Money, Money, Money

Now that I have your attention. Actually, the prompt I have for my contribution this evening was a bit of wisdom by a little boy, I guess about 5. We were at a restaurant and settled at out table when the boy called out, loud, “You’re always worried about money.”

I couldn’t help but laugh some when I heard. It sent me back to the days when my boys said such things. By the way, they were right. Back in the day, our budget only had room for eating out, maybe once every other week. Unless it was Sunday, we frequently had left overs and not many of them.

By the way, the title above is the name of a 1976 song (approx) by ABBA. If you haven’t heard it, you might want to. It has a catchy tune and somewhat humorous lyrics. It is based on a woman’s desire for money. And, as the boy pointed out, aren’t we all interested in money and getting it. Well, some of us like to spend it too.

The big problem, of course, is that we seldom have enough of it. I mean, even the billionaires seem to have problems coming up with it at times. From what I understand, when Elon Musk decided to privatize Tesla, he was a dollar or two short. Actually had me feeling bad for him.

I don’t know what the little boy wanted that made his mother say no. It might have been pie or maybe just a cookie. Regardless, I speak from experience. I don’t think it will be the last time he hears no. On the other side of the coin (like the pun) there will likely be many times he has to tell his children no. It’s just a fact of life. Most of us, from time to time must worry about money. In some cases, some of us even need to worry about where the next meal will come from.

Sorry. It is a fact of life. The Constitution provides us with the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It does not guarantee steak dinners or Tesla cars. For that, you must work.

By the way, some don’t even get their guarantee of life. Before they are born, some thoughtless doctor without morals take it away from them. They don’t get any cookies. They don’t get any pie. In fact, they never get any life. The don’t even get a chance to compromise. Their memories will be terminated before they begin. Planned Parenthood will do their best to see to that, them and the dems.

One more thing. They, the dems, Planned Parenthood and the abortionists all do it for one the, The Money, Money, Money.

Hair Dryer, Maybe

We out to my almost new Nissan car and the windshield was fogged over. The instructions say to turn the temp up all the way and turn on the defroster.

It made me think about using a hair dryer. Not only did it take a while, in the 5 minutes it took to defrost the windshield, it used quite a bit of the energy from the main battery.

On the positive side, fogging, so far, has been rare. Also, I keep paper towels handy and they seem to work well.

I am not so surprised. Seems most cars I’ve owned have had defrosting and deicing problems. I do find it difficult to understand how they can put good defrosting on the back windows but not so much on the front.

That is right. The back window took less than a minute.

Why the Complaints?

The stores are closing in the urban areas and the complaints are being reported by the the media. The people are complaining. The news media are complaining. The mothers are complaining they can’t get diapers and formula for their babies.

I don’t understand why the complaining. It is what they wanted, right. It’s why they pillaged the stores while they were open, right. It’s why they wanted to defund the police, isn’t it.

Last I checked, they kept voting dem. If they wanted the stores to remain, why didn’t didn’t they vote Republican. Why didn’t they vote for the party in favor of law&order.

It has nothing to do with racism. It has to do with safety. It has to do with profits. If the owner of the store can’t make money, guess what. They will lock up and close up. If the owner cannot provide a reasonably safe place to work, they will go somewhere, where they can.

Now, those that voted for democrats are having to drive some to get their meds. If driving isn’t an option. Sorry, but it’s your corner you painted yourself into. It’s your branch you sawed at the wrong end.

Believe it or not, when you make mistakes, it is time to pay the consequences. Big mistakes… big consequences.

Maybe, next time when you go to the polls, you will decide to vote for Republicans, for police. Maybe the next time a store opens down the street, you’ll not tear it up. Perhaps you will pay for the merchandise. If you don’t, you will never have local stores.

Good Idea From NY,NY

That’s right surprised me too. Never thought they had any good ideas. They want to charge fees for people who drive in the busiest parts of the city.

However, it is a horrible idea for NY, NY. If you can’t figure out why, no sense explaining. On the other hand, it would be great for Desoto County. All those visiting from Shelby County should pay 5 dollars to enter Desoto County.

They are causing traffic jams and hazzardous situations. This requires more more fire department and police services. Not only that, they nearly double the wear & tear on the highways. Finally, they make it necessary to increase the building of highways.

You don’t like the idea. Why? Did you like the idea in NY, NY?

You say it’s different. How is that. If they do it one place why not the other.

Actually, in the long run, those visiting from Memphis help Desoto County. Ask those who run the restaurants in Desoto County and NY, NY. That will begin to explain it. Right now Desoto County is growing while Memphis is shrinking. If I remember right, NY,NY is shrinking too. Does NY, NY want to to increase the shrinking? If shrinking is the goal of NY, NY, they have a really good idea.

As the man said, the secret to real estate is location, location, location. Translation, access, safety and parking. Without those 3 things your plans, in real estate are doomed from the beginning. No one wants to drive 30 miles through heavy traffic to an unsafe area where there is non-existant or must be paid for.

Don’t ask me. Take one of those surveys y’ll like so much.

I’m Alright

It’s the rest of the world that’s messed up.

If you’re around me much, you’re very likely to hear me say that a lot. I frequently say it, which means I frequently mess up.

I don’t like making mistakes, especially when others suffer for them. Very much I would like to cease making mistakes but alas, it is common among us humans. Me a little more than others.

I have been lead to believe that when I get to heaven my mistakes will be no more. That, in itself would be a major miracle for me. That, in itself would give me something for which to be eternally thankful. Maybe, it would be good to start being grateful now.

Meanwhile I am stuck with saying, I’m alright. It’s the rest of the world that’s messed up. Perhaps I should should have it placed in large letters on a T-shirt. Everyone would know to brace themselves as I approach. Might even get a good laugh or 2.

On the other hand, people might take it literally. Maybe they would think I mean it. That wouldn’t be so good.

The Door

In my book, “The Secret of the Ring, ” I write about how amazing doors are. Few ever think about them. We build walls about us to keep us safe.

Then, of course, the simplest way to get through the wall is by going through a door. I think life would be more difficult if we had walls and no doors.

And so it is that we build walls for shelter from animals, thieves and weather. However, without the doors, we might not be able to enter or exit.

I am not an expert on doors, but I know outside doors should have some basic requirements. We should be able to secure, or lock it. Depending on the neighborhood, we may want it to be strong and difficult to enter without the key. We might even want bars on it.

Oddly some folks like windows in the door. That sort of confuses me. After all, glass is easily broken. Also, it doesn’t provide much privacy.

When younger, I was told to remember to close the door. In some cases it was to keep the flies and insects out. In other cases, it was to keep the warmth in. In still other cases, we left the doors wide open to let fresh air in.

Much is said about doors and windows in literature. Certainly, most of us have heard that when God closes a door, then, somewhere He opens a window.

I suppose in a way, it implies that we can go in and out windows too. That would be particularly true when escaping fire.

However, homes are not the only thing to have doors. Barns, storage sheds, planes all have doors. So do ships but when I was in the Marines, I was encouraged to call them hatches. In many cases, such doors are designed more for keeping things in.

To be sure, life would be more difficult without doors…or gates.

One piece of advice, especially about car doors. I was trying to close the car door for my wife as she pulled it firmly closed. That hurt.

Apparently, that is one thing those engineers got right. As much pain as it caused, there was no permanent problem.

Word to the wise. Don’t get your fingers between the door and the car. It was close to half an hour before the feeling returned to my fingers.

Would you believe she had the nerve to laugh about it.

Watch out for those doors or hatches, or windows or whatever you call them.

As an aside. The warning given to Scott in my my book…”Never open a door until you know who is on the other side.”

Basic Concepts

I do not understand why people can’t grab simple basic concepts. First, criminals who are locked up can’t commit crimes. No way can a killer kill if he is behind bars.

Therefore, might I suggest that, as much as possible, we lock up criminals, especially those who have a propensity to kill. Also, might I suggest we don’t import killers. We don’t need to bring foreign killers into our general population. It is contrary to simple common sense. For sure, we have more than enough.

Second, when bad guys know they won’t get punished for doing bad things, they will more likely do bad things far more brasher. They will steal property and laugh right in front of you, knowing you won’t so much as use a sling shot in return.

Some might find this odd, but there was a time I could shoot a horse thief. Now, if I use a baseball bat on a car thief, I stand in danger of being charged with assault. We should be able to defend our property as well as our family.

Indeed, if I point a gun at someone stealing my treasure, I might be charged with brandishing a weapon.

Third, we need to teach respect. People who respect people don’t kill people. People who respect people don’t steal cars and property from people.

Reminds me of the song, People Who Need People by Barbara Streisand. Maybe we should bring it back. Maybe we should make the kids in the schools memorize it. Does a person who needs (respects) people kill people?

It’s all common sense. Then again, dems don’t believe in common sense. It is why the criminals run wild in cities run by dems.

It’s a Walk in the Park

Well, sort of. Sometimes I walk, sometimes I drive especially in the fall. Actually, that’s a two for. Any time I’m driving, then I am also listening to my radio or my music.

I might be listening to talk radio. Sometimes, in vein, I talk back. I might be listening to my 50s and 60s music. If alone I sing along. If my wife is with me, I don’t put her through the torture.

I really miss taking the dogs with me. I really enjoyed watching them enjoy it. No more. The dogs are gone and, given my age, I don’t want to orphan new ones.

Sometimes, in the spring, I will stop and watch a Little League game. I find them more entertaining than the major league games. It reminds me of the days my son played. In HS, he played pitcher and 3rd.

Now let me see. Is that 3 or 4. Let’s just say 2. Don’t want to be accused of cheating.

I like to draw and paint: pencil, pastels and water color. Used to like photography. It’s all so different now. Every now and then I still snap a picture, maybe while walking through the park. Sometimes, I will paint something I took a photo of. Those sunsets always look better painted. Besides, I always leave out the ugly power lines.

As an aside, you ever notice they always put those things in the middle of the most picturesque sites. I often wonder if I took an ocean cruise, they would have them in the middle of a beautiful pic out there. How do they do that?

Used to enjoy writing programs for my computer. I can code in Algol, Pascal, BASIC and to a lesser degree, C. I actually wrote a few useful programs as I have posted a year or two ago. The problem is that MS took my tools from me. I have several compilers and none are any good on the later versions of Windows.

I am sure I could get more compilers but it’s just almost completely different. Really let the air out of my balloon.

I still write books, but my mind is slowing down. Envariably, I find myself rewriting and I am having more difficulty with keeping things flowing right. Mostly, I occasionally get my old books out and try to improve them.

Then of course, in the meantime, I do battle with 5 ft. weeds. It’s not that I like to. If I don’t, they will simply take overtake everything.

It does make me think ahead. Don’t think there will be any weeds in heaven. That, in itself will will go a long way to make it heavenly. I think I will like that. Think of it. Flowers and no weeds. Come to think of it, I strongly expect there’ll likely be no power lines either.

I suspect I have not yet finished but my eyelids are getting heavy. I need a nap.

Bloganuary writing prompt
List five things you do for fun.

News About Ads

It was on the news. The news is about the ads. They are publicly brandishing that they are bringing back the Clydesdales.

Now, I am wondering, just what is so newsworthy that Budwiser decided to make it news that… well, you get the point. As far as I know, it’s the first time it has been worthy of putting it on the news. As far as that goes, why should a network consider it worthy of a 5 minute news segment. Really. What is it that makes it news.

I like horses. I especially like Clydesdales. They are beautiful, noble animals. I am sure in the days of horses, they were especially good to have. It does somewhat make me wonder if they are sullying the poor animal’s nobility.

Then there’s the little question on the side, just how much did it cost them to put the big name former pro football players in their ad. I am not a former pro athlete. Nor am I a multi millionaire. But they still couldn’t pay me enough to advertise any Budwiser product, even if I drank any type of alcoholic beverage. The poor Clydesdales have no choice about their reputation. I do.

So do the former football players. I guess they care not about their reputations. It is no secret what the beer makers hope to accomplish. Clearly the players don’t mind. Clearly they are proud to let the world know they drink Bud Light and they endorse the previous ad. The one that cost the beer maker their millions.

As they say. It’s not the ad they repent of making. What they are concerned with is their profits…or rather the lack of them.

Intelligence !

Can it possibly be that I am the only one who has considered the intelligence that we, as a nation, are giving to all of our advisories by shooting down all the drones? To be sure, we are saving lives by shooting them down in the short term.

On the other hand, might it be that we are telling the enemy our capabilities. Better to avoid using shooting the things out of the sky.

How do we avoid such things? First, never, never publish our successes, and for sure, we shouldn’t let the enemy know of his success.

It is basic war tactics, and I mean very basic. Make them pay to find out such things. Make them guess to find out where they succeeded or failed. If allied soldiers die, what purpose does it accomplish to tell the enemy. If we all survive, why tell the world?

For another thing, always strike back as if they had enormous success. Not only does it make the enemy pay, they know little or nothing of their success. It is far better to keep them guessing…about it all.

Incidentally, if we decide to send a few bombers in, let’s not let them know in advance or after. The only thing we let them know is that it might have been us, maybe because of what they tried to do to us.

Best… keep them in the dark, or at least only let them know what we want them know. And we don’t want them to be sure of that.

On the other hand, it just might be turning out as Old Joe wants. That is, let the enemy know everything and keep us in the dark. He does make me wonder who he considers the friends or the foes.