Jimmys Opinion

Girl Scouts Or Crime Fighters

2013-03-06T19:05:00.000-08:00

What is this world coming to when someone swipes the cookie money from a Girl Scout?

I read in our newspaper a few days ago of an incident at a Stater Brothers grocery store, Girl Scout troop 1303 was packing up for the day after selling their allotted amount of cookies.

These girls had sold their entire supply and were getting ready to head home, the money bag containing about $450 was sitting on the table when a young man carrying a skateboard helped himself to it.

Picture this a dude running across a parking lot carrying a skateboard and a stolen money bag, right on his tail is a fourteen year old Girl Scout yelling “Stop Him, Stop Him He took our money”

She eventually tripped and fell down while two customers remained on his trail, the man got away with the money but store surveillance cameras gave the media a picture of him to post, which led to his arrest.

The newspaper article mentioned this is the second theft from area Girl Scouts in a month; money was also stolen from another troop selling cookies.

Here are a few mentions that I found of other such incidents just this year:

Two men are being held on charges they stole nearly $400 from a group of Girl Scouts selling cookies at a store in Massachusetts

Girl Scouts are robbed of cookie money in Texas

Tucson Police are investigating after two separate incidents of thieves stealing money from Girl Scouts selling cookies.

I think it’s pretty sad when thieves start targeting Girl Scouts, I know it looks like we are overpaying for a box of cookies but at least we are getting a quality product for our four and a half bucks, and the money is going to a good cause.

Victoria, the Girl Scout from Troop 1303 that gave chase to the thief had no major injuries, paramedics treated her for minor scrapes and bruises after her spill in the parking lot.

She said, “Why would he do that?” “I think that’s really stupid. He should earn it himself and accomplish something he should be proud of instead of feeling guilty.” She went on to say, “We can easily replace a box of cookies, but he took the money bag.”

The paper began their story with “Girl Scout cookie sales are meant to teach young women to be entrepreneurs - not crime fighters.”

With girls like Victoria standing up for themselves I think they are learning a whole lot more than how to be an entrepreneur, my hats off to Victoria and the rest of the girl scouts who spend their days asking you if you would like to buy a box of cookies.

I normally don’t like to mention names but in this case, Shame on you Colin Sawyer, 20, of Phelan, CA, I know you are going to do good in jail.

Just think of how well you will fit in when you answer your cellmate’s question “What are you in for kid?” Most decent criminals actually like Girl Scouts and cookies; I don’t think they are going to like you.

What is your favorite Girl Scout cookie?

That’s The Brakes

2013-03-01T19:40:00.000-08:00

How many of you ride with your left foot on the brake, and how many of you are practically perfect in every way like myself and keep your left foot on the floor unless there is a clutch involved?

I bet I have done a gazillion brake jobs over the years since I met my lovely wife Cindy, I would never claim to be a mechanic but Lord knows that I have learned how to do a brake job.

I stand and wave to my wife as she drives down the street, either on her way to work or the store and the tail lights burn brightly the whole way, she claims that she is not resting her foot on the brake pedal but the bright red lights tell a different story.

What else tells a different story is the frequency of the brake jobs I have done on our vehicles, it had gotten so bad that the “Lifetime Warranty” brake pads I bought at the parts house were switched out so many times that they in a sense asked me to take my business elsewhere.

I think the lifetime of my brake pad warranty could not be resuscitated.

They really didn’t do that but, I did see them cheering and waving as we drove out of town, the day we moved from New Mexico, I knew that I was going to miss those guys when I saw their faces in the red glow of our tail lights as Cindy drove past.

I remember doing the second brake job on our van, and Big Dave our good friend who lived across the street dropped by to help, this time we replaced brake pads, rotors, calipers, burned brake fluid, and the suggestion of the main driver for this vehicle.

I know many of you are thinking how much blame should be placed into Cindy’s lap, all I have to say is that the brakes on my truck were never changed, and when I sold it they were still stopping the truck just fine.

When Big Dave and I finished the brake job on the van and Cindy was backing out, he stopped her at the end of the drive, he had a nail gun in his hand, yes a brand new nail gun he was waving at the drivers door of the van.

Nice nail gun Dave, did you just get it Cindy said to him, nope I have had it for a while he smiled and continued, I thought I would save Jimmy a little money on brakes and go ahead and nail your left foot to the floorboard.

Cindy drove away and the taillights for the first time in a while remained off until she got to the stop sign, I guess we should have used the nail gun a long time ago.

A couple weeks ago Cindy’s Dad was riding with us to the store, he mentioned that he thought he heard the brakes making noise on his car after Cindy had driven it.

It’s not my fault that the brakes need changed on your car she said, that’s the breaks when you have a car that old, no darling when I see the taillights burning and smell that smell I say That’s The Brakes, and it wasn’t the cars fault.

Left foot or right, which do you use on the brake pedal?

Green Beans And Mule Farts

2013-01-27T18:33:00.003-08:00

Back in my day I used to listen to stories that began with “Back in my day” now instead of listening to them I find myself telling them.

You all have either heard or told the old “Back in my day stories” where you walked to school in the snow, you remember that winter it snowed four foot and they never closed down the school and yes you walked, and to make matters worse it was uphill both directions.

Now days it seems the temperature drops below forty degrees and we bundle the kids up like the Michelin Man, carry them to a pre heated car, drive them to school, and have them either email, text, or call us when it is time to pick them up.

Yes it is true that kids these days have it made, because back in my day, by the time I sent a letter to Mom it would be a week later before I got a reply back telling me that it was only forty degrees and I could walk home.

There was no email, texting, cell phones or a computer system that fits into the palm of your hand, we are spoiling the next generation, don’t get me wrong I think technology is great, but are we actually teaching our kids anything about real life or has it come down to allowing technology to do the thinking for them?

Each generation makes it easier for the next, because we don’t want our kids to have it as hard as we did, and with each generation comes new gadgets and technology that the previous generation tries to comprehend.

Back in the day everyone it seems was a farmer, they planted crops, hunted and fished, raised and slaughtered their own animals, went to bed early and got up early to work hard for a living.

Then after many years of this lifestyle gadgets and machinery were invented to make things a bit easier, no more walking behind a mule guiding a plow when you had a fine tractor that does the job much faster.

Why sniff mule farts when you can have exhaust fumes blow in your face from the stack, but that design has been improved upon also.

I bet it won’t be long that a whole farm can be managed from a laptop, or one of those fine smart phones.

This is all well and good but by making it easier for each generation are we really teaching the next generation anything?

Back in my day we grew green beans in the garden, today’s kids think green beans come from the store, how many of them actually know that those beans have to be grown and shipped there first.

How many kids in this upcoming generation will be able to go out and raise a garden, hunt and fish for food and take care of their families if it was entirely up to them to help out?

Back in my day I knew I could do almost anything, although I have been proved wrong on many occasions, now I pray that the next generation will actually be able to do what it takes to survive.

What do you remember from back in your day that the kids today have never heard of?

Send Me A Video

2013-01-11T20:21:00.000-08:00

Between three and four times a day they tell me is all it takes for it to work, the people who have used it smile that smile, you know the one you only see in a parade or on the face of someone who has had one too many.

Keep it cold because it tastes better that way, and after about five days all your troubles will be over, the whole world will realign, and you just may be one of the smiling people trying to turn on all of your friends to you newly found remedy.

When you are starting to feel a little blah, and need something that is scientifically and clinically proven to get the old digestive track back in line, just look to the TV and follow the advice of the celebrity eating out of the yogurt container.

I wonder about statements given when putting a product upon a pedestal, I have no doubt that eating any yogurt three to four times a day for a week will definitely break something loose, to which you may need to look at another product to slow down the old digestive track a bit.

My question is some of the commercials of late have the celebrity pimping yogurt on the street to folks who really need it, and then she turns to the camera and asks us to try her yogurt and send in a video diary.

Now my question is does she want a video diary of me eating yogurt four times a day for a week, a video diary of the end result, or just a video of me? I say there are some things you simply should not be keeping a video diary of.

If they really want a video of people getting their digestive tracks back in line, and want it on video to prove it, I say I don’t really want their yogurt.

What is your favorite yogurt, and do you eat it three to four times a day?

Big Girl Panties

2013-01-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

"Put your Big Girl Panties on and walk it off" I am sure glad I didn’t come up with this statement but sad to say my little Brother did.

A few days ago we were talking and he asked how Cindy was doing, I told him that she was still hurting and it looked like the first of February would be the soonest the Doctor would release her to go back to work.

Tell her I said to "Put your Big Girl Panties on and walk it off", I had to laugh because he and she have always gotten along really well, they always have a comment similar to this for one another and they always laugh about it.

I can just imagine if Cindy were to say to me that she was hurting and needed a hand with something, and I replied with "Put your Big Girl Panties on and walk it off" just how quickly you all would be reading my obituary.

Why is it that Cindy’s Dad or my little Brother can say things like this and get a laugh, no one gets their feelings hurt, and all is still well in the world.

Jimmy messes up and says something like this and no one laughs, the world seems to come to an end, everyone’s feelings are hurt, and Lassie won’t even bark to let anyone know Jimmy’s in the well.

The smartest thing I know to do is to help her out when I can, say yes dear, and smile to myself when little brother makes comments like this.

Cindy was sitting at her computer tonight laughing at a text she got today, a message from my Brother that said, "Put your Big Girl Panties on and walk it off" I just shook my head and said, "I can’t believe that guy"

It’s OK Brother, I did laugh but you know how it is, you get away with this kind of stuff because you are all the way across the country, but I have to live with her.

I am laughing right now as she is sending him a response on Facebook, a stinging reply concerning her Big Girl Panties; Yes I know everyone will get a big laugh out of it.

Do you have a friend or relative that can get away with comments like this?

Still Not A Member

2013-01-05T20:00:00.000-08:00

Standing in line at one of our fabulous Government offices you can sure see a vast group of people, I love watching people and most of the folks I meet are really great, but others either make you laugh or scare the heck out of you.

I watched one man stand in line for what seemed like forever, and when he got to the front of the line he made a right hand turn and walked out the front door, he happened to be in front of us so now we were next in line, I didn’t know whether I should make a break for the door or just go ahead with the business at hand.

He came back in just as we were called but made his way to the back of the line without ever making eye contact with anyone, I wonder how many times he walked out the door before he made it to the counter.

Another lady who made it past the red line you are supposed to stay behind until called, began her conversation with a bit of Spanish and a shrug of the shoulders, the clerk asked her if she spoke English, the lady shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

So you are saying you don’t speak English, No hablo Inglés along with another shrug of her shoulders, OK let me see your Social Security card, I don’t have one, you don’t have one? No I never got one, You never got a Social Security card and you don’t speak English either?

This is when the shoulder shrugging young lady got up and headed for the door, I guess she should have not learned English so quickly, I was actually impressed at how quickly she learned.

Our business after we got past the red line was actually painless, I decided that attempting Spanish at the counter was not in my best interest, so I neither embarrassed my wife nor myself, and I was not forced to make a break for the door either.

Our next visit was to our AAA office, we always go there when it is time to register the car, stepping through the door you know everything is going to go smoothly, quickly, and you will have no reason to make a break for the door.

This time we walked right up to the counter to meet a new person working there, she asked for our AAA card and signed us in, What can we do for you today? Cindy told her we needed to register the car so DMV services is where we wanted to go.

Do you have paperwork from the DMV, Cindy told her Yes, May I see it then, now this was a first so Cindy handed her the envelope, we have a problem she informed us.

Jimmy’s name is not on your AAA account, why is this a problem, all I want to do is register the car, Your name is not on the DMV paperwork so Jimmy will have to register the car, and he cant do it on your AAA card.

Since Cindy is still recovering from her recent surgery her fuse has been a bit short, after Cindy explained to her that we always do our DMV business here and that there should be no reason why we can’t do business with the same card we have always used, because “For God’s Sake He Is My Husband!”

The lady responded with “I’ll be glad to help you fill out a membership application for Jimmy” this is when I had to place my hand gently on my wife’s shoulder and guide her toward the door, I sure would have hated for her to have ripped her staples out climbing over that counter.

Today she went online and registered our car, it was much easier, there were no lines to stand in, no service reps to deal with, and everything went smoothly until I asked; While you were online did you sign me up for a AAA membership?

Just One More

2012-12-31T18:37:00.000-08:00

How about just one more post for the year, the last post for 2012.

We have had a good year, and 2013 is only going to get better. Each and everyone of us have had both blessings and heartaches this past year and we all will endure more in the coming year because my Friends that is life.

Material and monetary items are a must for life today, but what is most important and something we all should reflect on is our family and friends, you can have all the money in the world and be miserable without someone to share it with.

Myself I’d rather not have the pile of money if it meant losing my family and friends to gain, people are conditioned to work for a living, but when working takes place of your family time you need to readjust a bit and make time for both family and the job you need to feed them.

Harry Chapin’s song Cats In The Cradle tells the story of a man who never had time to spend with his son, “When you comin' home dad? I don't know when, but we'll get together then son, You know we'll have a good time then”

To make a long story short, the son wanted to spend time with and be like his Dad, and Dad never had time to spend with him, Son grew up and became like his Dad who is now retired, now the Son has no time for Dad.

It’s so easy to allow time to pass and put things off thinking I’ll make time for this later, when it comes to family putting things off may be your last chance to do something with someone you love.

About thirty years ago I got a call from my Grand Dad who asked me to come over and take him fishing, Can’t do it this weekend Grand Dad I am on call for work, how about next weekend, Sounds good Jimmy, I’ll see you then.

Grand Dad died the following Saturday, the day I was supposed to take him fishing, putting him off a week was my last opportunity to see him.

So before I get in too deep, I say take time to do things with someone you love, make time to see your Parents, Grandma or Grandpa and listen to their stories, you know the ones you have already heard a million times.

Play ball with your kids or grandkids, or listen to them ramble about the new gadget they have, even if you have no idea what they are talking about, just being there with them is more important than understanding how that gadget really works.

Sit down and have a cup of coffee with that friend you keep putting off because you don’t have the time, we have to start making time for little things like this because as I said before, if we put things like this off too many times, time will run out.

My wish for all of you in the coming year is time with your Family and Friends, I thank all of you who choose to read my opinions and have decided to stick around in spite of them.

A Happy New Year to you, and remember as long as you have your Faith, Friends, and Family, you are truly blessed.

They Still Matter

2012-12-30T11:33:00.000-08:00

In a hundred years anything you do will not matter, I had someone say this to me and although it is an easy answer in a lot of situations, is this really true?

Genealogy is one of my passions; I get myself lost in the research and really feel good once I find an answer to what I am looking for, although finding answers just make you want to find more.

I wouldn’t call myself a Genealogist, and what do you call someone who collects dead relatives, loves spending time walking through graveyards, gets a thrill at looking through old death certificates, and then puts the information together to get a feel for past lives.

I have quite a few people in my family tree that seem to have simply vanished, and no matter how many times I go back to look they are still not there.

My Great Grandmother is one of these, for the life of me I cannot find her parents anywhere, she was born in 1882 so with this said she is not on the 1880 census, she married my Great Grandfather in 1899 so on the 1900 census she is living with him.

The 1890 Census would be the perfect place to look. Right? Guess which census was lost in a fire in this area? Yes there is no 1890 census for the area I grew up in, Her death certificate gives the names of her parents but these names do not appear anywhere else.

This is a brick wall that I will break through one day.

Another is the Daughter of a 2nd Great Grand Uncle, all I have ever had is her name and birth year, for many years I have searched for information on her, a cousin came through a few days ago and gave me the name of the man this girl had married.

I actually found a newspaper article from June of 1906 that tells her story:

She married in December of 1905 and lived in an older home with her husband, they lived on the upper floor and another family lived downstairs, on the first day of June 1906 a fire erupted in the middle of the night.

A defective flue in the kitchen caused a fire to smolder and erupt about two in the morning, the family downstairs escaped but she and her husband didn’t, Their remains were gathered together, placed in the same coffin, and laid to rest in the church cemetery.

The family believes it was foul play and an investigation claims accidental death, there is no set answer still today, so better than a hundred years ago there is still a question.

Do answers to these two situations matter? I find myself getting so deep into these stories I feel like I actually knew these family members, looking into the faces of people who died many years before I was born tells me that after a hundred years, it still matters.

Do you collect Dead Relatives, and do you think our actions today will really matter in 100 years?

No Comment

2012-12-28T19:32:00.000-08:00

I like looking back on posts from the past that no one commented on, why did these posts get no comments? I have no idea and it really doesn’t matter, this one is on a serious subject and a 100% true story about yours truly.

Chronic conditions a lot of us deal with each day, how we deal with these conditions differ with each person, so without further introduction here is another post from the past that got no comments.

Jimmy You Have Sugar

I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of fifteen; this was back in 1975 the so-called “Olden Days” as the kids tell me, I was a normal teenager, very active and worked hard when not in school. I started with the usual diabetes symptoms, excessive thirst, going to the bathroom a lot, and I lost about thirty pounds which is quite noticeable on a 15 year old, not knowing a lot about diabetes just prolonged the diagnosis, I was taken to see the doctor when I got so weak I could hardly do anything much less stay awake, after a couple visits the small town country doctor tells me “Jimmy, You Have Sugar” he went on to tell me that I was his first diabetic patient and he would learn all he could to help me, I was given a prescription for some pills he said might help but that shots were inevitable.

The first several years were very hard due to the lack of knowledge on the condition, after finding out the pills just wouldn’t work I began injections with NPH U-100 N and R insulin that was made from beef and pork insulin, my new diet consisted of “No Sugar” so no more cokes, cookies or anything sweet, cokes were substituted for fruit juices which did not help my blood glucose levels. I tested my urine sugars at home although I didn’t know why at the time, my insulin doses were decided by the doctor when I had an appointment to see him and my diet even though it was no sugar was high in starches and fruits that may be healthy but is not good for someone with a high blood sugar level.

Words of wisdom I received and appreciate from that country doctor who diagnosed me with diabetes: his answer to a question from me was “Jimmy you will know far more about diabetes than I ever will because you are Living Diabetes and I am not” I respected this answer better than if he had said I don’t know.

The NPH Insulin worked well for me in spite of the things against me, then all of a sudden this type of insulin was no longer made, I was switched to a synthetic Humilin insulin which works well for some but did not for me, it was almost like I was not using any insulin at all on most days, my blood glucose levels were extremely high for quite a while resulting in very high A1c level, this lack of proper control of my blood sugars was the beginning of my diabetic complications.

After about twenty eight years of no complications I began getting the burning and sharp pains in my hands and feet which are signs of peripheral neuropathy which I was diagnosed with soon after, this and a few TIA strokes resulted in muscle weakness and loss of sensation in all limbs which soon ended my working career, I am now retired disabled. I check my blood sugars several times a day and my wife injects me with insulin before each meal, I also take an injection of Lantus every morning which is a base line insulin that keeps my blood sugars level along with Novolog injections before meals. The injections and medications have become part of my daily routine and although not something I prefer to do, it is something I have to do if I am going to live a somewhat normal life.

The diabetes care was very limited then, knowledge and education was kept under your breath because it almost seemed as if you had to be ashamed of being diabetic, I remember hiding to take my insulin injections and still feel that old fear of someone seeing you when I get my supplies out but that was then, now we have good education and new treatment options suited for whatever type of diabetes you have.

My wife and I fight this condition daily in an attempt to control the glucose levels and prevent more complications, all in all we are winning, but this is a battle we will always have if I want to have a long life. Thirty-five years since my diagnoses has taught me that you can never stop learning because the rules and condition of your body is always changing and if you want a long life then you will always have this fight.

Do you have a chronic condition that will not go away?

Santa Claus And Such

2012-12-24T19:44:00.001-08:00

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house…

Christmas has finally arrived and many of us are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Family, Friends, and gifts, it’s funny as I have gotten a little older how much the gifting has changed, I would rather see the face of a loved one receiving a gift than to get one myself, but it’s still kind of nice to get a little something…Right?

Christmas is in fact a Christian holy day marking the birth of Jesus, many of us were raised with these teachings and these lessons should never be covered up nor forgotten.

I wont get into religious teachings right now but just want to make a few observations with you.

Merry Christmas has become the wrong thing to say in many places, Happy Holidays seems to be the PC way to say Merry Christmas, I don’t have a problem with Happy Holidays when we are lumping the season all into one greeting, I just don’t think that one should be replaced by the other.

And how about Santa, how many of us still believe in Santa” Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

I had a group of people come knocking on the door to discuss their religion, one lady made the comment that people should not be allowed to teach their kids fairy tales like the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and such, because all this is doing is confusing them about Jesus.

My question is why can’t we have both? Shouldn’t our kids be allowed to believe in and take part in holiday celebrations, as long as we read and teach them the Bible also?

Why can’t our children be allowed to use their imaginations and look forward to the fun that Christmas brings? Yes I know that it is becoming more and more commercialized but in my opinion, believing in Santa is not harming our kids as long as they also know about Jesus.

I think we can teach our kids religion and the truth, without taking all the fun out of it.

For now I am going to leave you all with Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and many more Christmastime salutations because I really have to get myself into bed and cover my head before Santa sees I am still up and skips me again this year.

From our bunch to yours Merry Christmas!

When In Doubt; Take It Out

2012-12-22T17:51:00.000-08:00

Thirty minutes feels like hours when you are standing outside the door of an Urgent care center waiting for the door to open for business, at the sound of the lock tumbler turning everyone rushed the door.

Walking up to the counter there were four of us waiting to be chosen as the first to arrive, “What brings you here today” the man behind the counter asks “We are here for the dance class” was the reply which he did not find amusing, but I did see a smile as he pushed the clipboard with the forms to fill out in our direction.

A sore throat should be easy to take care of, so thinking we would be in and out in short order was not in the works for the day, in addition to a sore throat, a slight abdominal pain turned into a rush across town to the emergency room.

After Blood work, Ultrasounds, and CT Scans the ER Doctor comes in with the results of the many tests Appendicitis, how in the world can you go into urgent care with a sore throat and come out with the diagnosis of appendicitis?

A surgeon was called in to discuss the situation, I was kind of afraid when he walked into the room already in a surgical gown, and told me his motto was “When in doubt; Take it out”

What are my options Doc? In my opinion your appendix has to come out, are you serious it can’t be that bad, “If you go home I guarantee you will be back and on my table in less than twelve hours” so out the door we went to surgery.

The surgery went well, and the hospital stay was like most hospital stays, you know where they come in at all hours of the night and wake you up to see how well you are sleeping.

On the last night of the hospital stay the nurse on duty simply scared the Bejeezus out of Cindy, this lady stepped into the doorway and blocked all the light from the hallway. How many of you remember William “The Refrigerator” Perry from the Chicago Bears? I hate to say it but this is who she reminded me of.

But after introducing herself she became the most kindhearted and knowledgeable nurse I have ever come into contact with, the fear in Cindy’s eyes went right out the window and I have to say this was a case where we shouldn’t have judged the book by its cover.

A quick appendectomy, a slow few days in the hospital, a bumpy ride home last night, and now Cindy has the instructions to not lift anything over twenty pounds before the first of February.

This is a quick rundown of the last few days in our lives, Cindy is doing well and it looks like the next time she has a sore throat we just may go straight to the ER, but I know for sure next time she does have a sore throat, it wont be her appendix.

The Good Lord works in mysterious ways, because had He not given her a sore throat strong enough to take us to urgent care, the next symptom of the appendicitis may have made matters much worse.

Have you ever had a diagnosis that didn’t fit the symptoms that took you to the Doctor?

Fake Or Real-repeat

2012-12-16T18:12:00.001-08:00

Sometimes you have to look really close to see if they are fake or real, most people really enjoy real ones but look at how easy it is to get really big fake ones, because everyone likes big ones, and for just a little more money you can get huge ones that look real depending on where you get them.

Myself I have always loved real ones, when I was a young man I could just sit and stare at them for hours, when no one else was looking I just had to reach out and touch one, the feel was amazing and placing my face really close and breathing in slowly gave me a feeling I will always remember.

I never saw fake ones until I was a bit older, and now that I am a bit older the small fake ones work just fine, we always hang ornaments on fake ones now. Yes I said ornaments and this is a family site so Christmas trees is the subject here just in case your mind was wandering.

One memory of a real Christmas tree I had was the first year I took it upon myself to go out and get the family Christmas tree, I was raised in South Carolina so there were plenty of trees around but you don’t just go and cut one without asking.

I drove my Gran Torino Sport all the way up to my Uncle Chester’s house and asked him if he knew where I could get one, he pointed me to an area across the road and said that I could cut any tree I wanted on his land, as long as I stayed in the area he told me, I did exactly what he said and marched myself into the woods and carefully picked the best looking tree I could find.

This tree was beautiful and I didn’t realize how large it was until I began dragging it back to my car, you remember I said car, yes this was a two door Gran Torino Sport and I actually stuffed this tree inside, for the long trip home.

The trunk of the tree was up in the back window and this tree was twisted and turned leaving only room for me to barely fit into the drivers seat.

This actually looked like a car wreck with a tree rolling down the highway, with limbs sticking out of every window, and the top of the tree crammed into my windshield partially blocking my view, heck I think a nest of owls actually flew out while I was sitting at the stop sign.

At home Mom just smiled as I was trying to get it out of the car, she told me it was too large and after trying to get it into the door of the house there was some strategic trimming done, leaving enough limbs to make several more trees and enough lumber to build a small house, I think I actually saw Charlie Brown make off with one of the limbs.

This tree was beautiful and I learned from this experience to choose smaller trees, I also learned that it is easier to tie one to the roof if you don’t have a truck, and that once you transport a real Christmas tree inside your car, the need for a little pine tree air freshener goes out the window forever.

Thirteen For A Dozen

2012-12-12T19:19:00.000-08:00

Do we throw this away or keep it? I think I can fix it let me give it a look, that’s all right I’ll just buy another because it’ll cost more for you to fix it than for me to get a new one.

Does this sound familiar? It seems we are now living in a throwaway society, a society where nothing is actually made to last, things are now made to be thrown away after a short time, and replaced with a new version.

I remember a time when the soles and heels on my boots were actually replaced many times over, and now days I can’t even tell you where a good boot repair shop actually is, because I simply replace my boots.

I once a pair of boots that were older than my kids, I had spent so much money on new soles and heels over the years that I could have paid for a new pair a couple of times, but the point I am making is that the boots were not falling apart.

Furniture is easier to replace than to fix, simply due to the quality of the materials used today, furniture that was made thirty years ago is still holding strong and if you want to pay to have it reupholstered it will still be holding strong thirty years from now.

And speaking of strong you really have to be strong if you want to rearrange the furniture made it that era, the furniture today you are lucky if it doesn’t break when you sit down on it.

It seems that a lot of corners are cut to make items cheaper, although the prices don’t seem to come down the quality sure seems to.

Even with groceries, how many of you remember “A bakers dozen” say you go into the bakery and order a dozen donuts, your friendly neighborhood baker would throw thirteen in the box and charge you for twelve.

Go to the grocery store today and pick up a twenty-four pack of Coke and get home to realize there are only twenty in the new packages, but yet you got charged for twenty-four, the quantity is going down on a lot of items, but the price either remains the same or rises.

Computers and electronics make you think they have a part installed inside them that causes the product to self destruct within the week after the warranty runs out, if you buy an extended warranty then you are given the one with the extra long self destruct sequence.

Vehicle prices really get under my skin, the commercials praise the greatness of this car and brag about all the bells and whistles, then in the same breath say “Starting at like a gazillion dollars” like this is a good deal, seriously some of these prices are more than I have paid for a house in the past.

The sad thing is we keep running out and buying these vehicles, we finance them for about six years and then trade them in within four, the prices go up and we buy another.

What if we all made our vehicles last ten years like they should?

I know we wouldn’t be driving the latest and greatest vehicle every four years, but when it does come time to replace our ten year old vehicle the prices could likely be a bit more affordable.

A lot of things break and we have no control over that, but what about the things we can actually repair, is it really easier to throw it away and buy a new one?

Not Worth It

2012-12-07T19:56:00.002-08:00

Life is grand when you have teenagers in the house, there is always an adventure and the sibling rivalry just adds insult to injury sometimes.

When our sons Randy and Tim were in High School the sibling rivalry left us in stitches so to say, and on some days stitches were involved after one of their pranks.

Randy the oldest was always making a bet with Tim, something like “Hey Tim, I’ll bet you ten bucks you wont stick your tongue in this light socket”

I am happy to report that this bet was never made; because had it been, Tim would have been ten bucks richer and we would have been transporting him to the hospital.

Tim did take the bet to try on the shock color for the containment fence for Randy’s dog, I am proud to say no animals were harmed in this experiment, but it took us about a week to get Tim to leave the yard.

One snowy night we were sitting quietly in the living room, I had spent most of the afternoon shoveling snow from the driveway and walkway, so there was a huge pile of snow in between the two.

The boys were playing quietly in their rooms, seriously they were arguing and giving one another a hard time; Randy was tempting Tim with the promise of money, and down the hall they came.

“OK Tim if you strip down naked and jump into that pile of snow I’ll give you ten bucks” Randy had an evil grin on his face and Tim was seriously considering the proposition.

“I’ll make it twenty if you strip down and lay face first in the snow pile, I don’t want you getting snow in your face, but you do have to push everything else into the snow for five minutes.”

Tim looked at the clock and so did we, 10pm and there is a trail of clothing from where he was standing out the front door, next thing we see is Tim’s white butt cheeks shining in the moonlight, he was actually grinding his hips into the snow bank.

Five minutes later he stands up and yells, “You owe me twenty bucks sucker” unbeknownst to Tim the houses directly across the street had the occupants standing on their front porches, the clapping and cheers sent Tim streaking back into the house, and left Cindy explaining that it was a harmless bet between brothers, and not a snow pile being violated by our son.

Tim got his money and a few days later another bet was made, Randy was making fun of Tim for being humiliated in front of the neighborhood, he came up with a solution for Tim being caught with his pants down so to say.

“I’ll go out into the front yard and drop my pants right now, and I’ll give you fifty bucks to come out there and kiss my bare ass” Tim agreed and looked out the door to see if anyone was outside.

He turned and told Randy that everything was clear and out the door they went, Randy dropped his pants and Tim just stood there with his own evil grin, “Right here Tim kiss this cheek and I’ll give you fifty”

Just then the people from across the street started clapping and laughing, one lady yelled “Hey Randy I’ll kiss them both for fifty!” Tim smiled and told Randy, You know brother some things are just not worth it.

With red cheeks shining on Randy’s face and his white cheeks being quickly covered, this bet was deemed not payable.

Do you have a funny story involving you or your kids as a teenager?

Victim Or Con

2012-12-05T20:49:00.000-08:00

I am sure everyone has heard about the NY City Policeman who bought a pair of socks and boots for a homeless man in Times Square, this act of kindness has been on the news and all over the internet, this man has been thrust into the limelight so to say, I applaud this policeman for making time to help someone in need.

This homeless man is said to have been seen on the street again barefoot, stating that he fears for his life and has hidden the boots due to safety concerns, his image has hit the web without his permission and the value of those boots could cost him his life.

It has also been reported that he is not actually homeless, he actually has an apartment in the Bronx paid for by the federal government. So with this said does this man really need help?

My problem with all of this is that the act of compassion from this Police Officer was made into a public spectacle; I feel that he did not do this for publicity; he did it because he felt this man needed help.

We always take a chance when we donate anything in this manner, a lot of people refuse to give handouts stating things like “all they want the money for is drugs or alcohol” we have a lot of people on the streets who are not necessarily drug addicts or alcoholics, so this excuse is unacceptable in my opinion.

I think donations and giving someone a hand should remain private in a sense, no ones act of compassion should go viral, simply because sometimes the person in need will be embarrassed enough without having their image splashed across the web.

And if by chance the person who gave the handout actually gets duped, and their image is displayed everywhere, everyone will have ammunition to stop giving while laughing at the person who was duped, “See I told you so, you should just ignore those people”

Now that wintertime is upon us there is a large number of people on the streets who would greatly benefit from the gift of boots, socks, gloves, blankets and food.

Help our people in need when you can, by giving what you feel is right, be it cash or clothes, food or footwear there is nothing wrong with reaching out to our homeless.

Don’t shy away from giving because you feel like you may get duped, I have a feeling we have all been duped at one time or another, I would feel better taking this chance than find out I ignored someone who actually needed a bite to eat.

Officer Lawrence DePrimo’s act of kindness should have been kept between he and Jeffrey Hillman, whether this man was duped or not is not for me to say, because as quick as his story hit the Internet so did the research to discredit the homeless man.

Can you look at a person and tell the difference between a con and an actual victim? Not if the con is good at what he does, and most of them are, so I’ll leave you with this.

If you feel a person needs help give them a hand, don’t question yourself and don’t question them because this is not helping.

Has someone on the street really gotten your attention, to where you either wanted to reach out to him or her, or run away?

Farts And Hot Flashes

2012-12-02T17:46:00.000-08:00

Going through our recent mattress shopping experience, a possibility for a new product came to me; actually I picked up on a conversation between Cindy and one of the sales people:

Sales Girl: This mattress is very comfortable, it even adjusts to the temperature to help you sleep cooler.

Cindy: So this mattress will keep you cool at night?

Sales Girl: Yes if you sleep hot then this would be the one for you.

Cindy: You are saying if Jimmy is cold and I am hot, it will adjust to our body temperature.

Sales Girl: Not really it adjusts to the room temperature more so than your body.

Cindy: I thought that you were going to tell me that it helped with Hot Flashes.

Sales Girl: If I had a mattress that helped with Hot Flashes I would sell a million.

Now I am thinking, why can’t I invent a mattress that will adjust to your body temperature rather than the room, just think if I am cold my side of the mattress will automatically heat up a bit.

If Cindy is hot then a cooling sensation will flow through the mattress, what if by chance she gets an occasional Hot Flash? The proper solution would be for the mattress to give an occasional cool flash to counteract the Hot Flash.

How about design? We could design anything from Rock Hard to Soft and Fluffy as long as the heating and cooling element works correctly, to heck with a number to sleep by, how about a sleeping temperature.

Now that the idea is there lets talk about the pros and cons, but with this idea there should be all pros and no cons…Right? I like it when there are no questions about my ideas.

I’m going to make a million with my mattress that adjusts to anything you throw at it, when it comes to temperature that is.

I can see it now, my wife is feeling a bit warm and no longer is she throwing off the covers and flopping all over the place trying to cool down, I no longer have to get up and drag the blankets back onto the bed because I am cold.

She is comfortable with the cooling sensation the mattress is giving her; I am comfortable with the warmth of my side of the bed, what could go wrong with this design.

Then a dreaded question came up “What happens if you fart in bed?”

Now I have to work on this one, because if you are sleeping cool and the bed is keeping you warm, all of a sudden you let one slip and get a cool blast to your rear end.

This would kind of defeat the purpose of the bed, especially if the mattress can’t tell the difference between a Fart and a Hot Flash.

Back to the drawing board I suppose, I wonder if adding a “Fart Guard” would be the answer?

Do you have an invention idea that may or may not work?

____________________________________________________

I submitted this post to the Dude Write Weekly Challenge

After the votes were counted we received the majority and have been awarded with the People's Choice Award

Thank You to the Dudes over at Dude Write and most of all to you who read my posts and feel me worthy of your vote.

Do It Again Jimmy

2012-11-29T20:55:00.000-08:00

Going to Lubbock, Texas was sort of a treat for us when we lived in New Mexico; it was actually one of the closest places to go to see anything from a Good Doctor to an actual mall.

Lubbock is about 100 miles from where we lived and much of the roadway is surrounded by crops, you can see a lot of different things on this road, tumbleweeds, snakes, cotton, tarantulas, corn, milo and marijuana, to name a few crops, and when you have huge fields you are bound to see tumbleweeds and /or crop dusters passing right before your eyes.

For those who have never seen one, a crop duster is a small plane used to sweep over the fields and drop things like pesticides and fertilizer onto the crops, I suppose this may be a cheaper way to get a job done fast, and getting it done fast is how these guys make a living.

On one trip to Lubbock we were riding along with the boys in the backseat, they were gazing out into the fields listening to me explain everything I know about farming, which didn’t take long and just about the time my lesson started to turn into fiction, Timmy yelled “The Plane Boss, look it’s the plane”

No really he did point and yell that he saw an airplane, and sure enough out to the right hand side of the car we got a great view of a crop duster dropping low over the field and spreading a cloud of something onto the ground.

Right in the middle of me explaining my pesticide or fertilizer description, the plane appeared to go straight up and swoop back across the field in the other direction.

Shouts of “Did you see that” and “That was so cool” came from the back seat, the boys were really enjoying this show, then straight ahead the plane swooped low across the highway, it was so low I thought it was going to crash onto the road.

Then it came back across in the other direction, the crop duster was dropping low and flying underneath the power line then crossing the highway making its approach to the field, and on the turn around it was staying low crossing the highway again in front of us once again passing underneath the power lines.

This was all going on I’d say about a half a mile ahead of us, so we were far enough away to not worry, but get a good view at the same time, we had never viewed such a display of aerial acrobatics or lunacy depending on how you look at it.

Then all of a sudden the show was over, the plane seemed to vanish and the boys were so disappointed, I was in the middle of explaining how the crop duster had most likely finished his job and how we would likely see one again before long.

Just as I said this I heard a loud buzzing sound and literally saw wheels pass right in front of our windshield, this crop duster came so close to the front of our vehicle, I thought he had actually hit us, I kid you not all I saw was a shadow and wheels, the wheels passed from right to left and I waited for a crashing sound.

From the back seat I heard shouts of “Did you see that” and “That was so cool”, from the front seat all I could hear was my heart thumping, Cindy was staring with her mouth wide open, I often wonder how you would explain to your insurance agent that an airplane actually did pull out in front of you.

Then from the back seat I got a strong tapping on my shoulder and heard, “Can you do it again, Please make him do it again”

If you could make this happen again, would you?

Flying Hubcaps

2012-11-27T19:43:00.000-08:00

Back when the Daughter first got her drivers license we drove from NM to California to pick up a car for her, Cindy’s Dad had a Plymouth Sundance with a standard transmission that only two people in the Continental United States could drive.

Cindy’s Dad was one and I happened to be the other, it was a really nice car once you mastered the art of changing the gears, so after several days of training, screaming, crying, and grinding gears Melissa could now drive it.

We headed back to New Mexico, Melissa was excited thinking she would be driving on the freeway; Cindy and I were apprehensive because we knew that Melissa did not have enough experience for this type of a trip as of yet.

Following her for the very first time my fears were confirmed when I saw two hubcaps fly from her car straight into the wide blue yonder, the very next stop Melissa was sent to the passenger side of the car, I should have realized then how many tires she would eventually destroy, I had a flat became a common phrase in our house.

We finally set into a rhythm driving down the highway, Cindy was following behind me and Melissa was asleep on the passenger seat of the car I was driving, I was finally in charge of how fast we would be going, and for a bonus I was listening to the tunes I like.

All of a sudden right in front of me two cars come to a complete stop, side by side mind you and it appeared they were chatting with each other, coming up on them at about 80mph I pulled onto the shoulder and went around, Cindy followed and you would think the worst was over…Right?

Following Cindy was a Semi Truck that was not slowing down, Cindy swerves to the left and all I could see in my rearview mirror was his Chrome Bumper, I swerved back to the right onto the shoulder and looked to my left to see Cindy looking at me from underneath the trailer on the other side of the truck.

It was kind of like one of those scenes you would expect in a movie like Smokey and The Bandit, here we are driving toward Albuquerque, NM at about 75mph, 3 wide with Cindy in the left lane, a maniac trucker in the right, and me on the shoulder waving to my wife under the trailer of his truck.

He laid on the air horn as he went between us and I pulled back into the lane, the very next exit we pulled off because I think we were both shaking so hard by that time we couldn’t drive anymore without settling our nerves.

Just as I parked the car Melissa threw the blanket she was covered with aside, yawned and asked, “Why are we stopping?” I said that was a close one, we were almost run over by a truck, she then had the nerve to say, “Why didn’t you wake me up, because I would have wanted to see that”

I can’t imagine myself calmly saying, Hey Melissa you had better wake up because this is an accident you should really see, “Well you don’t have to be so mean about it” she said.

This was almost as bad as the time we almost ran into an airplane that was crossing the highway on our way to Texas.

Have you had any close calls that did not result in an accident?

Made From Scratch

2012-11-24T17:27:00.000-08:00

Driving downtown we saw a sign in the window of our favorite “Famous Fast Food Joint” that said we could have a Free Made from Scratch biscuit today.

I have been told that these biscuits are made fresh every morning by specially trained bakers, who roll out the dough by hand and then bake the biscuits to a fluffy texture and golden-brown color. Kind of like the Keebler elves but with biscuits.

I think I even saw them unloading boxes marked “Biscuits” from the back of a freezer truck early one morning, and when I saw this scene I thought to myself “Man these bakers get to work early”

So with this said I just had to have me one of those biscuits, especially since they were free.

Needless to say there was a long line at the counter and about forty five minutes later we are finally next in line, an elderly couple ahead of us asked for their free Made From Scratch biscuit, and went on to ask if they were really made from scratch.

I swear employees began to dance around behind the counter singing praises of their signature made from scratch biscuits, I looked around to see if they were filming a commercial, but really think that either I had drifted off for a minute, or the kids behind the counter were just bored.

After the song and dance was over two steaming biscuits were placed on a tray, the elderly gentleman ordered two coffees to go along with their biscuits, and added that he wanted his Senior Discount.

All of a sudden it was a problem, now that he wanted a senior discount they had to ring up the biscuits and coffee separately, and since there were two of them they had to ring up the coffees separately to give two senior discounts, simply because the both of them wanted one.

Now the biscuits come in: How do I ring up these biscuits with a senior discount? The biscuits are free so why does it matter, it matters because we have to keep track of how many biscuits we give away, and if I give you a discount then it will look like I gave away more than we actually did.

The manager is called in and the button pushing began, the head scratching started and I saw a new version of made from scratch.

Ringing up a cup of coffee was easy with a senior discount, lets say for kicks that 10% is the senior discount and the coffee is a buck and a quarter, with the discount the price is now about a dollar and twelve cents.

With the biscuit being free and having a 10% discount still makes it free, but for the sake of inventory lets say the biscuit costs two dollars, to make it free you add a 100% discount, with the senior discount added on top that is 110%, you now have to give this man a free biscuit plus twenty cents.

When it came my turn I just got a blank stare when I asked if I could have a senior discount too.

Not only do you have to love free biscuits, they are much better with a senior discount.

The Punch Line

2012-11-21T16:44:00.000-08:00

Do you remember how it was back in the day, no not that far back just back to how different you were when you and your significant other first met?

Cindy and I were a fun loving couple, there were five kids between us so we blended ourselves a family, and it was a magical time, you could almost hear background music it was so good.

Till the one day when the lady met this fellow

And they knew it was much more than a hunch,

That this group would somehow form a family.

That's the way we all became the…

Well that wasn’t exactly the song, but we made it work, the kids actually got tired of our dating arrangement so Melissa (the daughter) suggested “Why don’t you two move in together or get married, because we are really tired of running back and forth between your houses”

“Set a date, set a date,” my Sister continued to tell us, so just to make everyone happy we began planning a wedding, actually it was our idea but we let the rest think it was because of them.

Then came the wedding, all the kids were involved in the ceremony, everything went really well in spite of my oldest son and Cindy’s daughter vowing they could not touch each other while walking down the aisle, Melissa was on crutches because she had tripped and sprained her ankle the day before, this did not help the no touching situation.

Randy walked down the aisle with Cindy, he is her oldest son and proudly took on the responsibility of giving her away, and she was gripping his arm so hard that his hand turned blue.

The preacher told Cindy that if she felt faint she could slightly bend her knees and it would help, while she was being escorted down the aisle I could see a look of fear on her face, I tried to make her smile, not thinking that I was in fact standing in front of the whole church.

I start bending my knees and mouthing “bend your knees, bend your knees” Cindy laughed the rest of the way down the aisle, the grip on Randy’s arm made him more apt to give her away, simply to get released from her grip.

And speaking of grips, she sure had one on the cake when she accidentally shoved it into my face, who started it is still the question, but I say I know the answer.

The Honeymoon was in Santa Fe, NM and we had a great time, this was back in the day when Cindy still listened to every word I said.

During supper at a fancy restaurant, Cindy was listening to me ramble on about all sorts of things, she got a refill on her tea and asked for a packet of sugar, I had one in my hand that had caught my eye because it was different, I had been reading the package while we were talking.

I handed it to her and told her to try this one; she glanced at it and asked, “What is this?” I proceeded to tell her the story about where it had come from and all the history behind it, the date it was introduced and everything else I could remember.

She looked at me and said, "Wow how did you know all of that?" I just read the package I told her, she popped off "I thought you were smart there for a minute", I think that’s the last time she completely listened to any of my stories without waiting for a punch line.

The kids are all grown now and we are actually Grandparents, Cindy and I still sit and talk, we have been together long enough that most days she knows what I am going to say before I ever open my mouth.

I still read and tell her about things I find interesting, my attempts at trying to sound brilliant do not fool her, she says that she hears every word but now knows when a punch line is coming.

What does all of this have to do with Thanksgiving you ask, I am thankful for each and every experience we have shared and I thank God for allowing me such a great wife and family.

Enjoy your day with your Friends and Family; tell them how much you love them, and Thank The Good Lord for your blessings, and to each of you from Cindy and I.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sleeping Outside

2012-11-20T18:33:00.000-08:00

When people start setting up tents outside a store in anticipation of a big sale is when I think things have gotten out of hand.

Yes Black Friday is coming, our newspaper had a headline this morning stating “Shopping is gobbling up Thanksgiving” and I am afraid this is the truth, so with this said how many of us will participate in the Black Friday madness?

Going out on Friday has become a tradition for many people, a bigger tradition than actually sitting down for a Turkey dinner with loved ones.

I myself have suffered through this madness and now feel that paying a normal price is worth it more so than fighting the crowd for a discount.

source

I saw on the news where people started camping out at a Best Buy store a week ago, and yesterday Cindy and I went there to buy ink for my printer and actually saw people camped out in front of the store.

I wonder if the prices are going to drop so low to make it worth it for them to miss Thanksgiving, is sleeping on the concrete going to be worthwhile enough to get their hands on something electronic, and is this item only going to be available this one day.

Figure up the amount of money you spent on that tent and lawn chairs, the food and drinks you bought, and the amount of time you wasted sitting there watching folks go in and out of that store.

I bet you end up spending more money than the item is really worth, and if you wanted to go camping with the family why the heck would you want to spend it in a parking lot?

I also wonder why a store would allow this; does a stores policy allow camping outside the front door? Or is this just a black Friday thing?

What if a homeless person was found sleeping outside the front door of a store, they would have the police called on them and escorted off the property, but yet the view I saw yesterday is tolerated.

A homeless person may not have money to spend on electronic products, so it appears they are less worthy a place to sleep just because they don’t have one?

I say use that money you are wasting camping out in front of a store for something proper; give it to someone who actually sleeps on the concrete because they have nowhere else to go.

I’d rather give my money to someone in need and possibly help to curb a hunger pang, than get a good deal on something I can buy on any day.

Do you have a Black Friday item that you will be shopping for?

Valet Parking And White Gloves

2012-11-18T18:19:00.000-08:00

The story you are about to read is true, only the names and most of the details have been changed to protect the guilty; I see no reason to protect the innocent because normally the innocent are simply the bystanders.

It was just a small startup type of business; they sold couches and chairs out of the garage and made a small profit because the quality was decent and the prices were low.

Just a couple of guys who bought a small house and opened a furniture store, it looked more like a yard sale but Ralph and Tuck opened the garage door each morning and dragged the furniture out where everyone could see it.

A couple of years later they seemed to hit on hard times and hung a sign on the garage door, “Going Out Of Business” it was sad to see another Mom and Pop shop or should I say a Pop and Pop shop closing down.

Next thing we knew construction began on the backside of the little house, a large warehouse with a showroom was built, before long a large Grand Opening sign was hung, Ralph and Tuck was back in business.

Then the lot next door was bought and a large parking area was poured, the selections of furniture grew and so did the prices, "Come on down to Ralph and Tucks where you will find the best selection in town!"

The inevitable happened once again, all of a sudden a large “Going Out Of Business” sign was displayed sadly on the side of the warehouse, the furniture prices were slashed to just above a price you could afford and mattresses flew out the door like magic carpets.

The rest of the city block around Ralph and Tucks was leveled, then the warehouse and showroom was demolished, then Ralph and Tucks house went down.

Before long a huge store was built, and as you may have guessed a new furniture store opened, "Come on down to Furniture For You, where you will find the best selection in town!" Do I have to tell you who the owners were?

Now all of a sudden there was valet parking, the price of admission at the door was taken only from serious buyers, you had to take your shoes off to enter, and white gloves were issued.

Don’t even think about sitting on that chair because if you add a butt print it is going home with you, it didn’t take long for Tuck to tell Ralph the sales were down, heck at these prices all we have to do is get one Cowboy to accidentally sit on a recliner then we are set for another year.

The Cowboy didn’t fall for it and the business did fail once again, another Grand Opening event came and went with no valet parking but an upstairs had been added to the building.

About every other year it seemed this place went out of business and reopened bigger and better, the name changed each time but Ralph and Tuck were the only salesmen you ever saw.

I am not sure how this all works but last time we drove through town I think I actually saw a sign that read, “Come on down to Ralph and Tucks annual Going Out Of Business sale”

I didn’t stop because this cowboy is careful where he leaves his butt print.

Pay The Piper

2012-11-15T18:00:00.000-08:00

My job at the water company was a blast; I started out as a meter reader and ended up as an outside customer service representative.

This job included meeting with customers for various reasons, such as turning their water on or off, checking for leaks, and water quality issues.

The downside of this position was collections, yes I had to be the bad guy who came out and forced you to either pay up or lose your water.

I once had a Deputy Sheriff stop his car and yell, “It’s every Americans God given right to have water” I don’t know what got into him, maybe I had shut him off once.

I simply replied, “Yes but when you fail to pay the people who pipe that water to you, You give up that God given right” he just sat there with his mouth moving like he was trying to think of something to say, rolled up his window and drove away.

I like people and working in the public, you meet a lot of people, you can get into a lot of situations, and it doesn’t take long to find who the good people actually are.

I always picked up my service orders first thing each morning, these orders lined out what I was to do that day, on one particular day I had an order to collect at one of our State Representatives house.

The SNP order (Shut off for Non Pay) tells me to either collect the past due money or shut the water off, I drove to his home and when the door opened it was our Esteemed State Representative standing at the door.

I introduced myself and explained the situation:

Me: My name is Jimmy I am with the water company; I need to collect your water bill.

SR: You’ve got to be Sh*##ing me!

Me: No Sir I have an order to collect or shut your water off.

This is usually when a customer would ask something like, how much do I owe, but not this time.

SR: I don’t have time for you, do what you think is necessary!

This is when he slammed the door in my face, so I did the thing I thought necessary, I drove around to the alleyway and shut his water off, he met me at the back gate with a valve wrench, he said as soon as I left he was going to turn the water back on.

I smiled at him, and removed his water meter, I probably shouldn’t have looked at him when I was finished and said, OK go for it Buddy, but yet I was only doing my job, right?

About ten minutes later I get a radio transmission asking me to return to the office, another ten minutes and I am sitting in front of the boss’s desk:

Boss: Jimmy did you shut our State Representative’s water off?

Me: Yes Mam I did

Boss: Why the hell would you do such a thing?

Me: Because I had a service order telling me to do so.

Boss: You will go directly back over there and turn his water back on.

Me: Did he come in and pay his bill?

Boss: No, but you will turn it back on.

Me: I don’t have time for this, if you don’t want me working a service order then don’t send it out, and I don’t have one now to turn his water on.

Another serviceman was sent out to reconnect his service, and the next time I was sent to his house he gladly paid me at the door, sad to say this ended up being a monthly meeting with him.

On the other end of town I had an elderly lady who had gotten behind on her bill, I had been to her house on several occasions, she had a leak and it ran for several months, which ran her bill up, I actually went into her home after hours and fixed the leak myself at no charge, just to help her out.

Now remember I am not a plumber, the water company does not fix customer leaks, so if you tell anyone that I did this I am going to deny it, OK

I felt really bad the morning I got a SNP order for her, I knew her situation and had a feeling she did not have the money to catch her bill up right then, I went into Boss’s office and explained the situation, I asked if we could give this lady until the first of the month to catch up her bill.

She smiled and said “If we print out an order, You will be the one to work it” I took the order and left, the elderly lady could not pay, so I did exactly what I thought was necessary, I paid it myself, I told her this is a one time deal because I can’t do it every month.

This was the last time she was ever behind on her bill, and her payback to me was a simple Thank You.

Do you know someone who expects everything because of their “Social Status”, and at the same time someone else who appreciates life even though they have little?

Thanksgiving Comes First

2012-11-13T17:54:00.000-08:00

I love Thanksgiving, it is a day of thanks and remembrance for me, I remember people from my past and Thank God they were there, I look around the room and appreciate the family and friends I see and Thank God for them also.

When the kids were still home we always took turns stating things we were thankful for, we did this just before the prayer at our Thanksgiving dinner, sharing our thoughts of what we are thankful for was always a blessing.

Thanksgiving is a big deal to me, I am not going to go into a tale of the first Thanksgiving, but want to share some of my observations and feelings on where we are going with this holiday.

How do you celebrate Thanksgiving? By either traveling to a Family members home to have a large meal, or do you prepare a large meal and wait for everyone to go home so you can clean up the mess.

And speaking of messes, what about all of the Christmas music playing in the stores already, TV commercials are Christmas themed promoting the great deals you can get on that special gift, with a backdrop of Christmas decorations and trees that are also For Sale sitting underneath the “Happy Holidays” sign.

Turn on your radio and listen to the dogs bark jingle bells and wait for Thanksgiving day to actually roll around, not so much for the family experience and the Turkey dinner, this day is now per Walmart for us to skip family time and run out for their Black Friday sale before Black Friday, what kind of crap is this?

I think Christmas is a very important day, but I also think Thanksgiving should be celebrated before we start spending our time and money celebrating Christmas.

The economy in this country is not the best in the world, and I have no problem with people making money, but it seems to me that commercials for Halloween costumes and candy disappear just in time for Christmas advertisements and music to begin.

How do we get Thanksgiving dinner and Family time together celebrated in between Halloween and Christmas without messing up the economy any more than it already is?

It’s really simple; all we have to do is remember Thanksgiving Comes First, before Christmas sales and gift giving we all need to sit back and thank God for each other.

Ignore the Christmas sales before Thanksgiving, do not participate in nonsense like Black Friday on Thursday, you should really be at home with family this day rather than dragging them through a store that really cares about nothing more than getting the most out of your pocket in one trip.

Is this nothing more than a rant against retailers taking advantage of the public, I think not, it is actually all about getting things back into proper order, please remember when it comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Thanksgiving Comes First.

Jim over at Suldog did a post a while back Thanksgiving Comes First where he talks about this very important issue, I thought I’d add my two cents worth as I too believe that as far as retailers go, Thanksgiving is completely forgotten.

How do you feel about Christmas being advertised so heavy before Thanksgiving?

No Longer Firm

2012-11-11T17:46:00.000-08:00

I slowly laid my hat on the table and glanced around the room, he sat on the side of the bed and rubbed his hand across the surface, the words coming out of his mouth I did not fully understand but yet he had my full attention.

After a short while I found myself following his command as I sat on the other side of the mattress, I leaned back and threw my feet up on the bed, a few minutes of rolling from side to side and bouncing my hips around, I began to feel really uncomfortable with this one.

I sat upright and grabbed my hat, he asked me “are you sure you don’t want to try a firm one” I told him that I already had a firm one and my wife really didn’t like it anymore.

(source Google images)

So we moved on to the next mattress that Cindy had found, the luxury plush is a good fit for you two he said, I couldn’t believe the selection and prices of the mattresses we saw, and after spending half a day taking turns lying on various mattresses with various salesmen I still had not purchased one.

I was introduced to extra soft firm luxury pillow top individually wrapped coil spring cool touch visco latex memory foam mattresses that raise up, lay flat, pump up, and reach so deep into your pocket that you know sleeping on one is not a good option.

I know what I want to buy, and after visiting a high dollar mattress store Cindy and I now know that our numbers are the same, so why not just buy a mattress that feels good, rather than one you have to adjust, I think this will be more cost effective in the long run.

One salesman was so intent on us making a decision “right now” he had a price that we had to agree on right away before he changed his mind, “I’ll even finance any mattress in the store for three years, and deliver it for no charge” this is my out the door price he said, heck I’ve bought cars for less money than this so out the door I went.

How about the “Bargain Mattresses” you know the ones in back of the store? “I’ll make you a good deal on any of these “Floor Models”, so all of these were displays from the floor we asked.

Most of these were mattresses people returned after a 180 day trial period, they just didn’t like them, we do sanitize each one that is brought back he told us, so out the door we went again.

There was another salesman who wanted to make a sale so bad that he tried to show Cindy how good his bed was, Cindy was lying back trying to get the feel of a particular mattress when I swear this salesman came running from across the aisle.

You would have thought he was an Olympic high diver, I was looking for him to do a couple of flips and to go head first through the mattress, but he landed smoothly right beside her.

She didn’t budge an inch from his landing, but by the wide-eyed look on her face as she was jumping off the bed; I knew we were on our way out the door.

Decisions had to be made, do I buy the one that is almost in our price range with a good warranty, or do I spring a little bit out of our range for one that feels absolutely great, and comes with an excellent warranty and free stuff.

Today I found myself crawling back onto a mattress, and looking into the eyes of a salesman who actually got his hand deep into my pocket.

Soon a delivery truck will arrive at our house and when I crawl into bed that night I will find that it is no longer firm.

Soft, Medium, Firm, or Foam, which mattress do you prefer, and do you research and shop around like this, or just grab and go?

__________________________

I submitted this post to the Dude Write Weekly Challenge where this week I was honored to get the majority of the votes, a first for Jimmys Opinion

The Guys over at Dude Write awarded me with a Diamond Man Card award for this post. Thank You to all who voted for me and to Dude Write for the award.