Puppies, young boys and born gentlemen

I went over to Baton Rouge today to visit my youngest daughter and her husband and son. Ok, so I actually went to spoil my grandson, who at two years old continues to amaze me with what he knows. He knows his colors, can count to ten, knows his ABCs and learned Twinkle Twinkle Little Star from the cd I gave him for Christmas. He is one smart little youngun. Here he is getting ready to give Johnny Depp a run for his money.







The other reason I went is because they got their new puppy, Annie. Look at that face! How can anyone want any other kind of dog???? Boston Terriers are the best dogs, hands down.

So, I played cars and trains with Reese and tried to keep Annie from gnawing my toes off. And, hated to leave when I did, but a friend drove me over because my van is kinda sorta falling apart just now.

On the way home I started telling Leslie, my friend, ( some people think that my friendship with her is sending me straigt to hell, but that's for another day) Anyway, I started talking about my older brother and how odd and talented he is. He once paid my youngest brother a dime to let him, the older brother, push the younger brother's face down into the mud so he could make a plaster cast to use for a dummy's head. He still has that dummy. He also has two others, both he bought. He also is an amateur magician and has designed and built several 'tricks'. Over the past few years he has been moving his dummies and tricks to a room at his bakery (he makes absolutely the best doughnuts. No one is as good.) So, even though his house got flooded during Katrina, he did not lose any of the special things he values. Anything else he lost can be replaced.

James writes and draws and just thinks of the weirdest things. A conversation with him is, you ask a question or mention something and off he goes, while you sit back and just enjoy.

He has always loved old cars and has had a 1928 Model T and a 1932 Roadster with a rumble seat. I may be wrong on the years, but I do remember that one was a truck and he had to use a hand crank to get it going. (This is one incident where he wished that he had a regular car.) This happened in a spooky house we lived in once, where weird things were always happening. Or, my brothers tried to scare me into believing they really happened. The only thing that happened there that I believe, but didn't see, happened to my oldest brother. James worked at a bakery and had to be at work at 3:30 am. When this incident happened he was there alone. The rest of the family had gone to visit my stepfather's family. James said that he got up one morning and while he was getting ready he heard a car or truck drive up and stop in front of our house. He heard men laughing and talking and sounds of equipment and doors banging. He didn't think anything of it because we had been told that the city was soon going to clear the trees and make the road go all the way to the next subdivision. He finished getting ready and went out to get in his car......he had a 1932 Ford Roadster that he had to crank....and there was nothing, not a car, truck or anyone, out there. He swore that he had heard this. He also said that he had never cranked that thing so fast before.

I love my brother. He has had a hard life. He starting working when he was 8, on a paper route. He had a good route too. Most people in our small town knew our family and that our father was an alcoholic. James' route covered the black section of town. Every so often, the newspaper would hold a drive to get more subscriptions and the paperboy got the most would get a prize. Good prizes too. So, the people on his route would all get together, sign on for taking the paper and then after the contest was over they cancelled their subscriptions, till the next contest. He got a bike, one the he road while I was standing up on his shoulders. (I trusted him and would do anything he asked.) He also got a TV. This TV happened to arrive on my 5th birthday, so nothing could convince me that it wasn't my birthday gift. (Of course, this was before my mother got so involved with the JWs.)

James used me in a lot of his magic tricks and I thought I was the coolest thing going. He also taught me to read before I started school. He brought home at least one Little Golden Book each time he got paid.

James didn't finish school. He barely finished the seventh grade. He had to work to support us, since our father wasn't going to and our mother could only get work heading shrimp. But, James is the most intelligent, scholarly man you would ever want to meet. And, he did it on his own, after work or in between jobs. He proves what makes a man great. And, it isn't the name of the school you go to or the name of the family you are born into.

It's War

A friend sent this to me and it was just too funny to keep to myself. Especially since we all need a laugh now and then.

This morning, from a cave somewhere in Pakistan, Taliban Minister of
Migration, Mohammed Omar, warned the United States that if military action against Iraq continues, Taliban authorities will cut off America's supply of convenience store managers. And if this action does not yield sufficient results, cab drivers will be next, followed by Dell customer service reps.

It's getting ugly!

The Bill of Rights

Below is the Bill of Rights. I decided to post it because we all, everyone of us in the United States, no matter our political persuasion, should know these by heart.

The First 10 Amendments to the
Constitution as Ratified by the States
December 15, 1791

Preamble

Congress OF THE United States
begun and held at the City of New York, on Wednesday
the Fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.

THE Conventions of a number of the States having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best insure the beneficent ends of its institution

RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.:

ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution


Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Amendment VII
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Movies

Two words for you........Johnny Depp. I went to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie today. I was totally surprised that there were so many people there at such an early time of the day. We actually had to sit on the very front row of seats. And, it was worth it. I laughed most of the time and some people cheered. It is a good movie and the special effectives are believable.

But, I saw something there that I could not believe. A preview of aNOTHER Rocky movie. Yes, you read that right. A new ROCKY movie.

Lord help us.

Finally, an intelligent, funny comedian

Ok. When there is a Recover post link, you would think it would actually recover the post, right? Well, it didn't and I just finished writing the perfect rant. But, never fear, I will rewrite it.

It is about one of my peeves (ain't no pet about it) untalented comedians who resort to vulgarity instead of learning their craft. It is either that or they think that we, the audience, are too ignorant to get the jokes without the vulgarity. For instance, a comedian walks on stage amd starts his/her routine. First joke goes something like this......Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side. He/she get some lame, pity laughs. So, they decide they need to turn it up a notch, or they will never get on the Tonight Show. So, here's the joke the next time.....Why did the m*****f*****g chicken cross the f*****g road? To get to the other G*dd**n side. This time the audience roars with laughter, because, after all, we can't look uncool can we? The comedian has learned that using vulgarity instead of intelligence gets the laughs.

Thinking more about this, maybe, the audience does have a huge part in this. Don't get me wrong, vulgarity does not offend me. It is the presumption that I am too stupid or ignorant to understand jokes without the vulgarity.

A friend of mine has said that AIDS has killed the really talented people in Hollywood. I am beginning to think she is right.

I had written more about this, wrote about the stupid movies that are being made. And, tell ya'll the sexiest scene in a movie I have seen, without seeing sweaty, jiggling bodies. I will do that tomorrow. I was just going over this blog, lord knows, someone has to read it, anyway, I saw that I was supposed to tell ya'll about the sexiest scene I ever saw in a movie. Get ready. It was in "It's A Wonderful Life". Stay with me here. Remember when Donna Reed was on the phone with an old boyfriend and James Stewart was standing close to her, listening? And, he slowly leaned a tad bit closer, then closer? Then, he could smell her hair. (He wasn't sniffing like a dog, but was aware of how good it smelled.) And, she kept talking and he just looked at her and got closer. Well, there it is. My vote for the sexiest movie scene of all time. It was classy, sexy, tasteful, and it gave us (the audience) credit for our intelligence of what he was thinking and that she knew what he was thinking. We did not have to see them..............oh, lawd, I can't even type what I was just thinking.

There is hope for us though. I just found a comedian who is funny and intelligent. And, who is a juggling fool. His name is Chris Bliss, and just because I have just discovered him just means that I am, as usual, way behind times. I wish he would put all his videos on his website. I also wish he would come to a town, or casino, near me. I would love to see him perform live. Go to his site, check him out. And, then check out his Bill of Rights page.

LQQk over there ~~~~~~~>

See that CafePress thing over there? I have been trying to get rid of it, but can't. The store is closed and I am waiting on blogger to tell me how to take that off.

i-glasses

So, I am getting used to the diet Barq's rootbeer. I love the real Barq's but my favorite is still the real thing, good ole Coke. But, I have been good and have not had one in over a week. One thing with this med I am taking is that it makes me not want to eat, so I have lost ten pounds this past week. I want to lose weight, but not so fast that all the skin is hanging and I would look like a human shar pei.

I haven't been posting here very much lately because I have been busy listing things for sell on ebay. See, my friend who does some silly things at times, decided about six years ago that she wanted to collect promo cartoon glasses. So, she now has about 200 of them. She asked me last week if I would list them for her. It seemed a good way to pass the time till the new Johnny Depp movie comes out, so I said yes. ( Did I say she sometimes did silly things? Well, she isn't the only one.) So, anyway, she brings out the eight, 8, EIGHT, boxes of glasses. each held 24 glasses and in some she had doubled up. So, I start. I get a glass, took a pic of it, then listed in on ebay. It was ok, but not going fast enough for me. So, I got the bright idea to take pics of them all and then crop them and save them....you know the drill. Well, this seemed a fine idea, until after I spent 2 and 1/2 hours doing it, I realized that I hadn't named or numbered the ones that are the same. So, it was back to getting a glass, taking the pic.........

So, now I have several glasses listed and several scheduled to start in a couple of days, and will also start listing again Wednesday. If anyone wants or collects these cartoon glasses, check out ebay under i-glasses, my name on ebay.

The meds are working good except that I have been have weird dreams. My two youngest kids are having a good laugh at me. Well, piddlesquat, I laugh at them too. Man, the stories I could tell about them. Like the time my son freaked out in haunted house in Virginia Beach, and the time my daughter, who's name is Michael, was signing up for a discount on some makeup at a department store. She told the salesperson her name and then was looking around, her mind obviously not in the store at the moment. The saleslady looked at her and, to check the spelling of her name, said...'Mic...." my daughter looked at her and said...'key'.....spelling Mickey Mouse. I died, right there. Poor kid. She got the name right finally and was redfaced until we left the store then we both had to sit down on one of the benches because we were laughing so hard we couldn't see where we were going. And, trust me, they are better and funnier stories.

I think that in a month or so I will publish my log of taking the cholesterol meds and the depression meds......the last I call the meds so I won't kill Phil (my youngest)

Sad Sad day in Mudville

Well, it's a sad sad day in Mudville. I went to the doctor yesterday. I knew my cholesterol was high but had no idea it was as high as it is, so I am seriously going to work at getting that down.

The sad thing is, I am borderline diabetic, which means no more cokes. A friend told me that she heard that two people had been laid off from thre coke plant in Atlanta and their kids kick out of school, since I am no longer supporting them.

Diet Barqs rootbeer seems ok........but there is nothing like the real thing.

I am going to take a couple of days to mourn and then hold a ceremony in the back yard, burying empty coke cans and pouring the coke over them as we sing.........I'd love to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony...........ah well....and end of an era.

The pic of the sweet baby girl is my youngest daughter's soon to be newest critter. She is trying to think of names now. Lola might be it. The puppy is three days old now.

Well, it has certainly been an interesting day. First, I went to the doctor for the first time in over two and one half years. The doctor is one I really like, he is down to earth and is easy to talk to. The last time I went to him my cholesterol was high and he prescribed some cholesterol-lowering medicine. I took one month, but stopped because it cost just way too much and at the time I could not afford

. Today, when he asked how I was doing on it I honestly told him that I
was not taking it and why. I am also borderline diabetic, which right now can be controlled with diet and exercise (aaaagggggggg!!!) so, ok, I will stop drinking cokes. This is not going to be easy since I can easily drink twelve or more a day. I will need to lose weight too. I will start walking then will start swimming again. I also need medicine for depression. So, after my exam, the doctor left the room and came back with a bag of Lexapro (for depression) and,,,oh shoot, I can't remember the cholesterol meds and I am too lazy just now to go in the bathroom and get it. Anyway, I will not have to buy meds for as long as the doctor gets the free samples. And, as soon as my prescription insurance kicks in.

I also have something funny going on with my liver. The doctor has scheduled an ultrascan to see what it might be. It doesn't hurt and like he said I am not yellow, so he doesn't think it is anything serious. BUT, I have had two brothers die from cancer, one pancreas/liver cancer and the other they were not sure exactly where his started. He only lived seven days after his diagnosis. So, I am going to be a tad bit nervous until I find out what is going on.

On a lighter side, I went to a casino for the first time in about three years. I tried craps and lost, then went to a slot machine and did pretty good for awhile. Actually, I would have come out ahead if I had left sooner, but I was playing Wheel of Fortune and it was just so much fun. I only spent twenty dollars of my money, the rest was the casinos so it was ok. The bad part was the food. Casino food is usually good. This was horrible. Even the crab legs were overcooked. But, it was fun. But, I won't be going back for a long time.

I am going to start selling Leslie's cartoon glasses on ebay for her, then when I get done with them, she wants me to put her Mormon books on there to sell. She is doing it to keep me busy, because, when I have too much time on my hands, I do dumb things. Like play Wheel of Fortune.

And...

OK, the obsessions are kicking in, I can feel them now, sneaking up behind me. I suppose it is a good thing that I have a doctor's visit tomorrow. Have I mentioned how much I dislike and distrust doctors? Well, I do. But, I am going, since it has been three or so years since I have gone. So, I go, they give me meds for, oh say, high cholesterol which lowers that but eats up my liver.

You know that I am rambling now because I should be working on a story that I have had rattling around in the back of my head for a couple of weeks now. And, there is another one peeking over that one's shoulder, so, I suppose it will be another night of all night writing. I wish it were easier to write.

So....ta ta everyone.

Well, it's Memorial Day.....whoooo hooo. This year I find myself wishing I could get all pumped about it. I remember the Memorial Days of the past when I would throw some hotdogs, buns , chips and cokes in the car.........and the kids...and we would head up to the nearest creek to swim all day. That was so much fun. But, now, some of the kids
have kids and the one who doesn't thinks it is silly to spend time playing in the sand with his mama, so he is off fishing and eating the flounder they gigged last night. So, today I will put in a load of clothes, get my newest NetFlix movie and snuggle down on the couch with Gumbo. That's Gumbo up there in the pic.

Nothing much has been happening lately, which is probably a good thing. It's about time things quieted down. I am supposed to go up to Michigan in two weeks to get my two oldest grandsons and bring them back here for the summer. If I can afford it. I will need to do some major praying as I do my budget for the month. Those boys need the time away from Michigan and I need them down here. Even though they spend the first week asking me to repeat whatever I say to them. They are good boys. I was looking for the latest pic I have of them, but dangit, I think I deleted them along with some stuff that needed deleting. I will ask my daughter to send me more, so I show them off too.

Ok. I may write more, but I am also supposed to be working on a story for a writing group and I have a bad case of the popitifuls, so maybe that will be for tomorrow.

Weird dreams

I have been having this recurring dream. I am in an old rundown house. I am moving out, and there are people coming in and out who have bought the house and will be doing extensive remodeling. I am terrified because I know that there are pictures hidden there of my mother killing my father. And, I am the one who took the pics. There are people coming in and out, some I know from years ago and some I don't know. I keep trying to figure out how to get my father's body and the pics out of the house.

This is where it always ends, and I wake up in a total panic. My father died of liver failure in 1974 and my mother died in 2001.

Bank woes and 'christian' hackers

This is going to be a complaint post. First, my bank apparently found out last summer that a some of the customers's bank card numbers were stolen along with thousands across the country. They said they notified us about this last June. I don't recall getting a letter telling me about this. If I had, I would have immediately cancelled that card and gotten another one. Apparently, our numbers were only stolen, not used. So, a week or so ago, I did get a letter telling me that some of the cards had been showing some activity and so the bank were going to cancel the cards, effective this last Monday. They were going to send new cards which we would have to call in to activate and then go to the bank to get new pin numbers. Sure enough, this last Monday, my card was no longer valid. However, I have not received my new card yet. Nor has at least one of my friends who also uses this bank. I called the bank just a few minutes ago and was told that the cards were mailed out last Friday and everyone should have theirs by this Friday. Ok, I can live with that. But, here is the problem. Since, for whatever reason, I did not know that my card number had been stolen, I did not check my accounts that closely. I know, I should do that weekly anyway, but, I trusted the bank and did not see any large amounts going to places that I did not authorize. And, since Katrina, a lot of my important papers were lost. I do not have a year's worth of bank statements to check. Now, I can go to the bank and get them for $2.00 a page, which will be around $100 or so. Because, you see, their online banking page only goes back 3 months. Big help there. So, I suppose I will be ordering those copies just to be sure.

Now for the other complaint. There is a woman who I met on Paltalk who has a blog that I read daily. This woman had the 'audacity' to question a well-known online minister's view on something. I actually heard a man say that this was the reason that women should not preach. This woman are not preaching, nor do they want to. This woman had legitimate questions about something this well-known apologist said and has/had on his website. All this happened weeks ago, the two have talked and still disagree. That should have been the end of it. However, there is a troll who has made it his life's mission to harrass this woman every chance he gets. On Paltalk and on her blog via her comments section. She deletes his comments and blocks his IP to prevent him from commenting again, and he somehow gets around the block. This person, who loudly proclaims his 'christianity' has no qualms about also being a hacker. He has bragged about it to several people. He has hacking programs that allow him to go invisibly into a chatroom, where he sits and records what is said. He then edits the recordings and plays them in other rooms.

So, my question is, would a Christian do this? And, why is he doing this? Is he jealous of the people he is recording? What should be done with someone who does this? Banning? He can get around a ban. I think I know, from listening to him for several hours over a couple of years, why he is doing this. And, to be honest, he is not the only one causing problems. The people who allow him to post things in there rooms should be ashamed of themselves. For example, he admins in several rooms. Before he signs onto Paltalk and goes into a chatroom, the conversations are good and disagreements are handled in an adult manner. But, as soon as this person comes into the chatroom, he will put something in the banner that is meant to cause strife and division. And, if noone reacts or comments on whatever is there, he will come to the mic and say...'what do you think of what's in the banner?' or something like that. He will do this several times, until an argument is started, people get their feelings hurt, or some of the people leave and go into another chatroom. Before this man came on the scene, these people, as diverse as they are and with differences in some points of doctrine, were able to discuss things rationally. Since he has been here, the group has split and some have even left Paltalk with no intention of returning. Since he has come on the scene, some people cannot discuss any differences, without insulting. People who have had issues with someone else, who before this troll, were able to lay those issues aside. Now, some use what this person does. They listen to and replay his recordings over and over. They laugh and ridicule others. They allow this troll to insult others in their chatrooms. This troll will go into a room, invisibly of course, with people who he does not like with the sole purpose of recording something he can later use.

How Christian is that? Would a Christian be a hacker? Would a Christian continually cause division and strife among brothers? And, more importantly, would a Christian allow this? Why do others who claim to be saints, allow this? Why has none of the many other Christians who know this troll and know what he is doing, not sat him down to tell him that he is wrong in what he is doing?

Soon to be a star......

This evening I talked to a young man on Paltalk that I first 'met' back in 2000 or so. I thought for the longest time that he was at least in his 30s because of the way he talked and the things he said. Especially about the bible. Turned out he was only 18.

Anyway, we found that we have similar tastes in music, like Leon Redbone and John Prine and Tom Waits. This kid is very talented. He sings, writes and plays the banjo and guitar and the last time I talked to him, before tonight, he was teaching himself the fiddle. Tonight he sent me his myspace site where he has two of his songs. I like them both, but 'Suicide Blues' was my favorite. Ya'll seriously need to go there and listen to it. And, remember his name, because you will be hearing it again, most likely on CMT.

Eight months ago....

Eight months or so ago my world changed forever, the physical part anyway. We are now working on a new normal. Highway 90 goes right along the beach from Bay St Louis to Ocean Springs. It is still makes me sad to drive down it. It's like a friend said, it is almost as if we are in a funeral procession, because we are still stunned to see the devastation that Katrina brought us. The beach front had some beautiful hundred year old houses and churches that are just gone.

I spent the hurricane in Baton Rouge with my youngest daughter. And, I have to admit that I did not believe that the hurricane was going to be as bad as it was. There was wind damage even in Baton Rouge and that is about an hour and a half from the coast. We prepared though. We got in extra food and diapers and bottled water. And, then sat back and waited. It was not an option to go anywhere, traffic was so bad that some of the people who did try to evacuate gave up and came home.

I slept on the couch and woke up early Monday. The wind was already howling around the buildings and the power was off. Over the next three or four hours we watched tree limbs breaking and falling. We watched the parking lot to see if it was going to flood. But, mostly we sat and wondered what was happening over here on the Mississippi Coast. If you are ever here when we are expecting a hurricane, you might hear us joking about how we need a new roof or that we wanted to remodel anyway. Trust me, these are just whistling past the graveyard jokes.

Since we had no power to watch TV and the phones were iffy, we did not know the extent of the damage. I tried to call my oldest son who sat out the hurricane up in Saucier.....which is only about ten miles north of the coast. Finally, my oldest daughter who lives in Michigan got through to us to tell us what she was seeing on CNN. I could hear the stress and fear in her voice, so I knew it was worse that even she was telling us. Just before we lost connection she said that David (my son) had managed to get through to her. That was a relief to know that he and his family were not hurt. He told her that he was told that all the houses down by my house had gotten a lot of water. My house NEVER floods. Suddenly the jokes about remodeling were no longer funny.

That was the last news we got until Wednesday, two days after the hurricane. David got through to tell me he had checked my house and it was ok, except for the roof. I started breathing a little easier. We still did not have power, which meant no news. (It also meant no A/C. And, I can tell you that it is seriously hot and muggy after a hurricane. There is not even a breeze. I will tell you too that when the guy across the street came in every afternoon and started up his generator we told each other all the evil things we would like to see happen to him.)

Finally, Wednesday evening the lights came on. The sounds of windows and doors slamming lasted about ten minutes. I am surprised that there was not a brown out from all the A/Cs coming on at once. Then, we turned on the TV and sat down to see what the world had been seeing for three days. Still, I guess because it was on TV, it did not seem real. My son turned on the computer and found a NOAA website that showed the area. He found his best friend's house. It looked as if a giant had come through and ripped the roof off the house, swept the house itself away and then put the roof on the ground.

I did not come back here till the next Wednesday. I drove over to see for myself that my house was really ok. The first thing that struck me was that there was hardly any traffic on the interstate. And, what traffic there was, was convoy's of National Guards, and of electric company trucks from all over the country. And, the smaller convoys of people from the different churches and organizations from all over the country who were on their way to help. People, ordinary everyday people, took time from their jobs, and their families to come to the coast to help. Just because help was needed.

Driving into Gulfport was surreal. The power was still off in most areas. Debris was still on the roads. People who had stayed home and rode out the hurricane had a look in their eyes. The Katrina Look. I drove down my street and when I saw the live oak tree in my front yard I stopped the car and cried. That tree was only as tall as my waist when I bought this house and now it shades the whole front part of my yard and house. Most of it was still there, but it had taken a beating. It's still lopsided, but I see new limbs sprouting, so it is going to be fine.

I did not go down to the beach that day. I was not ready. It was late October before I finally did drive down the beach. Pictures and news footage are ok. It does not compare to actually seeing the church that is just a shell now,or the yards piled with debris and garbage, or Marine Life gutted. Not one building was left untouched and most were destroyed.

My oldest daughter came down last month. It was her first time seeing it firsthand. Her youngest son was surprised to see that things were not all cleaned up and rebuilt.

The coast is coming back. Houses are being rebuilt and businesses reopening. There are still piles of debris and blue FEMA roofs though.

Hurricane season begins again in June.

What's in a name.....

Well, this has certainly been an interesting night on Paltalk. I was sitting in a chatroom minding my business, listening to the discussion when I got a pm from someone I don't know, but have seen in rooms. He is a Jewish man who apparently hates Christians for daring to say that the OT prophets prophesied the coming of Christ. He asked me if I would answer a question or be like most Christians and get mad and ignore him. So, I decide to try to understand his view and told him that I would try to answer his questions. Then, I asked this.....'Why do you, as a Jew, care what I believe.'....he came unglued and cussed me out. He used extremely vulgar and offensive terms and then denied that he had done so. I tried to talk with him and for awhile I thought it was working, but then he began all over with his questions (which I tried to answer) and his cussing. I finally told him that we were going in circles and that I was tired of his offensive manner in talking to me. He then told me I was a coward. I just agreed and ignored him.

Thing is, I have never heard anyone who is Jewish being offended by being called a Jew. He wants to be known as Hebrew, which I had no problem with using. But, when I told him that I did not know that word was offensive, he told me that I probably did know and used it anyway. There was no compromise with him. He did not try to treat me with an ounce of common courtesy. And, he was offended when I told him that I was no longer going to respond to his pm and said, 'God bless'. He told me I had no authority to bless him. I pointed out that I only wanted God to bless him. Nothing worked with him. So, I finally gave it up. I was surprised when he said he preferred muslims to Christians. He said that he lived among them and they did not lie about his book. Well, I pray those muslims don't decide to visit him one day with a bomb or big ole knife.

It takes all kinds I guess.

Peeves, rants and silliness..

The other day I was watching FoxNews and something on the ticker at the bottom of the screen caught my eye. Can't remember what it was now, but it was something about someone or some group doing something because of something else. The headline read something like this.......so-in-so is doing this behind so-in-so's firing them.....(more or less). This irritates me so much! I have even heard a news reader say that. And, they also say 'ahead' of some event. Do these people not have college degrees in Journalism? Or, are they just being lazy? I know kids use these phrases and words, but shouldn't the news media be a tad bit more educated?

And, this one just sets my teeth on edge. I absolutely cannot stand to hear someone say 'at ths point in time'....what is wrong with 'now'? People who use this phrase also usually use 'if you will'. AAGGGGGGGHHHHH. Imagine Shakespeare writing........'at this point in time is the winter of our discontent (if you will). See????

So, I decided to go back to CNN. No relief there. Their people must have gone to the same school with the Fox people. So, behind the news folks being so lazy I have decided to skip television news, at this point in time. If you will.


Last week my oldest daughter came for a visit with her two sons. They live in Michigan (I tried to raise her right, but she married a yankee anyway.) And, my youngest daughter brought her son over. I had them all here for a week. It was a good visit, except that my oldest daughter's husband (known as Jackie, even though his name is Bob. Jackie is short for jackass.) was here too and he is just an idiot. But, this is not going to be about him. Or about the visit. I will write about that later.

They all left Saturday and Phil went out with his friends so I was alone here. It was late and I was online, playing Text Twist and listening to the Art Bell show. It was his ghost to ghost night. People called in with their ghost stories. Some of them were spooky too. My desk is against a wall so when I sit at it my back is to the door. It was about 1 am or so. All of a sudden this huge shadow came up on the wall and started getting BIGGER. I slid back from my desk and spun around so I could catch the grabbo in mid-flight. It wasn't a grabbo at all. What it was, was Gumbo on the bed sitting up and stretching. The twerp. I wasn't scared, really. But, I did go around and check to make sure all the windows and doors were locked.

Phil made the cutest movie. Well, cute is not the right word, but since it is late and my brains are oatmeal right now, that is the best I can do. He made it for a friend of his who had to do a report for his Sociology class on cults. He filmed his friend talking about cults, then the movie switched to show another of his friends dressed in cammies, looking into the camera and then turning and running off into the woods. The narrator says....'pity the fool who is gonna die'...something MrT used to say. He was apparently a member of the cult of MrT. Another friend was the Australian cult hunter, Phil was the driver of the super cult hunting van (mine!) and they went off hunting for the cult member. It was funny. One scene was from...shoot what is the name of that movie? the 'need for speed' one. Anyway, the cult member did double duty as the flight director.....the filmed him on the side of the road waving his hands, giving the van the go ahead for take off. Then, it switched to a shot of the speedometer, then, the van took off and when they switched back to Jerry, he dropped to the ground and did the worm. It was so funny. Except for the part where they lit a cardboard box on fire at the front of my van, then filmed it so it looked like the van was on fire. Oh, and there were a couple of times when the van went over speed bumps that sparks flew out from the back wheels. The kid made an A+ on it.

Ok, I am getting sleepy-silly, so, God bless and sweet dreams.

Midnight Confessions......

Well, it isn't 2nd avenue and it isn't midnight, but.......... I had written a post earlier, then my computer froze. Of course it was extremely insightful and will be a major loss to the world.

So, we have Penn and Teller insulting Mother Theresa by saying 'Mother F*****g Theresa'. I agree that she could have given more to the poor instead of using it to build convents. I also thing the TV preachers should use more of the money they take in on helping others instead of having horrible plastic surgeries and buying pink hair dye. Not to mention the private jets and huge houses.

I am not offended by Penn and Teller's using the F word either. I use it at times. What offends me is that more and more unfunny comedians use vulgarity to get cheap laughs. For the record, I have never found Penn and Teller funny.

Look at the Comedy channel. Watch the untalented comedian wannabes resort to vulgarity to get laughs. And, the audience, give the Pavlovian response, and laugh. It is almost as if vulgarity is the new laugh track.

Richard Pryor was a funny man who used vulgarity,but not to get laughs, he didn't need to. He got laughs just by standing there. So did Gene Wilder and Eddie Murphy and Billy Crystal and Mike Myers.

I am offended by people, entertainers, who think we, the audience, are not intelligent enough to get the jokes. A friend of mine told me once that AIDS had killed all the creative people. After watching thirty minutes of the new Pink Panther movie, I have to agree with her. I only made it through thirty minutes of that movie before I left the theater. Steve Martin wasn't vulgar, but he over played the character.

I made a list of PEOPLE WHO SHOULD HAVE LEFT US WANTING MORE once. I think it is time to revive it. First on the list would be Tom Cruise.

Dreams or......?????

I know, I know. Everytime I say I am going to write something every day, life jumps up and demands that I deal with it. My friend Leslie spent a week in the hospital with a serious staff infection. Then, after she came home she could not wash dishes, so, as bad as I hate to wash dishes, I go over every other day or so and do them. But, her hand is well enough now that she can do her own.

I think I was going to talk about getting in touch with my family, but, I think I will wait a bit on that.

Ok, so instead I will confess to something......I am a semi-fan of reality tv. Not shows like Survivor or The Apprentice. I watch The Real World on MTV...sad, ain't I? But, I have been thinking that someone should do a Real World type show with people between 55 and 65. Imagine it. There would have to be a flaming liberal, an ultra conservative, an atheist, a calvinist, a Catholic, a JW and a Mormon. For the first season anyway. Seven people, three women and four men. One woman would be the liberal and a man would be the ultra con. I would love to see how people of these ages would relate to each other and how the men would act in the house. Would they walk around in their tighty whities? What about the women? Would they just naturally fall into the submissive role? Would the men sit and scratch their bellies expecting the women to cook? Would the liberal lead a rebellion against the mores they were all raised with? I think it would be a hit.


And, I have been listening to Art Bell too much I think. See, when I was between the ages of two and five I had what I have always considered was an ordinary dream. I know how old I was because of where we were living at the time. Anyway, in the dream a man is outside my window and wakes me up. Next thing I am outside with him, and there are two others there. They are glowing....like the greenish glow from Halloween makeup. One of them holds me in his arms and then tells me not to tell anyone about them and that they would see me again. Ok, now, I know this might could be a abuse situation, I'm not sure, but it is like most dreams....the more I try to remember details the more it fades. Like, when I first remember it, everything is clear, then starts to fade. It was also during this time that I believed that I could float. I can remember standing in a doorway, floating up and touching the ceiling. (Another typical abuse defense, the 'outside looking down at yourself' thing.)

Now, the other night I was listening to Art Bell. His guest was talking about 'shadow people' and other alien type things. All of a sudden I remembered the famous Pascagoula River alien abduction that happened back in the 70s. And, then I remembered that the house I was living in when I had the weird dream was about 500 yards (or feet, distance is hard for me to judge) from the River, and within a mile of where the abduction happened. Weird, huh? What is weirder to me is that I never made that connection till now. And, remember, when I was two or so, UFOs were not so much in the news as they are now.

So, it was either a dream, an abuse situation or I was visited by aliens. I vote for the latter. Come to think of it, I am always seeing something walking just behind me. This is what Shadow People supposedly do. Why they do this, I have no idea. And, I used to hear someone calling my name and there was no one there when I turned around.

Maybe it is time to visit the doc and try out the meds again.

I am listening to Leonard Cohen sing Tennessee Waltz....he is so good. Next up is Lyle Lovitt, Jimmy Buffett, George Jones and Delbert McClinton. Oh, and Tom Waits.

Midnight monsters and 'fraidycats

I know that if I am going to have a blog, then I have to write in it at least more than once a month, but I truly have been so busy that I have not had time to read emails, much less write something here. And, I know that the more I write, the more I think to write about and the better I write. So, I am going to try to post something daily.....


Ok, so, tonight, about an hour ago, my son Phil....my twenty-year old son, who is six feet three.....came into my room and woke me up to tell me that his cat had brought a baby snake into the house. I told him to take it out. He told me that he is afraid of snakes, and stood there looking so pitiful that I got up to see what was what. And, what was what, was, that Kudreau (Phil's cat) and Gabby (one of the four cats that I am keeping for my youngest daughter) were both trying to play with this litte teeninecy (south, or maybe Erwin, for very small) snake. So, I go hunting for something to pick this monster up with, while Phil (did I mention that he is 6'3?) cowers in the door to the dining room half turned so that he can run back down the hall if this man-eating critter turns towards him and the cats are fighting each other over who is going to swat the snake. I finally got a long thing and after chasing the snake around the dining room floor, while holding off the cats (who were getting upset with me for not playing fair and giving them their turn) got the snake outside. Then, I decided that I should try to keep it so we could find out if it is poisionous. So, I went onto the porch and persuaded it to go into a plastic container. Now, even though there is no way for it to get out, me and Phil both feel things crawling on us.

Tomorrow, or later today, I will write about fixing my 1995 Nissan Quest with 220,000 some odd miles on it. And, the long talk with my oldest brother's wife. I have not seen them since 2002, and that was at my mother's funeral.