It was kind of a clunky process, but the pastor in Florida managed to highlight the “peacefulness” of the “Religion of Peace” (which, if it really is peaceful, shouldn’t need to be reminded of that fact so often) by agreeing NOT to burn to korans in his possession.

A while ago, I had this little tid-bit in the middle of a post:

Well, fine, you think to yourself – this old heap has been giving me problems anyway. Down to Larry’s Used Cars and Crullers you go for a new-to-you vehicle.

Oops – Larry’s closed down, too. Same reason – Cash For Clunkers took the decent used vehicles and, per government mandate, crushed them – so not even the salvageable parts, much less the entire car, could be resold. Part government program, part Green Whiners solution.

Today, in the Arizona Republic (link not guaranteed) was this little gem from George F. Will (caution – wapo):

The used-car market is an important mechanism for redistributing wealth to low-income persons: The price of a car drops when it is driven out of the dealership, but much of its transportation value remains when it enters the used-car market. Unfortunately for low-income people, the average price of a three-year-old automobile has increased more than 10 percent since last summer. This is largely because the Car Allowance Rebate System, aka “Cash for Clunkers,” which ended in August 2009, cut the supply of used cars.

Gee, I wonder why no one wants to let Obama continue to run the economic policies of this nation?

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

It’s getting to be that time of year again. Please head over to Project 2,996 and get signed up for some heroes. I have four, I will take more if need be.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

I feel so bad about this, still – I’m hoping that by writing about it I can get out from under some of the weight…

Yesterday, when I asked the group if there were any birthdays or anniversaries this week, two were mentioned – one of the young ladies is about to become a teenager, and a son mentioned his mom’s “27th” birthday. I looked right at her – keep in mind, this is a woman I have known for a while now, we have spent time together in fellowship every weekend and some weeknights, and I can’t believe I did this – and could not remember her name. For the life of me, I blanked. My usual memory tricks failed me. I simply could not remember her name.

It wouldn’t have been so bad, really, except that before I could dredge up the name from the morass of my mind, we were singing “Happy Birthday” and it got to the part where we mentioned the names – and I didn’t have it.

Talk about an awkward silence…

Coverage was applied in the form of a joke about an old man (?!) who was attending memory classes at a school, and when asked the name of the school, he used one of the memory tricks – “Oh, what’s the name of that flower, it’s usually red, real pretty, and you give it to your true love?” “The rose?” “Yeah, that’s it – hey, Rose! What’s the name of that school I’m going to?”

Yeah, the joke made me feel real better. I just sank further into the seat (right behind her!) and hoped I could melt into the floor. She turned and said she forgave me, but I could tell I had hurt her deeply. I couldn’t apologize enough.

I’m not even fifty yet – is this the path I’m going to take? Names of friends and loved ones fading away, or playing hide-and-seek when I need them the most?

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

I’m trying to get the timing down for this. If I can carve out fifteen minutes and actually get into writing that which I have been rolling around in my head since the last time I wrote, I should be able to get about a post a day up. It’s not going to be as hard hitting or heavy as, say, a Bloviating Zeppelin or a TexasFred, but really, why try to play in a league you are not qualified to be in? I may have been able to develop in that direction, but I have gotten into this career position and I am quite happy to be managing a toy store. Of course, that chews most of what used to be my blogging time, so I don’t do the in-depth stuff anymore.

That’s not to say I don’t have strong, Christian, conservative thoughts and beliefs anymore. Au contraire – being upper level (i answer to the owner. and her dog.) any subject that affects how an independent business’s bottom line appears, is of very high importance to me.

However, my “routine” consists of making sure the store is stocked; personnel are scheduled; customers are happy as they leave this little corner of heaven on earth; and, or course, to make sure I do all this with the lowest possible outgo in comparison to the income.

Sure beats tar out of not knowing whether or not a wood contract would be forthcoming, or if you were going to receive payment for a contract!

Let’s face it – when a customer comes in, and greets me (after i welcome them) by saying “How are you doing?” I can honestly say “I’m doing great – I work in a Toy Store!”

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

I’ve had enough of the “me first” and the “you don’t count because you are ________” crowd. Last night was the final straw.

I am normally a pretty patient person while behind the wheel of a motor vehicle (with a couple of exceptions), and I usually give the other guy the benefit of the doubt. Not any more. I drive an SUV, and I used to do it with a small-car attitude – as in, you are in a hurry, go right ahead and speed past me and cut me off, I’ll back off and make allowances for you.

Last night, on the way home from Pastor’s house after watching a movie and enjoying pizza and fellowship, we stopped at the QT at Bethany Home and Grand. For those of you unfamiliar with Grand Avenue in Phoenix, it runs along side the ATSF Burlington tracks, at an angle, from 7th Ave and Van Buren out to northwest of town where it becomes US 60. After filling up TMBWitW‘s car, I pulled onto Grand to make the left onto Bethany and continue home. I got the green arrow, started the turn, and got honked at.

By the obliviot running the red light on Grand.

I had seen them starting across the intersection, after I made the turn, so I had made allowances to avoid a collision. I flashed my high beams at them (it was around 2100 hours and full dark) and received a few single digit salutes in return from the juvenile interior of the other car.

This really makes me wonder, just how entitled are people getting to feel? Do they really think they can disregard traffic control devices with impunity? Are they so brazen to think that they would get off scot-free if they were involved in (read: caused) a collision? What if it hadn’t been me, but some short tempered guy with a concealed weapon (legal in Arizona without a permit, BTW!) and a very low tolerance for jerks? True, this contradicts what I wrote about an armed society being a polite society – but then, it is a learning process. Maybe the kids in the car hadn’t learned about that yet. Maybe they haven’t been taught that running a red light is against the law. Maybe they haven’t learned that driving at night takes a different kind of concentration and awareness.

Maybe they are just dumb.

I can make allowances for a lot of things, but unless they have their “DUMB DRIVER ON BOARD” sticker displayed prominently, it’s tough to make an allowance for that.

My friend Greybeard just bought a motorcycle for commuting. Sure hope he doesn’t have the same kinds of drivers around him.

Ya’ll have a good day, I’m off to court to show support for my Pastor. The city of Phoenix is trying to tell him that he can’t have bible studies on his own property, and that the size of family gatherings is somehow limited. Prayers, please.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!