Lead Balloon

Lovely Daughter asked me last week if I'd like to go to a Jaguars game for my birthday. They're playing Kansas City (kc!) and Matt Cassel is quarterback...such a nice name for such a nice boy ( /cheek-pinching old lady ). But I don't think I really do want to go, at least not enough to overcome the ambivalence I feel. While I certainly appreciate the offer, please let me explain why I hesitate.

First, we're all kinda short on cash. Expensive hobbies are not on my "gotta spend this money" list. My dryer just crapped out, repair of which is a necessary expense. Second, my birthday is just another day for me - I didn't DO anything that evening so many years ago, it's MY mother who should get the gifts and accolades, in my opinion. Third, I injured my back a few years ago...well, more than once and the first time was much more than "a few" years ago. Sitting in the stadium for several hours seems to cause spasms when I just THINK about it. And finally, I don't drink anymore, and I don't like being around drunk drunks. I don't do well in crowds in the best of conditions, and drunk, obnoxious crowds are surely going to be worse than I remember from when I DID drink. Much as I'd love to spend the day with Lovely Daughter and Handsome Son-in-law, I just don't think I'd have much fun...

I see from Mitch Albom's column at JewishWorldReview.com (updated BEFORE Yom Kippur began) that I'm not the only one avoiding such things for such reasons...

So, Lovely Daughter...can we just go eat like gluttons at Sticky Fingers instead? And if you go to the game that day, we can wait till the next week to go eat...I can wait!

You might be from Florida if...

Number 4 is my favorite, followed closely by #16 and #19.

1. You smirk when a game show's "Grand Prize" is a trip to Florida
2. You think a mountain is any hill 100 feet above sea level.
3. You think everyone from a bigger city has a northern accent.
4. You know the four seasons really are: almost summer, summer, not summer but really hot, and February.
5. You don't know what soda, cola, or pop is, "What kinda coke you want?"... regardless of brand or flavor
6. Anything under 95 is just warm.
7. You've hosted hurricane parties.
8. You understand the futility of exterminating cockroaches.
9. You can pronounce Okeechobee, Kissimmee , Ichnatucknee and Withlacoochee
10. You understand why it's better to have a friend with a boat, than have a boat yourself.
11. You get angry when people say " Florida isn't really part of the SOUTH."
12. You wear shorts and use the A/C on Christmas.
13. You recognize Miami-Dade as " Northern Cuba."
14. It's a perfect 72 degrees outside, but you run the A/C just to keep mildew from growing on your shoes.
15. You actually see someone from last nights episode of America's Most Wanted
16. Deer are smaller than your labrador
17. You're more scared of the freaks who live down the street than gators
18. You know someone who's been struck by lightning
19. You consider plywood a window treatment.
20. The term "huge fan" has nothing to do with sports.

UPDATE: In reference to yesterday's college football game, there's a player named Tyrod Taylor on one of the teams I was listening to. We were wondering...does he have a sister named Wheel Bearing?

New Addition on My Blogroll

My brother has a post at Parrothead Jeff - Las Vegas Latitude, Parrothead Attitude.

In case you don't know, Glenn was recently discovered to have a 'mass' on one of his kidneys. Throws the whole world into a bit of a spin, and I had funds standing by in case they wanted me to fly up there. Thankfully for all of us, my presence was not required (or wanted), as surgery was a resounding success and recovery is proceeding at a brisk pace. I suppose I could've gone just to get in the way and feel important, but I'm glad it worked out so well. For all of us. Glenn's Lovely Bride and Beautiful Daughter kept me in the loop, and I'm so grateful to them for that. (I am, however, disappointed I didn't get a trip West...dammit)

Now, go read Glenn's 'new' perspective - when the going gets tough, Navy Wives get tougher. Thanks, Sharon!

Michael Yon - The Kopp-Etchells Effect

My Chief sent me this link a few days back. I've just now taken the time to read and look at it.

*sigh*

"truly flabbergasting fatuities"

The headline for this post is from a column by a writer I seldom read anymore...but I cannot in good conscience ignore such FABulous snark!

Mona Charen at JewishWorldReview.com - I love this paragraph as she 'disects' The Speech By The President Of The World:

Obama is, we are told, the smartest man to sit in the Oval in many a year. And yet he is capable of truly flabbergasting fatuities like this: "In this hall, we come from many places, but we share a common future." You don't say? That's right up there with Warren Harding's declaration that "the future lies before us."

Bulls-eye.

When a tax is NOT a tax...

Here's a column - Jeff Jacoby at JewishWorldReview.com - for those of us who believe words mean things. They are a specific description meant to explain specific concepts or items. Today's word is 'tax.' George Stephanopolis looked it up! Tax: "a charge, usually of money, imposed by authority on persons or property for public purposes."

BarryO has a different idea, it seems: "George," chided Obama, "the fact that you looked up Merriam's Dictionary . . . indicates to me that you're stretching a little bit right now."

BarryO, when does the meaning given in Merriam-Webster become stretching??? That IS the meaning of the damn word "TAX," in proper use, clearly stated and understandable even to those of us with high school and technical school educations.

Do you need more proof of this administration's opinion of the electorate?

Then there's this: It is a myth that those who don't buy health insurance are basically free riders who unload their medical costs onto the backs of more responsible Americans. In truth, most of the uninsured are young, fit, and unlikely to need medical care. Why should they be forced to pay for expensive health insurance they don't need?

I have a theory - and since it's 'theory' I needn't use scientific principles to PROVE it - that lifelong politicians, those who wear the name Public Servant as a Badge of Righteousness, believe the Average American doesn't know what's good for him, that we're not really smart enough to pour piss out of a boot when the directions are on the heel (as my dad used to say). They live such sheltered little lives that they can't imagine anyone could survive without their help. Sad, isn't it? And sadder still is that our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution should tell them this was the attitude we got from the King - and it lit the fire under the Revolution in the first place...

AND ANOTHER THING:
This has been percolating in my mind for a few days and is only now coming clear. So forgive my disjointed rambling if you can, thank you.

Glenn Beck is not The Devil Himself. Glenn Beck is a God-believing, Family-loving, Constitution-trusting American Patriot. He MUST be doing something wonderful, because the leftists take his name in vain and and spit and belittle every damn thing about him. Well, in a bit of a continuance on my previous posting (above), Patrick Henry was a bit of a hell-raisin' rabble-rouser, too - if I remember my US History at all (which I can doublecheck easily these days).

Don't know about you, but I kind of admire that in a Man.

Some good columns

I'm not feeling particularly perky today, so I'm posting links to a couple columns I found interesting.

First up is Thomas Sowell at JewishWorldReview.com, on underdogs.

Next is Jonah Goldberg's tribute to Irving Kristol.

I also found a movie review by Walter Williams...of a movie he hasn't seen...which isn't really about the movie at all, come to find out. What it is is a short lesson on history and capitalism.

Last but certainly not least is my salute to "going green" in a money-saving and time-tested manner. I grew up in a working-poor family, and being frugal is something I understand. I'm not fanatical about it, but safety, simplicity and saving money are things I believe in. So here's a column on some of the ways I use vinegar in my home. One thing I do with white vinegar that's not mentioned in this column is I put it in the little cup meant for fabric softener in the washer. Clean, fresh clothes and soft towels with no soapy buildup on the fabrics OR in my washer. UPDATE: I forgot to add that in this climate, with extreeeeme humidity and heat, fabric softener tends to make clothes stink, in my opinion. I don't know if it degrades after a little time, or what, but those scented sheets are used very seldom in this house, for things that may have a problem with static cling...so the only time I really find a need for them is in the winter!

Now I think I'll find something to eat. Y'all have a fine day, and thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday - Thomas Sowell!

When I saw the title for this column, I almost went against Pixie Place Tradition and skipped Sowell's column for today, replacing it with the always-enjoyable Mark Steyn or a video about Yom Kippur. Then I read the first couple paragraphs, and I have to post it. Despite the subject being FAR from anything in my personal life today, Sowell's writing and point of view have value.

This, for instance:

Among the things you need to know about a particular college is whether it has a real curriculum or just a smorgasbord of courses, so that it is possible to graduate knowing nothing about history, economics or science, for example. Some of the most prestigious colleges in the country are places where you can graduate completely ignorant of such fundamental subjects.

In discussing "Choosing the Right College," Sowell points to some things that aren't discussed about most institutions of learning, things it seems many people find out The Hard Way. I may yet look into finding it, just to set my mind at ease over my...umm...sneering, snarky (but hopefully well-hidden) attitude, shall we say...toward some people I know...

Second example:

"Choosing the Right College" also presents information on such things as black separatist organizations at Lafayette College, for example. Whether you are for or against such things, you need to know about them, in order to choose what you think is right for you.

I've had an attitude about "the Best" schools for a long time now, believing that giving money to a place to NOT learn anything was an exercise in foolishness and ego. To use the name of a university as a resume-booster may seem important to some...but at what cost.

More:

It also tells you whether the intellectual atmosphere is free or is hidebound with political correctness, and plagued by professors who think their job is to use the classroom as a place to sound off about their political ideology to a captive audience, even when the course is about chemistry or accounting.

Good stuff for a Tuesday morning, isn't it? Thanks for stopping by!

The Old Guy does it AGAIN!

Have I mentioned previously that I love Mark Martin? If not, here's notice - I love Mark Martin. Crusty Old Fart of NASCAR. Just love it. Him. Them.

The man is SO good at what he does, with a terrific team behind him. His FIRST win at New Hampshire puts him in the lead for the Cup...whoa! Told My Chief he needs to buy me a new twenty dollar hat...cuz I am a BIG fan.

Enough for now, back to puttering around the house.

Honeymoon in increments

My Chief and I got married in February of 1985. He wasn't a Chief then. We dressed in our cleanest Levis and running shoes, said the proper words in front of a judge in Memphis, Tennessee, then spent our last $12 on a bottle of Asti and 2 packs of smokes. I took him back to the barracks at zero dark thirty and didn't see him again till the following Tuesday.

We decided some time later that instead of the one fancy blow-out honeymoon most brides insist upon, we'd take our honeymoon in bits, over time, with little regard to the time of year. It's been nearly 25 years now, and we are off on another bit of honeymoon. Living happily ever after, now and then...

This time, we're packing up the kids and the Pixie and heading for Damascus, Virginia. My Chief and kids will ride the Virginia Creeper Trail early on Saturday, and will try to catch the Gators game later. My Pixie and I will stroll around town enjoying each other's company and the truly AUTUMN weather!

Taking Monday off to rest from the trip, I hope to be back here Tuesday morning. Those of you who MUST contact me have my cell phone number. Y'all have a FINE weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

UPDATE: We're back, and I'm tired. LONG weekend, but worth every muscle spasm I'm having. The Pixie is well and truly potty trained, the kids had a good time blasting down the Creeper Trail, and Grandpa seems pretty happy, too. Glad we got home before dark. Cats are fed. Now I'm resting.

"Struck deaf by ego and narcissism..."

My title for today is taken from a comment left after this article by Jeffrey Lord at The American Spectator. Very astute. Not so sure Old Media has been struck deaf, or if it's a classic example of "none so blind as he who will not see." If I have an agenda to be advanced at any opportunity, I ignore any differing opinion, view, or evidence. Old Media are Old Hands at that game...and Mr. Lord provides examples.

The article itself is fairly long, but well-written and certainly worth the few minutes of time it takes. In it, Mr. Lord writes a letter to Tom Brokaw, detailing instances of non-reporting in Old Media and Brokaw's condescending remarks about the New Media (Talk Radio and the Internet) on a recent Meet the Press episode, where he was joined by Thomas Friedman.

Part of his smarmy line: And my line to them is you have to vet information. You have to test it the same way you do when you buy an automobile or when you go and buy a new flat-screen television. You read the Consumer Reports, you have an idea of what it's worth and what the lasting value of it is. You have to do the same thing with information because there is so much disinformation out there that it's frightening, frankly, in a free society that depends on information to make informed decisions.

Pathetic. This would be one reason I don't watch network television anymore.

Friedman's 'quote of the day' is this gem: "... the Internet is "an open sewer of untreated, unfiltered information.""

Personally, I think they sound jealous: Since ACORN has received millions of federal tax dollars over the years, and has been connected to President Obama in terms of his rise to prominence in Illinois politics, not to mention election activities while he was running for president, one would think this a major news story. Not for the Old Media. As reported by Glenn Beck a full two days after the story broke on Andrew Breitbart's BigGovernment.com, here's the record of reports on this story:

Fox News -- 19
CNN -- 3
MSNBC -- 0
ABC -- 0
CBS - 0
NBC -- 0
New York Times -- 1 (an AP story)
Washington Post -- 1 (an AP story)

One more excerpt before I go finish the dishes: In other words, across five decades of American journalistic history, the instinct of many Old Media institutions -- specifically including NBC and the New York Times -- has been to deliberately withhold the truth. To quite deliberately use their journalism skills and tools to misrepresent those whose politics they do not favor.

This is NOT the kind of reporting I thought I was learning in high school journalism. Makes me glad I didn't pursue it as a career - I really don't like being embarrassed because I've been lumped in with liars and cheats.

Tuesday - Thomas Sowell!

Were you ever told the fable about the dog who had a bone, then seeing his reflection in the river and deciding to take what he believed was a bigger bone, he dropped the bone he had in the river, and ended up with neither bone?

Thomas Sowell's column at JewishWorldReview.com:

While I was told a story in my childhood to help me understand something about the real world, today adults are being told things to reduce them to childish thinking.

Not just numbers...

...but blatant lies and half-truths and purposeful ignorance. What else can you call it when media outlets OTHER than American Mainstream (cough) Media post numbers and estimates and pictures and bits of interviews with participants...but CNN and other American networks don't even attempt to get facts, figures, pictures or TO TELL THE TRUTH once they DO get on the story.

Patriot blogger Track-A-Crat discusses his participation at his place. He says he's never experienced anything like it...and I think that's because there's not BEEN anything like it.

The Other McCain was on the scene, as was Barbara Espinosa. I'm certainly going to believe them before I believe any talking head on any American network. Oh, and don't forget Glenn Beck!

Sixty thousand...what utter rubbish.

BarryO and His Merry CongressWeasels aren't the ONLY liars, are they?

UPDATE:
Don't forget the photoshopped time-lapse video at YouTube...it's gotta be 'shopped, because Patriots/ conservatives are too stupid to grasp this brilliant concept. Aren't they?

The New Tea Party - The March on D.C.

I'll hold judgement on crowd size - but MASSIVE seems to be the gist of it, anyway. I am SO proud of this bunch of My Fellow Americans. Driven by the principles of the Constitution of the United States, they are exercising their God-given Rights and demonstrating the BRILLIANCE of the Founders.

Read all about it!

Is it physically painful for these jerks to tell the truth now and then? What the HELL does this show them to be? From the article at FoxNews...The White House on Friday claimed it was unaware of the planned rally. What a pathetic bunch of weasels this is! Did they stop maturing in middle school???

Paco, maybe your last wish could be for grown-ups who believe in the principles of the Constitution of the United States to hold the positions of authority in the country?

The 912 Project

I bet you've heard about the Tea Parties and the 912 Project. Here's some coverage - by FoxNewsChannel, no surprise - of the march on Washington today. I would love to have been there, and at some time in the future I may get to join one of these, but the time was not now for me. I walk with them in spirit, though I know how little that helps.

The 912 Project marches on Washington -- "Turn this thing around."

PATRIOT DAY -- NEVER FORGET

"Where were you when the world stopped turning, that September morn?" ~Alan Jackson

When the radio alarm went off that morning, we knew immediately something was wrong, because Rick Hamada was shook up. Marine Corps Base Kaneohe at Kailua, Hawai'i is several hours behind Ground Zero's time zone, so the planes had already struck but the Towers had not yet collapsed. Husband went to work at his squadron, daughter went to school. Around noon, Hawai'i time I went to pick up daughter and a couple friends. It took 3 1/2 hours to get back on base because every car was stopped at the gate. We didn't leave again for 3 days. Every business on base was closed and armed squads patrolled the streets.

The first guess-timates of the number of casualties were wrong.

Two thousand nine hundred ninety-six WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN.

NOTE: This Tribute was posted a week or two ago (linked so you can read comments if you wish)...I have since been assigned a second name to honour, and will post that Tribute separately.

PROJECT 2,996

Remembering: James D. Cleere

I found a reprint / repost of a Washington Post list of House Document No. 107-285, Commemorative Joint Meeting of the Congress of the United States In Remembrance of the Victims and Heroes of September 11, 2001. It gave me my idea of how to write this Tribute. You see, I volunteered to write and post a Tribute after finding my way to a site called Project 2,996. The name I was assigned belongs to a man who was...well...a man who was in one of the Towers of the World Trade Center that day.

It's a very plain-looking list, as are most of the other reprints of that long long list - no frills or fanfares, no candles or flowers or flags waving in the breeze. Most of us live lives that don't come with public fanfare or frills or parades or widely posted Tributes. The Americans killed that horrible day were mostly just like you and me...going about their business in the ways they knew best. Though they worked in a talked-about building - or compound, as there were more than 2 "towers" - their everyday lives involved the same kinds of things we all do - taking out the trash, answering the phone, losing a cell while crossing a bridge, talking to the kids, the grocer, the neighbor, folding a load of laundry, picking up a prescription, grabbing a quick bite. Ordinary...yet so very extraordinary, and now never to be forgotten.

James D. Cleere was living his life. He was 55. He was from Newton, Iowa.

He was sentenced to Death by the murderers that day because of where he was and who he was. They did not know him personally, or care about him or his family or his friends. They didn't know how he got from Iowa to New York City, where he'd gone to school, or what he had for breakfast every day. They only cared that he die that day because he was in that building.

I didn't know him, either. But I will never forget him.

James D. Cleere was on the 49th floor of the South Tower, in the offices of Seabury and Smith Insurance, when the hijacked Flight 175 out of Boston slammed into the building at 9:03am on September 11, 2001.

James D. Cleere - you are not forgotten.


This Tribute was posted earlier in this week - here's a link so you can read the comment(s).

Remembering: Brian Bilcher

Unlike Mr. Cleere, Brian Bilcher was an easy name to research. Being a member of Squad 1, FDNY means he was well-known and well-loved and remembered by so many people. Details are not difficult to come by. Many have memorialized him, and done so better than my paltry research and writing skills will do. There's a letter from his mother that made this crusty ol broad tear up some... Brian Bilcher's name graces the tribute pages and lists of every firefighting unit in the country that has posted a remembrance, I think.

Firefighter Brian Bilcher, you will never be forgotten. May God continue to bless your friends and family and your beautiful son Grant.

You dedicated your life to helping others and saving lives. You gave your life so that others may live. Thank you, your Brothers and Sisters and Friends and Co-workers... from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

And, on this anniversary of the attacks on our country, to everyone who's been on the front lines - or the rear echelon - of the Global War On Terror, fighting to protect our way of life - and our very lives - THANK YOU, too. Thanks go to your families and friends and anyone else who loves you and supports you in your efforts, whether serving on Active Duty or keeping a candle in the window to light your way home...Thank You.

Read more Tributes here.

Project 2,996: Brian Bilcher

Unlike Mr. Cleere, Brian Bilcher was an easy name to research. Being a member of Squad 1, FDNY means he was well-known and well-loved and remembered by so many people. Details are not difficult to come by. Many have memorialized him, and done so better than my paltry research and writing skills will do. There's a letter from his mother that made this crusty ol broad tear up some... Brian Bilcher's name graces the tribute pages and lists of every firefighting unit in the country that has posted a remembrance, I think.

Firefighter Brian Bilcher, you will never be forgotten. May God continue to bless your friends and family and your beautiful son Grant.

You dedicated your life to helping others and saving lives. You gave your life so that others may live. Thank you, your Brothers and Sisters and Friends and Co-workers... from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Project 2,996: James D. Cleere

NOTE: This Tribute was posted a week or two ago (linked so you can read comments if you wish)...I have since been assigned a second name to honour, and will post that Tribute separately.

I found a reprint / repost of a Washington Post list of House Document No. 107-285, Commemorative Joint Meeting of the Congress of the United States In Remembrance of the Victims and Heroes of September 11, 2001. It gave me my idea of how to write this Tribute. You see, I volunteered to write and post a Tribute after finding my way to a site called Project 2,996. The name I was assigned belongs to a man who was...well...a man who was in one of the Towers of the World Trade Center that day.

It's a very plain-looking list, as are most of the other reprints of that long long list - no frills or fanfares, no candles or flowers or flags waving in the breeze. Most of us live lives that don't come with public fanfare or frills or parades or widely posted Tributes. The Americans killed that horrible day were mostly just like you and me...going about their business in the ways they knew best. Though they worked in a talked-about building - or compound, as there were more than 2 "towers" - their everyday lives involved the same kinds of things we all do - taking out the trash, answering the phone, losing a cell while crossing a bridge, talking to the kids, the grocer, the neighbor, folding a load of laundry, picking up a prescription, grabbing a quick bite. Ordinary...yet so very extraordinary, and now never to be forgotten.

James D. Cleere was living his life. He was 55. He was from Newton, Iowa.

He was sentenced to Death by the murderers that day because of where he was and who he was. They did not know him personally, or care about him or his family or his friends. They didn't know how he got from Iowa to New York City, where he'd gone to school, or what he had for breakfast every day. They only cared that he die that day because he was in that building.

I didn't know him, either. But I will never forget him.

James D. Cleere was on the 49th floor of the South Tower, in the offices of Seabury and Smith Insurance, when the hijacked Flight 175 out of Boston slammed into the building at 9:03am on September 11, 2001.

James D. Cleere - you are not forgotten.

"...we females want to talk all the time about everything. Conflict is just another excuse to gab."

Betsy Hart at JewishWorldReview.com:

One of my own best women friends recently sent to me a piece that her husband (without comment, it turns out!) had e-mailed to her: "How to Improve Your Marriage Without Talking About It" by Barbara Graham from O, the Oprah Magazine. Its subtitle says it all: "Forget everything you've heard about frankness, sharing your feelings, getting him to express his. Research into the functions of the male mind makes it clear that discussion may be the fastest way to shut down communication. (Oh, you noticed that, have you?)"

Graham sat down with psychotherapists Patricia Love and Steven Stosny. They teach extensively on gender differences, and last year co-wrote "How to Improve Your Marriage Without Talking About It."

Stosny explains that "talking about feelings, which is soothing to women, makes men physically uncomfortable. There's literally more blood flow to the muscles. They get fidgety and women think they're not listening."

"Durh!" Any woman worth her salt knows men are different than women and should NEVER be required to replace the women who are close to her in her life, just as any man worth his salt will not expect his woman to be his 'buddy.'

Now, if we could convince the super-intellectuals that there are deeply ingrained differences in the genders, that each of us is part of the Whole, not The Same, we'd be MUCH better off as a Society...not to mention that we'd have MUCH happier marriages AND children.

Chick fil A Giveaway!

Wear your favorite team logo to Chick-fil-A on Monday from 10:30am to closing time, get a FREE Original Chicken Sandwich...that would be the one buttered...with a pickle. The BEST!

Sounds good, I'll have to find my Hawai'i shirt again...or Navy...or borrow a Gator shirt from Handsome Son-in-law! Don't have one for the Northern Lights, which is MY alma mater...*sigh*

Well, I'm outta here for now, we're going for an overnight stay-cation in the camper...in the front yard. Needed to move it and open it and clean it, don't feel like fighting crowds, traffic, and drunk drivers, so here we are. Gotta love it!

Y'all stay safe. Thanks for stopping by.

UPDATE: What a yummy lunch with hubby! TONS of Gator gear and Jaguar jerseys, with a smattering of Georgia and Florida State University. Saw one Clemson, a Navy Hockey, and one Florida State College at Jacksonville (formerly Florida Community College - Jacksonville). I had the only Hawai'i shirt and My Chief was wearing the only Padres shirt I saw.