEO I want to know who the hell declared open season on cops! I'd love to hear your theories.

In light of the story of a DFW TSA agent bypassing the checkpoint [since they don't have to be screened] with a rifle given him by a passenger this photo is even more disturbing.

If a Muslim woman, in full hijab, bypassed security by carrying a rifle to "help a passenger" how safe would you feel? Would she be sanctioned/fired for breaking regulations or would TSA be afraid of allegations of Islamophobia by groups such as CAIR? Another good question, what would stop any TSA agent, out of religious beliefs or out of greed, from smuggling another weapon, a possibly loaded weapon?

If we had Air Marshalls on every flight, ala El Al, that would be REAL security. With that action we could do away with TSA, their intrusive scanners and insulting patdowns.