Baby's Going To School

It's that time of year again. Time to go back to school. We had a good long summer but it's time to get to work again. It's a big shock for little ones who are starting school for the very first time. This is the beginning of many firsts in their lives. The first time many of them are away from their mother. The first time they learn to obey teachers. The first time they go to class all day with other children. The first time they stand in line at the lunchroom. The first time they ride a school bus. The first holiday at school. 

There will be so many things they will learn and get to enjoy. Their innocence is precious and fleeting. I envy them getting to learn so many things for the very first time. 

I loved school holidays. I remember the decorations we made for the holidays. Every occasion became a time of joy as we cut colorful construction paper and pasted it together, as we learned to celebrate each season. School was fun when I was little.

The new school year is no less stressful for the older kids. School is a time of learning and socializing and, as they grow older, the pressure mounts. 

By the time I was in my teens I had to worry about fitting in and looking attractive. I did the best I could with what I had. 

The red and white checkered shirtwaist dress Momma wanted me to get was not attractive. I refused to let her buy it. Everyone would have made fun of me, comparing  my dress to a tablecloth. I can just imagine the comments they would have made. 

If you survive your school years and graduate with your peers you should be proud of yourself. School is much harder than it was when I was young. I'm not sure I would survive it today. I'm glad my boys didn't take after me.

My baby's going back to school again. This will be his fourth year at Southern Polytech. I'll be so happy when he graduates. I've worried about him, and chided him, and encouraged him when he needed it. My baby ain't no baby no more. (Yes, I know that's a double negative.)

I usually stand at the window crying as I watch him drive away. This year I saw him off but I was so tired and sleepy I forgot to cry. 

Colt had been working all summer with Scout but Friday was his last day of work. He took Scout to work on Monday, and I took him Tuesday and Wednesday. I didn't get my usual nap out in the morning and I've been tired ever since. That's why I forgot to cry. 

Sometimes when Colt is around he bothers the crap out of me. I have to go around behind him, telling him to "pick this up" or "don't leave that there" like he is five years old. I don't see know how he takes care of himself when he's living in Marietta. I know he doesn't do any laundry because that's what he expects me to do when he comes home on weekends.

Every time I get used to having him back home, he has to go back to school. Then I have to get used to being alone again. Don isn't much company. When he comes home, he is so tired he plops down in his recliner and watches TV until time to eat or go to bed.

Colt and I have a confabulation every night. The computer is in his room so I spend a lot of time there. When he is not around, I can play on the computer all night. When he is home, he makes me get out of his room so he can sleep. Can you blame him?

We will have to get back into the school year routine. He will be gone through the week but I can expect him to come home with his laundry, and his burdens, ready to unload and relax. I try to give him well balanced meals when he is here. There's no telling what he eats through the week. Probably a lot of ramen noodles and too many energy drinks. I imagine Colt and his roommate, Bob, are typical college guys. By that I mean really, really messy.

I will be so happy when Colt finishes college. I have my fingers crossed that the job market improves soon and he is able to get a good job. We have high hopes. Just one more year. Just one more year. That is my mantra now. Whew! Hang in there baby. You're going to make it. We have faith in you. 

AS ALWAYS

PIO

~~~~

pass it on!

Little Layla started kindergarten this year, too.
Good luck little lady.

Best Laid Plans

I planned on cooking turkey and dressing last weekend for my birthday dinner but didn't get it thawed in time. I tried thawing the turkey in a cooler, but made the mistake of putting ice on it right away. It froze into a block of ice. I should have let it start thawing first, before covering it in ice. Live and learn, I reckon. I finally cooked it on Sunday.

The turkey turned out great and, despite a couple of meltdowns when I panicked, everything was delicious. To make it feel like a festive celebration, I made deviled eggs, and potato salad, to go with my turkey and dressing. 

I tried calling my parents but nobody answered the phone so I called Scout and told him I was fixing my birthday dinner, and invited them. Scout promised to come by later for leftovers. He had already eaten because he forgot I was cooking.

Oh well. So much for my family party. I didn't mind, though. Donny, and Colt, and I were more than willing to tear into everything and stuff ourselves silly with our feast. I don't cook turkey and dressing very often so it was a treat.

I got to eat turkey and dressing sandwiches for a couple of days, too. I love leftovers.

By Wednesday I knew I wanted something else to celebrate my birthday, so I made a pear pie. I know people usually have birthday cakes, but I love pies.

One year a friend of Donny's gave him some pears and I made a pear pie out of them. It was delicious so now I make pear pies whenever I can. If you like apple pies, you will probably love pear pies, too. 

There is a pear tree where Scout lives so he's given me some pears that I put up in the freezer. I got out a couple of boxes and thawed them. I added sugar and cinnamon after they thawed. I also made a flaky pie crust. 

I don't usually brag on myself but I have to admit it turned out really good.

I had a nice low key birthday and got to celebrate it over several days like I wanted to. It's easier to celebrate birthdays when you get older. You don't have to try to impress anyone, or do anything you don't want to do.

Nobody pays attention to your birthday when you get older so it's not a big deal. I got simple presents from my family this year and I was happy with everything I got.

I had to pick Scout up from work on my birthday so I talked him into putting my new tag on the car for me. I really appreciated that.

Colt went to Dairy Queen and bought me a hot dog and a banana split one night. I thought that was really sweet.

Donny came in with an empty 2 gallon bucket they get belzone in at work. I like to use the 2 gallon buckets for mulch buckets because they have a lid and insects can't get in them. That was useful. 

Momma called and sang to me. Who could ask for anything more?

My birthday would never be complete if I didn't get something for myself. This year I went to Kmart and bought a ceiling fan for the washroom and a bunch of yellow rubber ducks for my swimming pool. I also got a cool pink and yellow straw hat for $3 the other day.

I know we're supposed to be in a drought but it's been raining for weeks now. Every day I think about getting in our swimming pool it gets cloudy and thunders so I haven't been in the pool very much this summer.

I can't wait to get in my pool wearing my pink and yellow straw hat, and cheap sunglasses, surrounded by rubber duckies, floating around and around in circles in my backyard.

I may be old but I still feel like a little kid inside. That's why I thought it would be fun to have rubber duckies floating in our pool. Everybody needs a little whimsy in their lives. 

That's how I celebrated my birthday this year. How was yours?

AS ALWAYS

PIO

*****

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AUGUST

Ah, sweet mystery of life . . . August is my favorite month. The sun is high, the days are long, and the temperatures are really hot. As long as I can find a shady place, or an air conditioned room, with a cool drink I'm happy. At least, I'm lucky. I can go inside where it is cool when I want to. People who work outside don't have that advantage in this heat. People across the world who don't have those luxuries don't have a choice at all.

Last week Scout had some kind of bug and was sick all week. Colt had to work without him. Colt said he and Bob dug 14 post holes by hand one day. Bob dug a few near some underground power lines and Colt dug the rest. Colt said the soil was rocky and hard to dig. It took all day. He came in from work looking beat, covered in dirt, and dog tired. 

I was in the front yard hanging a new bird feeder under my Magnolia tree one day when Colt's friend, Brent, came to visit. He watched me wrap a metal coated coat hanger around a limb to hang my feeder on it. Brent remarked how he couldn't understand how I could stand being in the heat. I didn't think it was too hot. I'm used to it. We were in the shade under the Magnolia trees. It's like being under a gigantic umbrella. 

We use air conditioning in the house but I don't ever turn my A/C on in my car. I like riding with the windows down, soaking up the sounds and the smells around me. I like smelling fresh cut grass in the evenings and listening to the frogs and crickets as they begin their evening orchestration, don't you?

Living through the heat of summer is what makes us who we are in the south. If you can suffer the heat of a southern summer you can just about endure anything. Ain't that right, sugar?

Anyway, we had a couple of extremely hot weeks where temperatures hovered around 100 degrees and then it started to rain off and on for a few weeks. Anybody that's lived in the south knows that causes a summer sauna as the steam rises from the ground and engulfs you in it's hot, humid embrace. I don't know if the weather is extreme because of global warming but I certainly can believe it. It's rained so much we haven't been able to use our little swimming pool. I was just beginning to enjoy it.

My birthday is in August. I've decided to thaw out the frozen turkey in my freezer and fix myself a feast for my birthday. I love turkey and dressing but nobody seems to want to cook it in the summertime. I'm going to fix deviled eggs and potato salad and invite my family over to share it with me. I have two reasons to fix turkey and dressing for my birthday. First, and foremost, it's my birthday and I can do what I want, and second, I need to make room in the freezer for all the food I've been putting up out of our garden this summer. I already filled up one shelf and need room for more.

I have broccoli, cauliflower, turnip greens, tomatoes, and okra, among other things. Right now we are getting plenty of tomatoes and okra so I am stocking up for winter. I found out that fresh frozen food is better than canned food. It's also lots easier to freeze food than it is to can it, although I have plenty of experience canning food. I have a huge pressure canner and lots of jars that I can use if I run out of room in the freezer. I sound like Suzy Homemaker, don't I, but I'm not really.

The green beans we planted didn't do as well as we hoped so we didn't have many of those to put up but I found out that frozen beans from the grocery store are delicious and a great addition to my food supply.

A couple of years ago I decided to use my freezer more wisely in order to save money on my food bill and to decrease waste. I don't like buying canned goods because after they are opened, you tend to have so much waste to carry off. After I started eating more frozen food and found out it tasted better than canned food, I was hooked.

Everyone should learn to put up their own fruits and vegetables so that they can eat healthier and be assured of their food being put up under the best conditions. I hope you will consider joining me in my quest to cut down on waste and garbage. And remember, a mulch pile is a good place to throw out your scraps and it makes a wonderful worm bed. Talk about recycling!

Maybe I really am Suzy Homemaker . . .  Nah!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Tommie Lyn, Pat, Pam, Myra, Nancy, Nancy, Brenda, Chris, Randy, 
Jonnie Bell, Glo, Blake, Bob, Justin, Cole, Jerry

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Susan and Bob

AS ALWAYS

PIO

What's Going On

People go to the movies for escapism and fantasy. When you're watching a movie you can become part of the action. You can live vicariously through the characters on the screen. That's the beauty of movies. 

I used to love going to the movies with a few good friends who shared the experience with me. We fell in love with the characters, or wanted to be some of the heroes on the screen. We were transported to exotic or thrilling locations. The movies stimulated and inspired us. 

I think I saw every Hayley Mills movie ever made when she was a young movie star. I suppose she was my idol. I wanted to be a spunky, cheerful, bright young girl. I loved her English accent although it was hard to buy in the movie Parent Trap with two American parents. Still, I was willing to suspend reality to enjoy the movies.

That is why it bothers me so much that some crazy guy chose that location to  enact his heinous crime. He burst the magical bubble of fantasy, and he tarnished the joy of going to the movies.

At midnight July 20, 2012 James Holmes stood up front, in a packed theater, at the screening of The Dark Knight Rises, a Batman movie, and began shooting into the audience. He sent shock waves of terror through a crowd of movie goers, killing 12 people and wounding 58 others. There has never been a theater shooting until that day. Less than a week later, another such plot was thwarted. Insanity breeds insanity. 

The first school shooting was August 1, 1966 at the University of Texas. Charles Whitman climbed a 28 story clock tower overlooking the campus around noon and killed 14 people, and his wife and mother beforehand. He ended up killing himself. After his death, officials found suicide notes requesting an autopsy. Whitman had been a model student, husband and son until recently before his rampage. He became an Eagle Scout when he was 12 years old. Nothing in his life could account for his bizarre murder spree. The autopsy revealed a brain tumor on the area of the brain that controls impulses. Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams were created to prepare for any future attacks because of Whitman's massacre. 

There have been 27 mass casualty shootings since Columbine High School in Denver, Colorado on April 20, 1999. The Columbine killers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, gunned down classmates, killing 13, and themselves. Ten years after the massacre, evidence came to light that everything that had been reported in the media about them was untrue. They were not in the Trenchcoat Mafia, they were not bullied, but they were bullies, and they hated everyone. Harris, by all accounts, appeared to be a psychopath. Klebold felt worthless and miserable. Together they created a caustic team. Information was gleaned from personal diaries, witnesses, police reports, and emails.

The most deadly killing was the Virginia Tech massacre which happened April 16, 2007 when Seung-Hui Cho shot and killed 32 people and wounded 17 others in two separate attacks two hours apart. Six other people were injured escaping through classroom windows. Cho committed suicide.

The massacre at Virginia Tech was also the worst act of mass murder on college students on campus, since Syracuse University lost 36 students in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. It was better known as the Lockerbie bombing which happened on December 21, 2008 killing 259 passengers and crew, and 11 people on the ground from falling debris. 

A rash of killings has spread across our nation. The expression "going postal" refers to several postal carriers who carried out attacks on management, fellow workers, police, and civilians from 1986 to 1997. More than 40 people were gunned down in the workplace by irate postal workers.

November 4, 2009 another disturbing attack took place at Fort Hood Military Base when an American army psychiatrist, Major Nidal Hasad, age 39, fired on his fellow soldiers, attacking and killing 13 soldiers and civilians, and wounding 31. Hasad was shot and paralyzed by armed soldiers on the base. Hasad was a radical Muslim who exhibited signs of anti-Americanism, who disturbed his fellow soldiers but warnings were ignored until it was too late. He is awaiting trial.

Attacks have been carried out by lone gunmen, or sometimes two or more gunmen, working together to take down people. The Beltway snipers sent a chill of fear throughout Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia until they were apprehended in October 2002. Two men, John Allen Mohammed and Lee Boyd Malvo, killed 10 people from the camouflage of a 1990 Chevrolet Caprice sedan, that had been altered for them to lie down and shoot from the car. One drove as the other shot victims. Mohammed was executed. Malvo is serving life in prison.

No normal person can understand how someone can go on a murderous killing spree and very few people can understand the grace of forgiveness. That is why it is so heartening to also mention the tragic and senseless killing of the children who were gunned down by a madman who held them hostage in a one-room school house in an Amish community in Pennsylvania. 

On October 2, 2006 a milkman, Charles Carl Roberts Jr., converged on a small classroom of students and adults with weapons and held them hostage. He released the women and boys but kept the girls behind. He terrorized the little girls until two girls offered to be the first to be executed, hoping to buy time for the others to escape. He killed 5 of the little girls, and wounded 5 others. He shot them in the back of the head. Suicide letters told of deviant, uncontrollable desires and past indiscretions which were later denied by the supposed victims.

The Amish communities reaction was unexpected and truly remarkable. They forgave the killer and even reached out in compassion to the shooter's family. Even in their sorrow they had compassion for a madman's family who were just as confused and shocked as the community around them. The Amish people do not believe in having insurance so the community raised funds to help them pay medical bills. Some victims will have medical requirements for the rest of their lives.

Three school shootings happened that week. Two others were the Platte Canyon High School shooting on September 27, 2007 and Weston High School shooting on September 29. The National School Safety and Security Services has statistics on school shootings.

Each time a violent attack happens people debate the value of stricter gun laws and whether or not we as a society perpetuate the violence and rage that people experience because of music, or video games, or movies, or some other nonsense. The debate has been going on since Charles Whitman climbed the tower steps on his fateful journey into madness 46 years ago. The same debate goes on today.

Violence and destruction are ingrained in our culture. Television has taken us into the midst of war. The power of television helped end the Vietnam war. Seeing death and carnage on the evening news, watching human suffering and an endless war gave us no appetite for war during my youth. Too bad young men grow up to be old men ready for war. Young men dance on marionette's strings. 

I don't know how we can stop people from going on a murderous rampage but I do know that it is too easy for people to get weapons. I cannot understand how anyone would think it's a good idea to have an assault weapon. The only people that need to handle them are the military and law enforcement. Hunting with an assault weapon is unsportsmanlike.

The government should have a national computer data base and require every gun buyer or seller to register all guns and ammunition bought or sold. Anyone buying and stockpiling artillery in patterns or large quantities could be red flagged and local law enforcement could investigate suspicious activity. We have data bases tracking automobiles and drivers licenses and auto insurance. It would be very easy for the government to monitor gun sales and safeguard our country so that we don't put ourselves in the hands of people who would do us harm when we least expect it. Homegrown terrorists are a frightening reality. 

I'm not saying every gun owner should have to register his weapons. I'm just saying that we can start from here to create a safer society in which we will be able to trace a terrorist stockpiling weapons if all weapons bought or sold are put in a monitored data base.

When we grew up, boys went hunting all the time and knew how to use a shotgun. Society has changed and most men don't go hunting anymore but the ones who do deserve the right to own and use their weapons. They provide a valuable necessity to the community keeping the animal population manageable. But owning powerful, dangerous, weapons that can kill dozens of people in seconds should not be condoned in America.

We need to invest more time and money in medical and psychiatric care. Too many people fall through the cracks. There are bound to be more instances of violence in the coming years. God help us all. 

AS ALWAYS

PIO

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20120723/US.Colorado.Shooting
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-04-13-columbine-myths_N.htm
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/July-August-08/On-this-Day--Texas-College-Student-Kills-13-in-First-U-S--School-Shooting.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_103
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hood_shooting

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltway_sniper_attacks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish_school_shooting

http://www.schoolsecurity.org/trends/school_violence.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_the_United_States_(by_state)

4-11-13 The BRAD BLOG

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=9781

You might like to read GUNS AND GOD

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Thank You

What A Week

I had to make an emergency appointment with my dentist this week when I noticed my gums were inflamed. My gums weren't the healthy pink color they normally are. They were a greyish pink color and swollen. I pressed on my gums with my finger and some puss oozed out. That sent me into a frenzied shock because I have worked so hard trying to take care of my teeth after surgery a couple of years ago. My dentist had used donor tissue to help build gums around my loose teeth. I could hardly wait to call his office the next morning and schedule an appointment to be checked.

Dr. Phillip confirmed my suspicions about having infection in my gums. He gave me antibiotics to take to fight the infection and told me that I was lucky because if I hadn't had the previous surgery I would have likely lost my front teeth. I will have to go back to see him in 10 days to make sure the infection has cleared up. I'll let you know how it goes.


The other day a man knocked on my front door and told me he was cutting the trees on the right-of-way and wanted to let me know he was going to cut my beautiful Magnolia trees. I saw how they cut our neighbor's Magnolia trees and told him not to cut ours that drastically. Only cut the limbs that are next to the power line. He told me they would have to cut them ten feet away from the power lines, straight up the trunk. I was furious! I cuss like a sailor when I get mad. After blasting them with my salty language, the leader of the crew promised to have someone from the electric company come down to discuss it with me.


I had trouble with the tree cutters last time when they tried to butch my Magnolia trees. I don't know what it is about me, but I'll fight anybody over cutting a tree. I had a meltdown with them last time and they told Don to contact them if we ever had any trouble again. We lost the phone number, and the name of the guy, so I guess that won't help this time. I'll just have to stand up to them and demand they don't destroy them.


We have two beautiful big Magnolia trees in our front yard parallel to the highway. The trunks of the trees are very big around so they are pretty old. We've been living here 23 years, and they were grown trees when we first came. I don't know how old they are now but they are too beautiful to be destroyed by some idiot in a lift-bucket and a chainsaw. They are my favorite part of our front yard. I have a little park underneath the Magnolia's. Sometimes I sit out on a bench, enjoying the shade, and watching cars go by.


I used to try to figure out what my purpose was in life, or what I was meant to do and the only thing I have come up with is the fact that I am not afraid to engage anyone in a battle if I think I am in the right. I get sick of having to stand up to people and argue with them about every little thing in the world, it seems, but I realized that if I don't protect the things I care about somebody is going to come along and try to destroy them. It doesn't matter if it's a tree, or a dream, or a person. When it concerns me, I don't give up without a fight.


My grandparents used to have a beautiful, majestic Live Oak tree. It was in the backyard near the creek. I've seen them hang hogs up in the branches to butcher them. When we were little we played in the hard packed dirt underneath the tree like it was a sandbox. We took little sticks to make fences and mark off our 'farms' and homes. We played with little cars and plastic farm animals creating what we thought were magnificent farms.


My grandparents threw scrap metal at the base of the old oak tree and lightning struck it once. It had a scar down the trunk of the tree. The tree still looked strong and health but my uncle and cousin convinced my grandparents that the tree was rotting and becoming dangerous. 


My grandparents hired someone to cut down the beautiful old tree before informing anyone of what they were going to do. I didn't realize they were going to cut it down until I saw a crew out there, starting to cut on it. 


I went out to my grandparents and demanded to know why they were cutting their old tree. My grandmother said that my uncle and cousin thought the tree was dying and needed to be cut down. I blew up and pitched a bitch fit about it. I kept saying "Why are you cutting the tree?" I was so mad. I've never been as mad at my grandparents as I was that day.


I couldn't stop the tree cutters from cutting down the tree and I was disgusted to see my uncle and cousin standing by with their chain saws getting ready to cut the tree up for firewood. 


The sad thing about cutting down the tree was when the Dalton Daily Citizen News sent a man down to document the cutting of the tree and wrote in an article that the three was over 150 years old! And, it was not damaged, or diseased, or rotting. It was a perfectly healthy tree that had been willfully destroyed because of ignorance and manipulation. I'll bet dollars to donuts that my uncle called the paper to get the story in the paper.


All my uncle and cousin cared about was the free wood that they would get out of the deal. I couldn't understand why my grandparents agreed to have the tree cut down. 


Years later I figured out that my grandparents must have come to despise the tree because it kept growing and being strong and beautiful, year after year, while their own bodies were weakening and becoming more useless as the years went by. They probably knew the tree would be here long after they were gone so they decided to have it cut down so that it wouldn't survive after they died. That is the only explanation I can come up with for them cutting their beautiful old oak tree down. Instead of getting a professional to assess the tree, they got a tree cutting company to come check it out. Naturally, they said the tree was unhealthy and needed to be removed.


If the tree had survived it would be nearly two hundred years old today. I am sickened to think how destructive, and disrespectful people can be towards nature. I think that is why I get so upset when I see a magnificent tree and fight for it not to be cut down.


We used to have an old pine tree in our backyard. Don wanted to cut it down but I wouldn't let him. It finally became infested with Pine Bore Beetles. Limbs started falling out of the tree. 


We had to hire a tree cutting service to remove the tree because we didn't want it to fall on the house or the neighbor's house. The beetles had sucked out all the sap and the wood was hard as a rock. It took a long time to burn up all the wood and the huge chunks of the trunk laid in the backyard for years getting harder and harder.


I hated having to cut down our big pine tree but realized it couldn't be saved. I don't believe the same rules applied to the oak tree at my grandparent's. I certainly don't believe the road crew should be butchering our beautiful, healthy Magnolia trees in our front yard. Magnolia's grow slowly and don't get close to the power lines for years. A little snip and cut around the power lines, about three feet back from the lines should take care of any problems until the next time they come through here cutting overgrowth.


I know I'm being a bitch but who else is going to protect my trees? Not the power company, that's for sure.

AS ALWAYS

PIO

JULY

Americans are a sturdy lot. We have the advantage of being a melting pot. That's a polite way of saying that we're mongrels. Everyone is a mix of nationalities and cultures and ethnicity's. I wonder what American's will look like in the next hundred years. I imagine the face of America will be much different than it is today.

Speaking  of  Mongrels . . . 

The other day I took a dip in our backyard pool. It's one of those with the blow up ring around the top. It's big enough to hold a floating chair, a couple of beach balls, and two rubber duckies. It's a cheerful little pool. 

I've been trying to get Don to come swimming with me. I was playing in the pool one day when I saw him trudging toward the pool wearing his swimming trunks. He finally took the plunge, so to speak.

It's very pleasant floating around in a warm pool of water looking at the clouds in the sky, and the tops of the trees touching the sky. It's almost hypnotic lying on a float relaxing in the water.

Tuesday I bought a big beach ball and got Don to help me blow it up with the air compressor. I left it in the pool and came inside. I went into the washroom and looked out the window and noticed the ball wasn't in the pool anymore. Then I saw the top of Colt's head bobbing in the pool. 

Colt popped up and jumped out of the pool, marching towards the bridge in our backyard. Before I could figure what he was doing, he grabbed Buddy up and pivoted around, marching to the pool. He threw Buddy in the pool and then jumped in with him. I ran to open his bedroom window and yelled at him for throwing the dog in the pool! 

What is the matter with that boy? You'd think I wouldn't have to keep an eye on him all the time but that's not true. There's no telling what he might do. I thought I wouldn't have to monitor him after he was grown but I guess I was wrong.

Wednesday is the fourth of July. Don promised to cook chicken on the grill so I invited family over. Maybe we can have a nice peaceful 4th of July. I just doubt anybody will want to take a dip in the pool after Buddy's been in it. 

Temperatures are still dancing around a hundred degrees and this is just the beginning of summer. Whew! It looks like it's going to be a long, hot summer. Stay cool y'all and Happy Fourth of July. Welcome to the early dog days of summer.

*****

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Krista, Jeremy, Athena, Connie, Jennifer, Christy, Nathan, Madison, Holly, Coven, Tristan, Evitt, Tillie, and

everybody celebrating this month

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

everybody celebrating this month

REMEMBER

the 4th of JULY

Snakes and Snails

It's been hotter than blazes around here. This week it got up to 100 degrees. It's so hot that the grass has stopped growing and started turning brown in spots. It's so hot that I've been putting out lots of water for the dogs and cats and filling the birdbath every day. I even put a dish of water out for the little critters that creep around on the ground. I got that idea from Scout. He has a little dish sitting on the ground with water for the frog that lives under his porch.


So many critters are suffering from the heat. It only stands to reason that they will turn up wherever they can find water. Scout and Kim have a swimming pool in the backyard. This king snake probably smelled the water or was searching for food in the surrounding undergrowth.

My boy Scout likes to be a snake wrangler. Okefenokee Joe (http://www.okefenokeejoe.com/) came to Dug Gap School and gave a demonstration about snakes when he was in kindergarten. Scout has been charmed ever since.


Scout probably got his love of snakes from my grandfather. He was notorious for not killing snakes. Grampa thought everything was good and he didn't eliminate snakes in his philosophy. Grampa had a pet little snake that lived in a rock wall in his yard. Momma saw it one time and tried to kill it but Grampa stepped in and told her not to hurt his little snake. He said he had burned some brush near the wall and he thought he had blinded the snake. He felt sorry for it and would feed it grubs and insects when he saw it. He said it was his friend.

My grandparents moved from town to Crow Valley later. They lived there several years before a dam was built near them. Grampa's property was below the spillway. Grampa and Gramma loved fishing at the bottom of the dam. Grampa also liked fishing in the lake. 


Grampa said he went to the top of the dam to go fishing one day and saw a stringer at the edge of the water. Someone had left their stringer of fish in the water. A snake had tried to swallow a fish on the line and the fish was stuck in it's throat. Grampa picked up the snake and the fish and tried to work the fish out of the snakes mouth. He said he worked slow so as not to hurt the snake until he was able to get the fish dislodged from the snakes mouth. 


He put the snake back in the water until it got it's strength back. It finally swam away from the bank, away from him. He said the funniest thing happened. The snake turned around and swam nearly up to him and swam in place with it's head sticking out of the water. It just looked at him. It began to swim away again and got a little farther but stopped and turned around and swam back to the bank where Grampa was standing. It swam in place with it's head raised above the water looking him in the eye again. It swam away again but stopped, again and swam back to him one more time to look at him. It finally turned around and swam away.


Grampa said he thought the little snake came back to thank him for saving his life. He was so proud of saving the snake's life. 


Momma laughed and said she bet the snake wasn't thanking him for saving his life. She bet the snake was sizing him up and wondering if he could swallow Grampa.


We all had a good laugh over that but I think Grampa was right. The snake understood that Grampa saved his life and wanted to thank him. Animals may not think like we do but they do understand more than we give them credit for.


God put everything here for a purpose and that day Grampa's purpose was to save that snake's life. That's kind of cool if you think about it. 

AS ALWAYS

PIO

Things I Should of Said

When that guy called me "Bitch" instead of getting mad and calling him a "Bastard" I should have responded, "Bitch? ... I'm not your mother."

Don't you hate it when you miss an opportunity like that? I know I do. Sometimes it's taken me years to come up with a good response I should have used during an encounter. I wish I was quicker on my feet. I just forget that you always have to be on your toes and prepared for an attack at any time. 

I imagine there will be many more of those episodes in my life because I'm not the kind of person to stand around and take it when anyone starts belittling me. I hate bullies and I hate ignorant people that start name calling anyone just because they don't agree with them, especially men. 

Some men have those alpha male episodes where they pace around beating their chests saying, "Look at me! I am a man! You have to listen to me!" They become enraged at any woman who dares to stand up for themselves and say what they thing. If anyone disagrees with those alpha males, they can't handle it. They want to lash out and attack. They're very scary. I know because I've been at the receiving end of too many fights.

One time I was on Walnut Avenue at a red light getting ready to turn left into the old Walmart when the light changed to yellow and I didn't go. My car was unreliable and I wasn't about to floor it to turn into oncoming traffic so I waited on the light to turn green. A man got out of his car parked in the turning lane behind me and came up to my window and started yelling at me because I hadn't turned on yellow. He was irate. I could see a young child in his car which he had left sitting in the road with the door open. The crazy man actually got out of his car to confront me, leaving his little kid in the car! I couldn't believe it.

Another time the kids and I were at Walmart getting ready to leave when a man and his wife and kid walked out of the store pushing a shopping cart. The woman started putting her child in the car and the man pushed the buggy behind my car and jumped in the driver's seat. His thoughtlessness made me so mad that I got out of the car and pushed the buggy aside. I shot him a bird as I drove away.

The lanes were crowded and I had to go around the parking lot. I saw the man cutting across the parking lot towards me in a rage. His neck muscles were bulged out and his face was red. He wanted to come throttle me. I recognized the look. I maneuvered around and got out of the parking lot before he could reach the car. I couldn't imagine how the scene would have played out if he had reached me but one of us would have gone to jail. Probably him, for murder.

I have an ability to rub people the wrong way, especially if I think they are being thoughtless or inconsiderate. I usually let them know what I am thinking. That's how I got into it with some guy on Facebook who called me a bitch. I really should have taken it as a compliment. He couldn't fathom an open minded woman like me. 

I believed the teachers when they taught us that we were born in the land of the free, and the home of the brave. I think America's greatest gift and most sacred right is freedom of speech. I exercise my first amendment rights often. America is great because we have the freedom to express our opinions. I respect people's right to express their opinions even if I don't agree with them, but that doesn't mean I will keep my opinion to myself.

Everyone is born and experiences different things in their lives that made them the way they have become today. No two people, even twins, experience the world the same and has the same experiences and reactions as each other about everything. Some people never voice an opinion about anything so you never know what they are thinking. Some people never shut up and never try to hear anyone else's opinion. Some people get along with everyone and never have disagreements with anyone. Some people shoot off their mouth and say what they think. Guess which category I fall in. 

I heard of a Facebook group that's name implied they would be discussing local politics. I joined it because I thought it would be fun to learn information about candidates and how they stood on the issues and what their experience was, you know, things like that. I couldn't find any information about the group and soon realized it was a new listing on Facebook. The moderator who created the group had a few interesting posts from real candidates talking about the election and their backgrounds. It was a lovely idea and it would have been successful except for the moderator's constant derision of the president and name calling of his supporters.

I counted three insulting words he used to describe me. There may have been more. He started off referring to Obama supporters as "damn morons". When he started confronting me about my support he progressed to calling me a "fool". He sarcastically apologized to me before ultimately calling me a "bitch" because I wouldn't take a damn bag of groceries for a friend of mine who is in a pickle. 

He and a couple of his groupies had been deriding people who took welfare and saying how sorry they were because they didn't get out and earn their own money. They were whining about how hard they had it and shouldn't have to pay taxes for people who "sit on their ass and won't work".

I tried to tell them there were plenty of people that needed help. I told them about a friend who is pregnant. She and her husband are about lose their rental house because he lost his job. They've been living on unemployment but it was about to run out and he couldn't find a job. They have two kids. I asked the moderator who would be able to help them. He offered them a bag of groceries. I said the husband needed a job and they needed someplace to stay. They weren't starving, yet.

The moderator and someone else offered in jest to buy them groceries or even make "my kids" sandwiches for lunch. I reckon they thought I was talking about myself. I think they thought I was on welfare or something and wanted to denigrate me and act all superior. Every now and then the moderator would say something sort of like an apology but it didn't ring true. The moderator got so angry with me for not agreeing to take his pitiful bag of groceries he screamed, "Bitch ...I tried to help you! ... blah, blah, blah". Call me bitch again and I'll show you a real bitch. You wouldn't like me if you made me mad.

I run into people all the time who complain about the government wasting their tax dollars supporting people on welfare. Nobody must know anyone they care about who is sick, or homeless, or without a job. They keep preaching that love and compassion we are so famous for in the south and falling back on the old "they can go to a shelter or a church for help". That is a cop out. Nobody wants to ask for charity from a religious group they don't belong to. And why should churches be burdened with the extra burden of feeding and housing the people who have lost everything and are just looking for a break so they can get their lives back on track. Most churches can't afford to shoulder that responsibility.

Our tax dollars go to a lot more than welfare. They don't give us an option to opt out on federal taxes that go towards war. Why should we be able to refuse to pay taxes that go toward helping people who are really in need of it?

When my aunt's husband died and her children were little social security sent her a check for each child every month until they turned eighteen. Without that money she would have been broke and destitute. Their house insurance paid off the house but if it hadn't been for social security she wouldn't have been able to take care of her children. She didn't even have a job. She didn't learn to drive a car until after my uncle died. 

There are so many people that have hard times in their lives. You can't plan for an illness or a death. You have no control over the economy or losing your job. When someone is using social security or welfare, that is no reason to look down on them and judge them. If not for the grace of God we might all be there then you'd appreciate any help you could get.

*******

I saw this on my Facebook message from Thursday and responded today.

I would like to add an addendum to the above:

• 
  
• • • Monitor:

      • Your turn. I don't actually know these ppl. So what do they need? Food, diapers?
      • Ma'am ppl are wanting to help. Please let me know what needs to be done?
    • 
      

      9 minutes ago

      Me:

      • A house and a job. When you can come up with that, let me know.
    • 
      

      7 minutes ago

      Monitor:

      • Are you serious? After I was called everything in the book for trying to help you/them the first time?
    • 
      

      about a minute ago

      Me:

      • When the hell did I call YOU everything in the book? YOU called me a "DAMN MORON, a FOOL, and a BITCH"! Get off your high horse and go bale some hay. You are such a hypocrite and you KNOW you don't give a damn about anyone, much less my friends, so don't worry about it. I'll try to find them some REAL HELP and not depend on small minded people like YOU who keep putting people down who need help. XXX you are the same age as my son and if he talked to me like you have I would have backhanded him so hard his teeth would rattle. Too bad your mother didn't teach you better manners. Drop it and please don't contact me again.
        
        

        Monitor:

        Wow... You have some hard life lessons ahead of you ma'am. I was trying to help. You can see that. If you ignore it then you are a fool. My mom is proud of the way I handled your situation. She is also proud I stand up for myself when someone like yourself tries to belittle me by acting like I think I'm better. Im not better, I know I'm not. If you knew, or would have listened to me you would know thus. Your high horse got you here. I'm fine with you being upset. I am upset with you. I feel I never had a chance with you. No matter what I said or did I wouldn't "care" in your book. I'm sorry that you were that closed minded. I'm not. I will never be. If you take government assistance so be it. I don't, that doesn't make me an evil arrogant fool. It just makes me Wes XXXXXX. I don't feel I'm better than you, I listen better, but I'm not better . if you'll got back and read thru the posts you'll see this. Good luck with your friend. I'm sorry I couldn't help. I really wanted to. Goodbye.
        
        

        2 seconds ago

        
        

        
        

        Me:

        XXX if you LISTENED BETTER than me you would have known I am not and never have been on welfare or government assistance of any kind. You also didn't listen when I said PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT ME AGAIN. I'm sure your mother approved of everything you said. She raised you after all. When you called me a bitch I should have said "Bitch? ... I'm not your mother!"

• Monitor:

  • You should have.* But then again that would have meant you were actually reading my comments.
• 
  

  a few seconds ago

  
  

  Me:

  • No I had a knee jerk reaction to your obscene language. You have a lot to learn buddy, that is if you can get the wax out of your ears and the plank out of your eye. Go away. You've become annoying by now.
    Monitor:

    •  you're a wonderful American. Have a swell afternoon.
      
      *Notice he agrees with me about his mother.  What a dummy.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

FYI

I. I'd like to add, that the dude I was talking about had some health problems after this discussion and I was amazed to see his friends raising money for his medical expenses after all the crabbing they did about "needy people".

II. My cousins who received Social Security benefits when their father died in a tragic accident are now Republicans.

edit 10-19-2016 pbs

AS ALWAYS

PIO
********
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What's Cooking

We had another cookout last weekend at my parents house. Daddy likes to celebrate Momma's birthday with a cookout every year. I think he likes having company. 

Scout, and Kim, and Layla were on vacation in Panama City so they didn't get to come but Donny, and Colt, and I were there. My two aunts were invited so they came. They had been at the Memorial Day cookout, too. 

I am so happy that Mary and Patsy live in Tennessee and are close enough to come visit often. They are such a delight to be around. They never meet a stranger, and are always cheerful, and uplifting. Every time we are together is a blessing. My aunt, Jonnie Bell, was invited to the cookout but she has lots of health problems and doesn't feel like getting out much anymore. She lives in Chattanooga. It was a very small celebration.

Patsy made a delicious butterscotch pie, and Mary made a yummy lemon meringue pie. I brought a carrot cake with cream cheese icing. Theirs were from-scratch. Mine came from a box. (I say, "Thank ye' aunt Betty. You know Betty don't you? Betty Crocker.") We had plenty of sweets. 

Momma didn't feel very good so she didn't do much. I put the hamburgers on the grill and watched them for a while. Momma brought a bowl out to put the hamburgers and hot dogs on and we went inside into the air conditioning to eat. 

Momma hasn't been out of the hospital long. She has pneumonia. I don't know how long it takes to get over that. She doesn't have any energy and can't breathe well.

Daddy's not much better. He's had heart surgery and stints put in so he huffs and puffs when he is outside in the heat. He didn't use to be like that. When he was young he was a dock worker. He lifted and moved freight all day or night long. He was in good shape. After he retired he didn't exercise and he eventually developed heart disease.

Although there weren't as many people at Momma's birthday party this year as last year, it was a very nice cookout. Everybody pitched in to straighten up and help Momma. It was just family, and just family is just fine. She really should be resting more than she is though. She needs to get well and that's the only thing they recommend when you have pneumonia.


Instead of having a cookout I had offered to cook a turkey and dressing but Momma said that Daddy didn't want turkey. It was the wrong time of year. What the heck? Is there any wrong time for turkey? I don't know. I just thought it would be easier on Momma if I cooked the turkey and brought it to their house. Momma said I could cook the hamburgers and that would help. Well, alright, but I still wanted turkey and dressing after I got to thinking about it. So did Colt.

I had a whole turkey in my freezer. I also had a whole chicken in there. Since Daddy didn't want to eat turkey for Momma's birthday I'd fix something for Colt's birthday. It was coming up. I decided to thaw out the chicken and cook a special birthday dinner for just the three of us, Colt and Don and me. We had dinner Tuesday evening and it was delicious if I do say so myself. I asked Colt what he would like with his chicken and dressing and he asked for macaroni and cheese. Okay, I figured I can do that. I cooked elbow macaroni, and then drained it,  and added a little milk to melt Velveeta cheese in the saucepan on the stove top. I make pretty good macaroni.

Everything was delicious. I had two containers of turkey juice in the freezer that I thawed in the microwave and poured over the crumbled up cornbread. I added a little bit of sage and salt and pepper and tasted it until I got it salty enough. I had added a little water to make it moist enough so I used chicken bouillon to make it more flavorful and salty. It's good to taste test every now and then so it's not too flat or too salty. Every now and then I get everything right. Colts special dinner turned out alright.


Two birthday parties in four days ... This is going to be a great summer.

AS ALWAYS

PIO