The Elevator

Several years ago we spent five nights at The Venetian in Las Vegas. For those unfamiliar with the resort, it's an upscale hotel in the heart of the strip and was (at that time) one of the most expensive places to stay. The cheap trip to Las Vegas is long gone.

On the last night of our stay, Bob was having a good time hitting the one armed bandits and I was ready to retire to our room. It wasn't extremely late, maybe 11 or so and there was still alot of activity in the casino. Actual access to the elevator to the hotel rooms was monitored somewhat by someone checking to see if you had a hotel room key.

While waiting alone at the bank of elevator, a tall, slightly older man also joined me waiting for the elevator.

I can't say that I felt entirely comfortable. There was not anything outwardly wrong with his appearance, it was just a feeling I suddenly had that raised the hair on the back of my neck.

Before one of the elevators reached the ground floor, there were a handful of other people that had also gathered in the area.

When we all got on the elevator, I sensed an uneasiness about the man, as if he wasn't thrilled to see other people get on the elevator. I waited to see what floor he punched on the panel. I was relieved to see that he was getting off on the floor before me, which was before the floor of the people that joined us. I THEN finally punched the button on my upper floor.

When we arrived at the man's floor, he didn't get off the elevator. The door opened and then closed.

My "fear factor" grew even more. I knew that the group of people that had joined us was getting off of the floor below mine, which meant I could be alone in an elevator with someone who was making me nervous and who did not get off on the floor he originally punched.

When I watched all of the other group get off on the floor before mine, the man still stayed on the elevator. Just before the doors closed, I heard some long ago advice. Do not find yourself alone on an elevator with someone who makes you uncomfortable.

I decided to follow the group out the door to the floor that was not the one we were staying on. I swear I could audibly hear the man make a very odd frustrated sigh. I left him alone on the elevator and scooted along with the group acting like I knew exactly where I was going.

I went down a hallway or two and waited for a couple minutes before I got back on the elevator to ascend to the proper floor. Luckily the elevator was empty so I made my way up. But that didn't stop me from continuing to look around on my floor for some Jeffrey Dahmer type finding me alone in a hallway to my room.

I would like to think that this guy was absolutely harmless.

But.

What if I had ignored my intuition?

Just to make it clear, the man was of my own race. So it was not as if I walked into an elevator with a black or hispanic man and was instantly afraid. I am not a racist or a bigot. This was just a creepy creepy feeling. To be honest, although he was older, he gave me the instant feeling of Jeffrey Dahmer and I cannot tell you why. My "creepiness" radar went off the minute he came in the aisle waiting for the elevator.

If I had ignored my instinct, I "probably" would have found that I would get off on my floor and the man I felt like was a creep could have just simply punched the wrong floor and realized it too late. He might have been some wonderfully sweet old man who lived a honorable life and I was just too quick to judge.

I considered all those options as the elevator was ascending, but.....what if my instinct had been right? What if his original frustration at having people join us in the elevator and me getting off on their floor was not some wild imagination on my part?

AND, what if he really was someone like Jeffrey Dahmer? And I lived my life in la-la land thinking there were only good people in this world and I didn't have to be aware of my surroundings and predicament.

The truth is. If the latter were true, I could have made one of the best decisions of my life by getting off the elevator with another group of people and not subjected myself to something I do not even want to have nightmares about.

If the former were true, I offended no one. I, alone, was simply inconvenienced for a couple of minutes by exiting on a floor that was not mine, milling around until I felt safe enough to get back in an empty elevator and go on to my room alone, locking the door and breathing a sigh of relief.

Being nervous about someone and insuring your safety does not make you paranoid (unless you find yourself in that predicament on a daily basis) and taking precaution does not make you weird or a racist or bigot if that person happens to be of a different race or color.

The only difference in my decision today vs that long ago decision, is that I would not gotten on the elevator to begin with. I know the experts tell women to not get on an elevator alone with an unknown man at all, but I don't have that fear. I have been on many elevators with very nice men, white, black, hispanic, etc who strike a short casual conversation and have never had that feeling. Which is scary now that I think about it, because I know this man below was a mastermind at hiding that he was sent by Satan himself.

I Don't Care About Your Politics

But I cannot forget that this man gave me comfort at a time when I thought the world was ending. And I cannot forget that I believe he stuck by what he believed regardless of whether the polls were with him or not.

Liberals of course run the gamut of saying he masterminded 9/11 to saying he was a complete idiot. A dichotomy which doesn't match up.

Conservatives complain because he spent too much money. I believe all bets were off after 9/11. Having worked in the financial industry, I still don't have an opinion on the first TARP bailout. I spent 30 years in the industry and I remember thinking about how many businesses would be affected if we had originally let it all fail.

I know one thing, I don't know the answer and I don't believe anyone else does either, regardless of their politics or supposed intellect.

I believe history will treat this man much more kindly than today's generation does.

9/11 changed everything for me. He would not have been my first choice for President his first go-round, but 8 months later I relished in his faith, strength and leadership and I thanked God he was leading our nation.

I cannot for the life of me imagine anyone else being a true leader at the scariest time for America.

God Bless you President Bush. And I don't care who I offend by saying that.

True Sportsmanship

THIS is what we should be teaching our kids in high school sports.   It's not just about the game.




H/T to Beej

Sleep, perchance to dream

This week, once I'm asleep, man am I asleep.

The problem is MAKING MYSELF GO TO BED.

Which I wouldn't have a problem with if I didn't have to work and actually wake up with an alarm.

Taking 10 days off, but it's about 3 hours past late and I have to get up to catch an early plane.  I'm going to hate myself in the morning.

Maybe it won't be so bad since I took about an hour nap from 6 to 7 tonight.

This week reminds me of when the project I was working on went live last February and I was sometimes working 20 hours or more straight and sometimes not getting home until 5 in the morning. 

Not good with crazy sleep patterns.

Back when I was younger that kind of crazy sleep pattern would guarantee a migraine.  I guess there is one good thing about getting old. 

I may lack sufficient hours of sleep, but I don't suffer from the horrible migraines that plagued me most of my life. 

OK, given the choice I'll take a lack of sleep.

God Weeps

When His message is perverted by these vile, evil people that try to claim they are Christians.

I first saw them once downtown.  I'm not sure what they were picketing, but I remember seeing their horrible signs about Matthew Shepard being in hell after he was viciously murdered because he was gay.

I saw them again in a southern Indiana town, again, not sure what brought them out there, but their vile signs make me want to throw something out of my car at them.

The sad part is that many people think these horrible people are actually Christian. 

My Bible teaches me that I am not to judge.  I don't have to agree with people's lifestyle or their beliefs to continue to love them.  I can still believe in sin, but I wasn't nailed on the cross for someone else's sin, so who am I to judge that someone else's sin is worse than my own?

But I have to believe there is a very special place in hell for the idiots that protest at soldiers' funerals with the hateful signs and protests.

Today, both sides were presented to the Supreme Court.  I fully support the soldier's father who brought the lawsuit but.......

Free speech applies to all, right? 

That soldier fought for his country and that includes defending everyone's right to free speech, no matter how vile.

My husband fought for his country and that includes defending everyone's right to free speech, no matter how vile.

I don't believe either of them believed that the freedom of speech meant only speech that didn't offend me tremendously. 

Let me make it clear, I DO NOT SUPPORT the idiots at this so called "church", but if we limit their speech because it offends me, when is my speech going to be limited because it offends someone?

They say the Supreme Court's decision will probably come down sometime early next year.  I will be waiting their outcome, but I do not know how this soldier's poor father can or should win this one. 

I DO believe that the Westboro idiots will find they will be the ones burning in hell long before Matthew Shepard or any of our brave soldiers.  

"Jesus wept" 

Updated: The Jury is NOT out - Found Innocent

Could you convict this face?

I know I couldn't.

This would have to be one of those times Aunt Rita would break.  Luckily she's blessed with a mom who knows how to deal with this face.

I wouldn't be strong enough.  I'd just cave.  Parenting is hard, maybe that's why God never allowed me to be one.

UPDATE:

The very next day, her teacher wrote a note:  It's shown below:

Told you she was innocent.  At least she must have been by the very next day.  She was Sooooo proud to tell us she got a note from her teacher.  And we STILL are in the dark as to why she was in trouble the day before.

Game On

Manning Rivalry at it's best. Go Colts!



Just saw this one again before the game and what I missed was Peyton's last line. "Oh my God, there's a spider in here."

Next up is just too cute.

The Mis-Estate

In 1955, one little store opened in my town.  As all single stores start, it began as a family owned business.  It expanded to 2, 5, 10, kept grown slowly and remained a private company.

Slowly over the years, they got a bit bigger, not skyrocketing like the big box stores, that wasn't their style. It remained a private company.

When some other companies expanded quickly across the nation, ladening themselves with debt during the great economic times, the "local" company grew more slowly, they resisted the urge to make a quick buck.

It stayed a family owned business up until 3 years ago when they went public. That one single store has grown to over 250, starting to take over more and more across the nation in their industry. Several of the national chains went out of business during these hard economic times. The little store took advantage of buying up their real estatex at a time when real estate was now cheap and they continued to open stores only with profits rather than big debts.  The little store has maintained a 20% growth rate in the worst of economic times and the big national chain competition that has remained in business is becoming more agitated when the little store began to occupy space close to them. 

So, here's the moral of the story.

Prior to becoming a public company, this tiny store which had grown slowly over the last 50 years stayed as family owned company. They employed 3,000 people over several midwest states.

Being privately owned, profit from the company was taxed as income to the family owners each year. Those 3,000 people they employed payed taxes on the income they received from the "little" company.   Add those taxes being paid each year by all involved and you will come up with some fairly large amount of revenue coming into the state and federal governments.

The family that opened the little store in 1955 had no plans to become multi-millionaires, they just wanted a little bit of the American Dream. 

Again, remember that in 2001, this was a family owned company, mainly owned by the father. The Estate Tax Reduction (some of the "Bush" tax cuts" we are hearing so many bad things about) was enacted in 2001 with an expiration in 2011. Prior to the limited time for estate tax break, the inheritated tax rates were staggering.  Check below for the rates that are about to become law again.

For amounts not greater than $10,000, the tax liability is 18% of the amount.
For amounts over $10,000 but not over $20,000, the tentative tax is $1,800 plus 20% of the excess over $10,000.
For amounts over $20,000 but not over $40,000, the tentative tax is $3,800 plus 22% of the excess over $20,000.
For amounts over $40,000 but not over $60,000, the tentative tax is $8,200 plus 24% of the excess over $40,000.
For amounts over $60,000 but not over $80,000, the tentative tax is $13,000 plus 26% of the excess over $60,000.
For amounts over $80,000 but not over $100,000, the tentative tax is $18,200 plus 28% of the excess over $80,000.
For amounts over $100,000 but not over $150,000, the tentative tax is $23,800 plus 30% of the excess over $100,000.
For amounts over $150,000 but not over $250,000, the tentative tax is $38,800 plus 32% of the excess over $150,000.
For amounts over $250,000 but not over $500,000, the tentative tax is $70,800 plus 34% of the excess over $250,000.
For amounts over $500,000 but not over $750,000, the tentative tax is $155,800 plus 37% of the excess over $500,000.
For amounts over $750,000 but not over $1,000,000, the tentative tax is $248,300 plus 39% of the excess over $750,000.
For amounts over $1,000,000 but not over $1,250,000, the tentative tax is $345,800 plus 41% of the excess over $1,000,000.
For amounts over $1,250,000 but not over $1,500,000, the tentative tax is $448,300 plus 43% of the excess over $1,250,000.
For amounts over $1,500,000 but not over $2,000,000, the tentative tax is $555,800 plus 45% of the excess over $1,500,000.
For amounts over $2,000,000 but not over $2,500,000, the tentative tax is $780,800 plus 49% of the excess over $2,000,000.
For amounts over $2,500,000 but not over $3,000,000, the tentative tax is $1,025,800 plus 53% of the excess over $2,500,000.
For amounts over $3,000,000, the tentative tax is $1,290,800 plus 55% of the excess over $3,000,000.
Additionally, estates of decedents that die after December 31, 2010, will be subject to a 5% surcharge on the excess of their estate over $10,000,000.

If the store's "ol dad" had passed away prior to 2001, the no-longer-little store would have become part of his estate. 

The little store heirs would have had to pay over $25 MILLION dollars in estate taxes alone.

It isn't that hard to imagine what would have happened, is it?

To pay the inheritance tax would have closed down the no-longer little store because now this family was  considered "wealthy".  As has been said many times, how many people are hired by the poor?

If that scenario had happened, the growing enterprise would have had to shut the doors to pay an estate tax on a company that had already been paying the income tax by the owners and the employees.

Along with that, 3,000 people would have been unemployed and they would not have been paying tax on their income.

Due to the estate tax reduction and the store now being a public company, a death in the family will not close the store that is growing fast and safely and hiring 100's of employees each month in the new areas they are now "invading" from the big retailers.

When I was researching this post, I was shocked and I do mean shocked at the estate taxes reductions that could very well likely expire this year.

Last week we finally went to talk with an estate planner. 

Let's get this straight.  We are NOT wealthy.  But we have worked hard, have plenty of life insurance that is considered part of the value of the estate for determining rates (but not taxed) and I looked on what taxes could be due if we both die after December 31, 2010. 

It's shocking, shocking.   So we are a bit like the little one store shop that just worked hard over all of our lives and didn't do stupid spending that wasn't necessary.  (Well with the exception of us NOT being multi-millionaires.)

Now is there any wonder why there are alot of people like us that do not agree with raising the tax on the "wealthy"?

The majority of the wealthy are business owners that employ millions of people.  Taxing the wealthy puts more and more people out of work and the wealthy remain wealthy.   And history has proven that when tax rates go up LESS revenue comes into the federal government because growth is stiffled and there is less income to tax, much less income.

I hated Economics in college, and this makes me realize why.  There are so many people that just don't get it.

So in case you missed it, you and your spouse need to die this year or the govenment will likely take away 50% of your net worth from your heirs. 

Or we can contact our "representatives" in the government and complain like hell to extend (it should permanently extend) the estate tax cuts "for the wealthy".  You'd be surprise to learn the government thinks even you and I are wealthy, especially when alot of our "wealth" is nothing more than a decent life insurance policy. 

How can you not love this guy?

The video is long, but trust me, every minute is worth listening to.

He knows his $h*# and he takes no bull from anyone. Although this is a political video, I simply cannot understand how no matter what your politial persuasion is that you won't find this guy such a breath of fresh air.




I would suggest if you have a legitimate complaint for this man, you darned well better be more informed than he is.

The World Stopped Turning - REPOST

Reposting only because I think we should all tell the story of that event in our everyday lives.  None are less important, only different.



That Tuesday morning I was sitting in my "big girl's cube" listening to the local talk radio.

Mom had come up the night before and my brother had taken her and her friend to the airport that morning, heading to Las Vegas.

Honestly, I barely noticed the first news report. I was thinking "Isolated Incident" nowhere near where I live.

Then I heard the second report. Two planes, not one. Not some small aircraft that got confused and somehow impossibly flew into the World Trade Center. TWO planes. I remember telling my next-door cube mate what I thought I had just heard on the radio. He said, "What?" I told him it sounded like a terrorist attack, but I still didn't really believe it. And I certainly could never imagine the magnitude.

Not yet anyway

I walked out of my cube into a conference room and found that one of the IT guys had already brought up the news station and it was airing against the wall through the projector. That was when I was stunned into silence. The images of the second plane were airing and I felt my hand immediately cover my mouth. Watch the videos of anyone watching and we all cover our mouths. What is that? I can only assume it's an unconscious movement to keep you from screaming.

And it only got worse.

As the chaos grew, I emailed my nephew to find the flight tracker website so we could monitor mom's plane. I never feared for her safety, maybe because I did not yet realize how pervasive the attacks were.

When all the planes were ordered to land, I remember watching the flight tracker and for a good 30 minutes her plane apparently continued on it's course. She was over New Mexico. Then I couldn't get any data.

My phone rings.

This is during the middle of a national crisis, right? By now, no one in America was not aware of what was going on in our country, hell no one in the WORLD is not aware. We were being attacked and I get a call from "ASAP Brenda". She was known in the company for always thinking everything she did required you to drop what you are doing and fix it.

She was asking for another stupid request that amounted to nothing on a normal day much less in the middle of a NATIONAL CRISIS. I finally said, "You know Brenda, I really just don't care, right now my mother is in the air and I'm trying to figure out where she is and if she's safe!!!" What a freaking idiot

Suddenly the flight tracker showed mom's plane destination was now Albuquerque. I called for a hotel reservation, then I called several people in my family in case mom ended up calling one of them.

People in the air?

Mom's friend told her she thought they had turned around. Mom thought she was crazy at first. Her friend tells her the sun is now on the other side of the plane, but they didn't think they were near Las Vegas yet.

The pilot came on and said that there had been "a national emergency in New York" and they were ordered to land the plane. Now, think about that. You have to realize how confusing this had to have been for people in the air.  On a plane bound to Las Vegas from Indy, why would a national emergency in NY cause them to land immediately?   What was going on was inconcievable for those watching it, it would take even longer for those not glued to the news during this time.

When they landed in Albuquerque, mom thought they would just find another plane.  Someone told them they MUST leave the airport.  It made no sense to those people just getting dropped in another city.  Amazingly the Red Cross was already at the airport assisting people.  This organization must be unbelievably organized.

When she got off the plane, mom called the only person in my family I had NOT told I had a hotel waiting.  She called my brother-in-law. 

Southwest Airlines.  You've heard some of the horror stories of how people were treated by the airlines.  Not Southwest. THEY found the passengers a hotel, THEY PAID for their rooms and THEY refunded their tickets.  Nice to know some companies took responsibility for the passengers when this nation faced the worst crisis ever.

The owner of the company I worked for was from New York and he came from a long line of fire fighters in New York City.  Sometime mid-day he called the company together and gave what he called one of his "Desktop Talks".  He stood on a desk and told us his family background and that at that point he was still not sure of all of his loved ones statuses.   He told the salepeople they were not to make any sales calls and then he said, "But we WILL work.  It's obvious those who are attacking us do NOT want us to work and I don't want them to win."

Now obviously I can't say that ALOT of work got done, there was too much going on throughout the day.  But everyone admired his courage knowing that he was worried about friends and family back home. 

Mom wasn't able to fly home until Friday.  My brothers and I all went together to get her at the airport.  It was eerily quiet and empty at the airport and being patroled by the National Guard.  It was both reassuring and amazingly scary all  at the same time.  

Neither Bob nor I slept well for months.  As I related in a previous post, Bob said that if the Army would take someone his age, he would have enlisted and fought against whatever war was obviously being waged upon us. 

9/11 changed my life.  No, not in some drastic way that I imagined on that morning, but in a more subtle way.

When I see an older movie, I think, "Was this before 9/11 or after?"  When I think about things that happened within the last few years, I wonder the same thing.  I find that unconsciously I have divided my life in half.   What happened before 9/11 and what happened after.  I can no more forget what happened than those that lived through Pearl Harbor.   

I no longer believe I am safe.  Even here in the middle of this wonderful country.  I no longer believe we are safe.  I cannot ever support cutting back on our military spending, it would just give a green light to those that simply want us dead.

When we were in Italy, our private driver was telling us that his then-girlfriend called him that day and told him that she had friends in NY and they were in the World Trade Center and she was hysterical. 

I told him that there are many in our country that believe we should forget about 9/11.  He said, "I don't know how you could ever do that."

Neither do I. 

Neither do I.

And I'm MAD all over again.  Sadly, the video attached to the original link has been scrubbed.

I WILL NOT

FORGET

The King of New York Hacks Remembers

And I remember holding my breath, I was so afraid when I watched my President showing us how to get back to being Americans.

Nine years ago we all slept just like this

Do you remember this feeling?

And exactly one night later I slept like this for months and months on end.....

Goodbye Ol Buddy

We'll see you on the other side.

They KNEW, Dammit They Knew.

Finally The Weather Channel rebroadcast the episode of It Could Happen Tomorrow, The Lost Episode.

The first episode was completed in April 2005.  It was scheduled to air later that fall.  Out of respect they did not air the episode until just a year or so ago, and in memory of the disaster that happened five years ago, they re-aired it again yesterday.  I missed the first airing, but DVR'd the late night episode.

Watching it again infuriates me. 

When it was apparent that Katrina was massive and heading for New Orleans, Mayor Nagin issued a "voluntary" evacuation.  The people in New Orleans had been warned so many times before, most ignored the voluntary evacuation.  The day before Katrina hit, the mayor finally issued a mandatory evacuation.  While there were still alot of people ignoring the warnings, those that did were now found themselves gridlocked on the highways exiting the city.

Idris Lewis lived in the ninth ward.  He waited for his son, who was to help him evacuate.  By then the authorities were not allowing anyone to enter the area.  Idris waited alone, recalling that waking the next morning, he found his bed floating in water.  Eventually he made his way to the rooftop where eventually a boat happened by that rescued him from being another statistic.Every aspect of the New Orleans' administration knew that Hurricane Katrina was inevitable.

The evacuation plan never seemed to consider the poor that lived in the ninth ward that could not possibly evacuate in such short notice. 


Fran Campbell, Executive Director of the East Jefferson Parish was one administration official that took pre-emptive action. She, along with all the others knew that the levees could not hold during a major hurricane. The difference was that she refused to gamble with her 250,000 people's lives.

"Due to lack of funding we were forced to come up with our own solutions to some of our problems. We had been asking for years for funding from the federal government."

In March 2005, Louis Armstrong Airport runway was being replaced. Ms. Campbell begged for the old runway and her staff worked overtime transporting the broken runway to the East Jefferson levee. "Her" levee held, while so many others did not. I've heard that the Army Corp of Engineers studied and copied some her ideas to re-enginneer the levees.

Watching the episode again, I am again struck by how many experts knew that it was only a matter of time.  They accurately predicted the "bowl" that New Orleans had become would eventually end up being a death sentence for those that could not escape. 

To blame one person, one mayor, one governor, one agency or one President is outrageous.  It was no one's fault and it was no one's failure.  It was everyone's fault and everyone's failure.  I am  reminded of the 15 year old that "stole" a school bus sitting among dozens of unused buses and collected a bus full of people and saved them from becoming another statistic. 

Hurricane Katrina was first a natural disaster that could never be stopped by any human and secondly a failure of humanity to stop gambling with human lives.  

But sadly, as we hear Hurricane Earl heading for the East Coast, I believe that New Orleans is no more prepared today than it was in 2005.  I wish that were not true, but I believe it is true.

God Bless New Orleans and it's people.  In this horrible anniversary, America still mourns for your unimaginable loss.

Beauty and Tragedy

I had been making a "play" for the trip for nearly a year.
The company I worked for held an annual meeting for the sales associates and certain staff members at the JW Marriott in Cancun.  The hotel was absolutely the most gorgeous place I have ever stayed, and we've stayed at some nice places.

Since I was "staff", I knew it unlikely I would get chosen to attend the meeting.  It was three days, including spouses with several meetings interrupting what would have been the perfect vacation.  Every time I handed in a project to one of the executives that held that purse string I jokingly told them to remember that when the annual conference was coming around. 

But then the economy started going south, especially for a mortgage company. 

My boss told me she had bad news and good news.

The bad news was that the conference was cancelled due to the financial condition of the company.

The good news was that they were still giving the qualifying sales associates three days at the hotel, $750 toward airfare at a time of their chosing.  And I was one of the staff that was allowed to go.  Three days with NO meetings and that was BAD NEWS?

I was one of the lucky ones that planned our trip around a time when I could actually find airfare for two for $752.  Oh and I forgot, they gave us $300 spending money on top of the hotel and grossed up the cost so that we were actually paid enough to compensate for the tax that we would have to pay for trip, since it was considered income.

Five years ago today we were packing for our trip.  We were to leave on Wednesday, August 31st.  We planned for 6 nights of which only three were on our dime.

Since we had seen the damage that Hurricane Charlie dealt to Fort Myers and Sanibel, we were worried as the reports of Katrina first came in.  Everyone was predicted disaster of Biblical proportions to the city of New Orleans and the media reports as the hurricane passed over initially sounded like NOLA had dodged a bullet. 

We left on Wednesday morning and arrived to a different, much improved Cancun than we have visited several years previously.

The Marriott lobby was gorgeous.  We asked to be upgraded to a premium room and the overly gracious hostess assured us we did not want to change from the 4th floor room we were already assigned.  She was absolutely right.

This was taken by my cell phone from our room.  What you can't see is to the left we also had full view of the bay.

We spent 6 glorious nights, if I had known how wonderful it was, I would have booked closer to 10.

We stayed right here the majority of the time.

It was the only time I can remember that Bob wanted to do absolutely nothing but relax in these chairs all day long.

The room was so beautiful and was equipped with all the latest amenities of that time, including satellite TV.

We unpacked, took a cab to a Walmart to get some drinks and snacks, which was interesting to say the least and had a quick bite at the McDonalds located inside Wally World.

Back to the hotel and out we went to enjoy the sun, sea and infinity pool.  When we arrived back at our room, a note was slipped under the door.  A $100 gift certificate from my boss  for the upscale and expensive Italian restaurant inside the hotel.  Life doesn't get any better than that.

I turned on the TV and found the first English speaking news station.  And the reports started coming in.

New Orleans may have dodged a hurricane bullet only to have a nuclear blast come through with the breaking of the levees.  I would sit on the end of the luxurous bedding with my hand covering my mouth for hours at a time as I watched the horror grow with each passing day.

Coming in from the infinity pool each day, I could barely turn away from the news reports and remember thinking, how in the name of God does this happen in America.  I felt guilt over sitting out on the balcony looking over the sea and knowing there were people drowning in New Orleans. 

Shepard Smith was on site and his frustration and anger grew with each passing hour.  He reported the bodies floating by the bridge overpasses.

Each time we came back to the room, I would find that I could not leave the TV for hours, shaking my head knowing that New Orleans would never be the same.

We had been there several times and loved the city, the music, the food, the atmosphere.  We rang in the new millenium right on Bourbon Street staying at the beautiful Royal Sonesta. 

Then the blame game started.  It was FEMA's failure, it was Ray Nagin's failure, it was Governor Blanco's failure, it was the Army Corps of Engineer's failure, it was George Bush's failure. 

There was enough failure to go around.  In disasters of epic proportions, the real truth is that we are no match against the sheer power of nature.  We would all like to believe that we have to power to protect everyone, even the poorest of our communities.  We would feel safer to believe that we can control what nature delivers and it is someone's fault if tragedy overwhelms.  Hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, floods. 

People drowning in the ninth ward was not because some administration was racist or didn't care about the poor.  They drowned because we cannot control nature.  Maybe....Maybe....if the funds to strengthen the levees had not been redirected for years there would have been less death and destruction.  The funds were gambled in the most reckless way possible, they bet human lives and the loss was worse than anything imaginable.

The resulting looting and crime should have not been a surprise to anyone who had ever spent more than 5 minutes in the city.  Long before Katrina, it was well known you did not walk north of Bourbon Street at night and you did not go to Louis Armstrong's park at any time, day or night.

My niece had visited NOLA just a couple weeks before Katrina hit.  I talked to her right before she went out to Bourbon Street.  I told her to have fun, but to not carry a purse and not put anything in her back pocket.  Luckily she heeded my warniing, putting her ID and money in her front pocket.  When she went back to her hotel that evening, her hotel key card, buttoned in her back pocket was gone.  She never felt the pickpocket.  

Selfishly I was relieved to hear that Bourbon Street did not bear the brunt of the flooding.  But I wonder what became of the street musicians that made New Orleans what it was.  I wonder if it's returned to any of it's former atmosphere.

One of my best friend's father is a huge jazz fan, Pete Fountain being his favorite.  He had collected massive amounts of jazz records and jazz fans from around the county will sometimes come and visit him to see his collections.  Over the years he had become friends with Pete.

Sadly the great jazzist lost everything in the flood.  My friend's father finally located Pete and packed up his entire Pete Fountain recordings and shipped them to him.  After all, he said, the recordings should belong to Pete.  The collection had to have been priceless.

One day we will go back and stay on Bourbon Street again.  I hope against hope it has the same feel as it did before Katrina's unwelcome arrival.

And just a few weeks later, Hurricane Wilma hit Cancun with a devasting force, leaving the Marriott closed for over a year.  

Money does not protect anyone or anything from nature's wrath.

A "couple" thousand voices

Quiet, reserved, reverent.  America needs to step back and become a God fearing nation. 

I believe we will.

And the winner is........

You men should already know who wins this one.

Help for Vets

Thanks Vets.

Face Lift

Maybe some people feel like it's no different than redecorating their great room, but it drives me crazy.

Unless things get hectic, I read several different blogs during the week.  I don't know, maybe I have a boring life so I have to hijack into other people's lives.

I have only met one other "blogger" (actually I hate that word) and that was because of a shared childhood hometown.

I recognize the blogs, normally not necessarily by name, but by their layout. 

But suddenly, it all changes.  They do a facelift.  I know they just wanted to redecorate, but since their blog layout is how I recognize them, I get really confused.  I click on one of the blogs I read regularly and their online persona has been significantly altered and suddenly Kenny Roger's loses all of his adorable wrinkles and he just looks stretched out and weird.

I have to go back and figure out which person is which, because I have no basis of reference when they get a nose job. 

And then there are those few that just go "poof" in the night.  You click on your link to them and they have disappeared into thin air and it leaves you wondering what actually happened.

Several months ago, I regularly read a blog of an elementary school principal.  She was funny and interesting, but I worried about all she revealed on her posts.  Talking about incidents with parents, giving them funny names and I just wondered. 

Honestly, how long can you remain anonymous when you give alot of specifics what you do for a living, especially when you regularly post about it including funny incidents that happen on certain days? 

I could find alot of material for posts in my current job.   It's like The Office on steroids.  I know most people wouldn't believe some of the crazy, funny things that go on, but if somehow someone I work with stumbled upon that particular post, suddenly I would be "outed".

So I worry that my little, funny blog friend who was a principal was identified.   Did someone find out about her blog?  Did she lose her job?  I hope not, but then again I wondered about her judgement that she didn't realize no matter how funny her posts were, she was referring to real people that could happen upon her post and then she goes, "poof".   Gone.

I'll keep my wrinkledy- black layout for awhile longer, no plans on a face lift either literally or virtually.  But the black show less wrinkles than my face does now.

Perverting his message

July 24, 2010: Indianapolis, City Municipal Gardens hosting a Youth Outreach program:

IMPD Sgt Matthew Grimes was asked to speak to the youth of a primarily black church, Mount Vernon Missionary Baptist Church. He was invited by Pastor James Harrington to spread goodwill among the black youth and the police department.

During his speech, there was an "apparent" argument in the back of the room between two adults that became so confrontational, the office hurried to the back of the room to diffuse the situation. The "argument" quickly got out of hand and then became physical. In trying to break up the disagreement, the participants threw the officer to the ground, injuring his back.

While on the floor, the officer began to reach for his tazer.

It was only then that Pastor Harrington started yelling, "'Don't shoot! This is staged. This has been staged'."

This church Pastor premediated a set-up hoping to entrap a white IMPD officer by staging a fight in front of some troubled black youths. It has now been reported by the local news stations the Chief of Police is calling for charges in this incident

Sgt. Grimes back may be permanently injured according to the doctors and is currently having to be relegated to desk duty due to the injury.

As if that isn't bad enough, the church finally issued an official statement about the incident yesterday, eight days after the incident.

"We first deny any criminal activities as it relates to the actions of Friday evening at the Municipal Gardens. Mt. Vernon did not organize nor participate in this event," said Vernita Moore, Mt. Vernon trustee. "Rev. Jimmy Harrington acted in his own individual capacity as a member of the community."

Instead of the "We first deny any criminal activity..." they should have FIRST apologized for the actions of their "pastor". Sadly, the late Mozel Sander's former church has now shamed his name. And perverted Dr. King's message. Both of these fine men would be turning over in their graves.

Racism is racism, no matter the color. And, as a warning, all racists comments of either kind will be deleted.

I only wish Sgt. Grimes hadn't waited so long to pull the tazer. If the participants and the idiotic, racist Harrington had a few volts of a tazer jumping through their bodies, the shock might have, just might have zapped Dr. King's message into their brains. But I doubt it.

With our black youth being "led" by the likes of Harrington, is there any wonder why there were TEN kids shot during Black Expo this year?

This has now made national news, if the Pastor thought this was going to go away easily, he is sadly mistaken.


August 28, 1963, Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC

He said: (emphasis added)

"But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.


We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

...
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." ...

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. ...."

So many people seem to have forgotten Dr. King's last seven words.

Sorry, I've been a little busy.

Heard there's a new position open and I've decided it would be a better career choice.

I figure I can probably get elected to be Mayor of Bell, California and even if I resign after a week, I'll be able to retire with a livable pension.

If I can't get elected mayor, I'd settle for a city council seat.  Not a bad side income for a part-time position.  I would fly to CA once a month or so to attend the meetings, after all, that flight would be tax-deductable too.  Maybe even combine the trips with some business related side trips to San Fran or San Diego or Malibu.

Send me your address and I'll forward you an absentee ballot, just be sure to find a valid Bell address.

Thanks so much for your support.   I'll also accept some healthy financial donations for my campaign if you don't mind.

Maybe I should sue for a couple million

Caution:

One of these


Is not supposed to be poked in one of these.

And I'm pretty sure there was no warning label covering that little mishap.

Know any good ambulance-chasing attorneys?

Where are you Nora Ephron?

I'm ready for a feel good movie starring

and

And I'll even settle for their slightly older than middle aged looks. 

It's been too many years now.





Yeah, I want a feel good movie about two people and a happily ever after.  A movie that I don't have to think about.....anything.

Where are you Nora?

Ever hear the one about an Indian and a Mexican opening an Italian Restaurant with a Mob Name?

Neither have I.

All I can tell you is the food at Goodfella's is out of this world!

The Basa is wonderful but the risotto will send you through the roof.

I'm Preparing for Another Boo Hoo Night

We've been fans of Deadliest Catch before their budget could afford the fancy camera work. I can't remember if the first episodes had Mike Rowe's now infamous voice, but I'm certain the show has made him even more famous.

The only thing better than looking at Mike Rowe is hearing his voice.

Captain Phil has always been a favorite. We've always called Captain Jonathan, Russell as he looks like our grandson's other grandfather.

His brother Andy has a large horse farm in Indiana.  Edgar Hansen from the Northwester is beginning to sound like he is ready to give up fishing because it is costing too much time away from his family.

And this guy is just one big jerk.

Although I haven't verified it, I'm fairly certain the idea for the show came from another Discovery Channel's show which was called Ten Deadliest Jobs. I still remember the #1 Deadliest Job was the Alaskan Crab Fishermen.

So, if you are a fan of the show at all, by now you've heard that everyone's beloved Captain Phil passed away from a massive stroke.

So, while this show was supposed to be a manly show, it has turned into the ultimate chick flick that makes even the big guys cry.

Farewell Capt Phil. We'll "sea" you on the other side.

Just finished watching the two hour episode.  Now THAT's the way to celebrate someone's life.  Not with tears, but with laughter.

Too Good Not to Share

H/T Hotair

Purely for the quick entertainment factor.

The genius comment is at 1:20. I love watching the expression on the General.

Updated: Don't Expect Too Much

I'm too busy being in awe of the amazing ocean since I'm watching it through the eyes of my two new nieces who are both seeing it for the first time.

But here a couple of quick funny memories:

Right before take off in the airplane:  "Mommy, are they gonna say, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BLAST OFF?"

Upon boarding the plane: "Aunt Rita?  I thought you said our seats were out on the wing."  (YEAH, I did.  I thought she knew I was joking.)

During the flight:  "Grandma, would you go sit where Uncle Bobby is so he can sit next to me?"  Sorry Cissy. :(   Uncle Bobby's reaction?  :D

Overheard from a little boy seated behind us that was about two or three and obviously on his first flight also: "Don't laugh at me Graaaandmaaaaw."  At which point about 15 people laughed. 

Today on the beach, the youngest was crunching some baby carrots from my cooler.  She was so busy showing me this tiny "she shell" and telling me all about it that several chunks of "minced" carrots fell out of her tiny chomping mouth onto our beach mat.

I told her, "K, why don't you stop talking long enough to quit spitting up carrots onto the mat?" 

Beach, Ocean, Sea, Sand, Shells and Carrots are just too distracting apparently because.......

As soon as she heard me she forgot that she had a shell in her hand and absently thinking she had a carrot, she popped the tiny "she shell" right into her MOUTH!!!!

I will go to my grave still laughing about that one.

Update:  Last night the two girls stayed with us.  Grandpa was reading the youngest one's travel journal.  It had been dictated to her mother and even so, some of the words were hard to read.  After a couple sentences where Grandpa was stumbling over a few words, K said, "That's okay Grandpa, you don't have to read the whole thing because you are old and can barely read." 

And today Grandma laid down the law.  After a couple hours in the swimming pool, K who's 5 kept pestering Grandma to let her jump off the side, when Grandma kept saying no, K said, "the magic word" as my sister put it. 

She dared to utter....

"I'm bored." 

Oooooops, Wrong thing to say.

Grandma promptly took her hand and said, "OK, that's the magic word.  Out of the pool." 

Instant and loud boo hoo'ing, but Grandma was not to be deterred.

K bawled all the way to the chaise lounge next to me, threw herself down and took her fists and pound, pound on the fabric.

At which point Aunt Rita said, in a voice also not to be argued with, "K, THAT IS ENOUGH."  Of course I had to turn my head immediately so she couldn't see me laughing.

A few more overly audible boo hoos and a couple more "enoughs" and all was quiet.  Of course she was still very unhappy.  She had to sit or lay on the chaise lounge until Grandma stopped seeing glares piercing in her direction. 

Ten minutes later, Grandma takes her hand and they were back in the pool again without any further tantrums.  My sister and I are still laughing about her instant boo hoos and the pounding of the chaise lounge.

I WIN

By an overwhelming majority, 100% of my vast male readers agree with me.

I work with alot of guys and a few select females that are more like me, not really all that girly.

That means the reason I love my job is because you don't have to spend your day worrying about some stupid little remark offending anyone.  That also means that you have to "thick skin" and a very crazy sense of humor.

Over the last three years, everyone in the office mostly enjoy their day because they spend it insulting me in every "fashion" possible and they know I will not take offense and I can give as good as I get.

So on Friday, I wore a top similar to the one pictured below:

I never want to have to go back to the days when I had to dress in a business suit, heels and pantyhose.  I wear jeans every day and Fridays are even more considered "casual days".  Maybe it was the clothes, but I used to spend most of my time watching my back because the men and women I worked with would stab you in the back in a heartbeat.

After lunch, it started.  One of the guys looked at my lime green top and said, "My parents had a car about that color." 

I said, "It was a Dodge."  He didn't know.  He's barely 40, but I remember the lime green Dodge that sported the same color I wore.

A few minutes later I was in another guy's office and he also makes a comment about the color of my top.

I have no idea why they attack me in this manner.  I think it might have started with the fact that when any of the guys walk past me wearing a "girly" color I say, "HEY.  Cute TOP." 

You wanna see a guy's spin around like they are Regan from The Exorcist, say that to them when they are wearing Lilac or Coral or Periwinkle.  I would like to take credit for that line, but I actually stole it from a guy I worked with several years ago when we were commenting on another guy's pastel shirt.  It was such a great straight line, I use it whenever I can.

So when the second guy makes a comment about the color of my top, I repeated the first comment.  Told him it was the color of a cool Dodge, back in the '60's.  He disagreed.  Said, "MAYBE, but it would have been a Dodge Dart."  All hell broke loose at that time.  If I had any ounce of "offendability" in my little finger, that comment would have lit it.  A great argument ensued and I was about to google my winning argument.

The second guy then walks into the "big guy's" office.  NO, not THAT Big Guy, the next-door-office-executive who is ALL about cars.  Second Guy says, "Rita, come in here."  Second guy tells Big Guy, "look at her." 

If you think I was in the least bit intimidated at this time, you do not know me. 

I stand there with my hands on my hip and Big Guy hired because he knew no one intimidates me.  Since then he and everyone else have found out no one can offend me either.

Second Guy said, "Was there ever a cool car that color?"  Big Guy would absolutely know the answer to this, but it was a "great guy conspiracy".  Big Guy, said, "NO, never that color." 

Second Guy and Big Guy are a few years older than me and I KNOW they remember the cool Dodge's "back in the day".  I insisted, "Oh yes there was, it was a Dodge."  Big Guy said, "Maybe a Duster."

Are you seriously kidding me?  First accused of being a Dodge Dart and then a Duster?  Oh, it is all out war now. 

I pulled up both the Dodge Challenger and the Charger on google, printed them out on the color printer and posted them outside my cube which both Guys have to walk past on their way to the "manly" restrooms.

I spent nearly all day yesterday on a conference call with these "boys".  In the waning times the lime green top argument was brought back up.  I told them that from now on I was wearing that color every single day.  Political correctness does not exist where I work (for which I am eternally grateful) and one of them says, "or come topless."

I said, "I would, but the funny thing is I am the exact same color underneath."

After the laughter died down, the Big Guy said, "Well, that doesn't surprise me, you ARE alot like the Grinch."

So thx guys.  You have proven that I win the argument.  Lime Green Dodges in the '60's WERE cool cars.

Help Me Settle An Argument

All votes will be tabulated according to my own standards.

Was this considered a cool car or not?

Placing Blame

I think we're all inclined to do it.  When we're hurting, we don't want to accept it's just a natural part of life or we direct our hurt to anger and that anger has to go somewhere so we want to blame someone because then at least we have an outlet.

One evening, around Thanksgiving in 1995, Bob talked with his dad.   Their discussion mainly concerned that the doctor had told him he could start driving again after a few months break due to his health.  He had lived a hard live and by the age of 71, he was not in the best of health.  Bob argued just a bit with him, concerned that he really wasn't quite up to par to be driving again.

The very next afternoon we got the call.  His father was being transported to a first rate trauma hospital downtown.  He had been in a traffic accident.  He was awake, alert and talking at the scene.

This was before the days of "everyone has a cell phone", so because I was on the way home, I didn't know until I got home around 6 or so and Bob had left a handwritten message on the counter.  I think I actually still have the piece of paper somewhere.

It read:  "Dad's been in an accident, I'm going to Wishard (hospital)."   I saw the note and was reading it when Bob's teenage daughter walked in, excited about her new job, which would help her with her college major.  I listened to her while trying not to be appear concerned.  When she was done, I called Bob on his new cell phone.

When Bob answered I was standing right in front of two teenage girls.  I heard Bob say, "he's not going to make it."  The combination of my ears not wanting to hear that and not wanting to repeat what he said in front of the girls left me speechless.  My non-response left Bob a little more than irritated.

He said, "Did you HEAR what I said?"  I said, "Well I think I did, but repeat it."

He did.  The words didn't change.

I told him I was on the way.  He told me I wouldn't make it in time.   I didn't care.  I had lost my own father just a few short years before that and I was not going to not be there.

Twenty-five minutes later I was running into Wishard's emergency room.  Wishard is known for first rate trauma care but mainly for providing care for the poor and uninsured.

I found Bob in a hallway, just a couple minutes after the family had been told he had passed away.

It took days before we could find anyone who knew the details of the accident and actually got a copy of the police report which we were certain would tell us how his dad caused the accident.

We were a little more than shocked to find out that his father had been travelling through a green light downtown when a woman ran a red light and t-boned him.  While he was alert at the scene, the accident ruptured his spleen and, although only 5 minutes away from the hospital, the docs were not able to save him.

The police report made it all very clear.  The lady lived in Ohio and had been at IU Med Center downtown, another excellent hospital, right off the interstate near Wishard.   She had missed the red light that was placed immediately before the ramps.

Driving the route she would have been travelling you can see that unless you are very familiar with the area, you would be concentrating on the interstate entrance signs and immediately before the signs is a traffic signal.  The placement of the two together is an accident waiting to happen.  I'm sure this wasn't the first deadly accident at that intersection and certainly not the last.

Undoubtedly, she was not only unfamiliar with the area, but trying to make sure she got on the correct ramp and completely missed the red light that resulted in my father-in-law's death.  She wasn't driving recklessly, she wasn't under the influence, she simply made a mistake that I'm sure haunts her today.

At the funeral home, we were surprised that we found an arrangement with her name on it.

Writing the "Thank You" notes afterward was split up among the "kids".  Since we had the police report, we also had her address.

Bob and I had a long discussion talking about the accident and what that woman must have been feeling.   She didn't go out that morning and decide she wanted to kill anyone.  She didn't go out that morning and drink all day and get behind a wheel and tempt fate.  She went to visit someone in a hospital and upon leaving made a horrible mistake that killed my father-in-law.

Fortunately, no one in the family wanted to play the Blame Game.  It was a mistake.  Nothing more, nothing less.  It was an accident, it wasn't an "on purpose".

I wrote the note to her as Bob and I talked.  Although I don't recall the exact wording it went something like this:

Dear ......

Thank you for the lovely arrangement.

Sometimes in life there are tragic events and we want you to know that we believe this is one of those times for our family and yours.

More than anything we wish you peace for this Christmas.

The son and daughters of.....

It would have been easy to be angry, it would have been easy to place the blame as clearly Bob's dad was legally crossing the intersection on a green light and this woman, in the wrong place at the wrong time just missed seeing a red light.   But, these many years later, I am more than certain that she relives that moment more often than we think about this accident.  I am sure it will haunt her all of her days and I wish that were not the case.  We think about his life, she thinks about his death.

Thought I'd see you one more time again

I must have been around 18, maybe 17.

I awoke up one Saturday morning to some disturbing news.

When I was growing up, our neighbor had a couple of grandsons that would visit every few weeks.  Raymond was a couple years older than I was.  I hadn't seen him for years and years.  At one point his brother was my sister's "boyfriend" kinda.  By the time I was 17, his grandmother was no longer living across the street and I cannot honestly tell you how long it had been since I had seen Raymond.

The same weekend, my father got a call from a good friend of his, I'll call him Bill.

Sometime during that weekend, Bill's son was in a Jeep with a good friend.  The friend ran off the road, striking a tree.  Bill received a call from a hospital doctor.  He was told his son was dead.  No "easing into it", no "I'm sorry", just "your son was in an accident and he's dead".  Bill and his wife had no other children.  The hospital doctor then put the friend on the phone.  It was apparently a heart-wrenching call where Bill was in shock and yet still managed to ask the friend if HE was okay.  Bill's son was 20-years-old.

That weekend we found out about Raymond.

While his parents were away, Raymond and a friend were alone in the house when they had "visitors".  Months later there was some story that perhaps (probably) Raymond and his friend had gotten themselves involved with some drug dealers and had not paid them.   Raymond had never seemed like that type of kid, but the "randomness" of what happened would indicate there was some underlying motive.

They believe a couple of men entered the residence.  Raymond and his friend were found tied and gagged.  Each had been shot once in the arm and then once in the head.  I remember hearing the phrase "gangland" style.  To this day, no one has ever been convicted of the murders.

My only thought was that I hoped Raymond had gone first. 

At the time of these deaths, I had not seen either of these two boys for at least 2 or 3 or 4 years.

But they affected me.

I remember feeling so vulnerable.  I remember crying for their families.   Raymond's death obviously brought out the news crews and it was awful to watch the family try to fend off the onslaught.

A couple of days later, I awoke to a James Taylor song.  Whenever I hear it, I am immediately transported to that time when two young men lost their lives and left me all alone. 

Maybe that was when the first time mortality had slapped me across the face.  Neither death actually affected any one thing in my life since they were no longer a part of it, but yet both of them did affect me. 

I was disoriented for many months.  You know.  During your teenage years you believe you will live forever and in one random weekend two deaths assured me that was not true.


Won't you look down on me Jesus
You gotta help me make a stand
Ya just gotta see me through another day
My body's aching and my time is at hand
I couldn't make it any other way.
I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought I'd see you
One more time again.

Sometimes "one more time again" never happens.