MEANDERING WITH SULUSTAR

BARACK HUSSAIN OBAMA SCARES ME

2008-11-21T16:37:00.000-05:00

Barack Obama scares me. No, not because he is half black. I know, you think I should have said ‘African American’, however, does that really apply? His father was an immigrant from Africa, not an American with African heritage. In fact I think the phrase should be American African, not African American. I think the emphasis should be on the American origin, not the African roots.

However I digress, Barack Obama scares me. Where he really comes from is what has me concerned. He was given an Islamic name, Barack Hussain, and spent time in an Islamic school, but he is Christian as most should be aware. In fact, until now, the man was known as Barry, not Barack to his friends. I wondered why he would be Barack on the campaign trail, that is until I said his nickname out loud with his last name. Say it out loud—Barry Obama. Sounds just like Bury Obama, doesn’t it. Probably not a good connotation for someone running for office. Both sides could use his name as a rallying cry. Democrats—Barry Obama! BarryObama! The Republicans—Bury Obama! Bury Obama!

Yes he is Christian, but what kind? I know from listening to him carefully, that he is a liar! He denied knowing what Rev Wright was up to for 20 years, and he denied a close association with William Aires and denied knowing his background. Barack lived in the same neighborhood, served on the same board, and even launched his bid for office with a party at Mr. Aires home. Rev Wright married Barry and Michelle and baptized their children and Barack wrote a glowing forward to a book by Rev Wright. I am sure he must have known and at least condoned the Reverend’s attitudes, and if Barack really did not know what Rev Wright was really like, he should have and if he did not know William Aires was an unrepentant radical who set bombs to make his point, he should have. I do not know what scares me more, his lying about these matters, or the possibility he really was oblivious about the true natures of these two men.

But you say, just because these two men and others around Barack Obama espoused radical and dangerous ideas, that does not mean Barack has the same attitudes and ideas. Of course not, but it is human nature to associate with more like minded folks than those with ideas too far different from our own. So, what does he believe and what has he done? It is quite apparent Barack is the most left winged liberal person to ever run for the Presidency. He seems to want to Socialize the heck out of this country, has the attitude that the wealthy are not entitled to their wealth, that wealth needs to be spread around, not by those who own it, but by the Federal Government.

As far as what he has done—not much. He was a Community Organizer—not much. But he was a lawyer for Acorn. The suit that Acorn brought was about loans to the poor and underprivileged—those who did not qualify for standard loans from banks and other financial institutions. The result of winning this suit in the long run was that the Federal Government forced banks to loan money for homes to folks who really could not afford them—what we all know now as sub-prime loans. And what happened to that great social idea? Why it brought down Fanny Mae and Freddie Mack, as well as many other financial institutions and businesses. I know deregulation of the banking industry contributed to this mess, but the main fault was the sub-prime loans forced on the banking community by Barack Obama and his like minded friends and associates in government.

Barack Obama scares me. There are three reasons I can find that brought about his election as our next President.

1. He is said to be charismatic, people tend to hang on to every word he says. I hate to bring it up, but they said the same thing about Hitler, you know. For all my life, whenever I have seen films of Hitler giving speeches, I wished that I understood German, because without knowing what he was saying, Hitler does not seem charismatic to me. Barack is a fairly good orator, but I just do not see the charisma. Bill Clinton had it, still has it, in spades. Bill Clinton was just a joy to listen too. He gave some of the most moving speeches I ever heard, and the fact that he was a cute as a button did not hurt. Oh, I did not agree with most of what he said, and Clinton was morally repugnant, but he was charismatic with a great big C.

2. Rightly or Wrongly, most of the people of our nation were sick and tired of the Bush presidency. I think to be so against Bush is kind of like killing the messenger when you do not like the message—he did not set out to have a terror attack on our country just 6+ months after he took office. I think he has done his best, the best most anyone could do in fact, with what he had to work with, which included a democratically controlled legislative branch. Most may have voted for the Devil himself, as long as he was not a Republican or a friend of George Bush.

3. Barack Obama tricked McCain into taking the matching funds from the Federal Government, by agreeing he would too, then not going through with it. The result was that Barack was not restricted on how much money he could raise for his campaign like McCain. He and his party outspent McCain and his party over 2 to 1. It is amazing, and a tribute to his ability and character, that McCain did as well as he did.

Barack was not elected because he was the best man for the job. He has little experience that would recommend him for the job. He has never run a business; he has never governed a school board, town, city, or state, he has never been a soldier or an officer. He has only served in the US Senate for a little over 2 years, and most of that time, he was campaigning for the Presidency. In fact I think Barack Obama wanted to be President just because he thought he could, not because he thought he really wanted to make a difference, like John McCain would have.

In any case, Barack Obama scares me. I believe the next 4 years will be very bad for the middle class and especially for retirees like myself and my husband. If the socialist radical ideas espoused by Barack Obama during the campaign are actually put into law, we will, by the end of his 4 years, be in a profound financial depression, with high unemployment and high inflation, be subject to an overly expensive poorly run national health care system, and there will still be no new off shore drilling or new nuclear power plants. But there will be socialism as the dominant political structure here in the good old US of A.

I hope I am mistaken, but I don’t think so.

OSCAR IS 80 AND BOY HAS HE CHANGED

2008-02-27T00:55:00.006-05:00

Is there no more US born actors, directors, cinematographers, producers, writers, makeup artists, costume designers, lighting or sound technicians, set designers or any other Hollywood professionals?

I watched the Academy Awards Sunday night. I have watched the Oscars every year since the early 1950’s, when I was a wee child. I have never seen so many awards go to the foreign born, not to mention foreign films. Don’t other countries have awards to give to their actors, directors, cinematographers, producers, writers, makeup artists, costume designers, lighting or sound technicians, set designers, etc.? Why must we give them a uniquely American reward? Can’t their own countries reward them? I suspect sometimes they do, resulting in what I would call double dipping. For shame!

I did not keep an accurate tally, but I do not believe I saw more than two or three US nationals receive Oscars during the evening. Even when I thought a winner might be American, mostly because of his or her name, their mouth would open and out would come a foreign accent. I am not parochial in my outlook; I enjoy a lot of the foreign born, especially those with Australian accents. Irish, French and Scottish are some others I particularly like. Also on the list is Jamaican, and those of the Indian sub continent. Italian is nice, as is Greek and Egyptian. But do they have to win all the Oscars?

A film critic on Sunday Morning, the TV show, espoused that who receives an Academy Award is a political contest, not really a reward for excellent artistic expression. If so, what does having all foreign born winners say about current politics among the Hollywood community?

Perhaps if this trend continues, it would be just as well to hold the Oscar ceremony elsewhere in the world so the recipients do not have to travel so far. And another thing, 99% of the fashions at the Oscars this year sucked. Bummer!

JOUOUS NOEL 2007

2007-12-22T17:18:00.000-05:00

We went through Quebec twice this year. Parlez vous français? I had to remember high school french to be able to read all the street signs. And, why did we pass through Quebec twice you ask? Why to get to the other side of course. We went through Canada on the way to Vermont. Daughter Lisa’s June master’s degree commencement was there at Norwich University.A fun fact--Did you know Norwich University was the first military college in the US and as such, also invented ROTC? We are so proud of Lisa!

Tom and I were tourists for a week while Lisa completed course requirements for a master’s in military history on the Norwich campus. We cruised on Lake Champlain, climbed mountains in our truck, and visited the world’s largest gray granite quarry, but did not see a moose until the last day. Hope you like our Christmas Moose.

But let’s not get to far ahead, this year began with Vicky and I planning a wedding. While Vicky was home for Christmas, we ordered the wedding dress, pictures, decided on a tux supplier, & reserved the hall. While Vicky was back at college completing her last semester I, with some long distance help from Vicky, managed the rest. Vicky married Brett on May 5th at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. A beautiful ceremony and fun reception went off without a hitch, well sort of, but nothing that could not be fixed.

A week before that, the whole family and a few friends attended Victoria’s commencement at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids. Vicky received her BS in Psychology, with honors—clap-clap-hip-hip hurrah!

After Vicky & Brett’s wedding, Tom and I and Tom, our friend, helped Vicky & Brett take all their worldly belongings and Vicky’s car to Omaha, NE, where Brett is stationed at Offutt Air Force Base. Vicky and Brett now live in Bellevue, NE, in a beautiful, newly refurbished two-story house with attached garage. It is hard to believe it is government housing. Brett is completing his flight training, and Vicky is working for Boys Town, at their home campus. This children’s home & treatment center has come a long way since Father Flanagan began Boys Town 90 years ago. Did you know Boys Town is a real incorporated town, which, with its special residents, makes it the town with the highest per-capita concentration of convicted criminals in the US? Another fun fact that has no particular use.

On September 9th, Jerry and Irene were married in a beautiful ceremony at the Greek Orthodox Church, with a lovely reception following. Lots of Greek dances ensued, with a bevy of pretty little girls in pink dresses running all through the dancers. Irene is a welcome addition to the family! Never have we seen Jerry smile so much as on his wedding day. But of course, the bride was beautiful.

Samantha, our oldest granddaughter was flower girl for both weddings. She now considers herself a professional. Whew! It was a fun year, but busy. It tired out us two retired folks. Thankfully, Thanksgiving was a quiet one at Jerry and now Irene’s home. Just Tom, Sue, Lisa, Jerry and Irene for dinner, Joe, Heather, Sammy and Riley went to Heather’s brother’s home this year. We end this year wishing all, health wealth and happiness in the New Year. Joy to all!

OUR JERRY GOT MARRIED – IT’S ABOUT TIME!

2007-09-12T09:53:00.000-04:00

I remember the first time I ever laid eyes on Jerry. He was 4 years old, very blond and very quiet. He and his father, my then new boyfriend, now my husband of 27 years, came to my house to pick me and my son Joe, then 5, up for a day’s outing on Belle Isle. Joe and Jerry were coincidentally wearing identical jackets, were the same height and both very blond. The two boys are 10 months apart in age, and have been the best of friends from the moment they met. Later they became brothers and finished growing up together. I do not remember them ever having a fight over anything. Perhaps that was because they are very opposite in personality, but not in likes and dislikes, and there is still oodles of Lego blocks to prove it.

In any case, I grew to love Jerry, the quiet shy little boy who came to live with us when he was 7. In fact I feel privileged to call him son, and I know he thinks of me as his mother who shares his birthday with him.

Jerry, and his fiancée, Irene, married on Sept 9th. It was a lovely and interesting ceremony in Irene’s church, a beautiful Greek Orthodox Church. The ceremony was long, compared to any other I have attended, and very different, but the effect was the same. The couple is well and truly married. For better or worse and all that jazz.

Jerry met Irene the modern way, through an Internet dating service. It turns out though, she went to school with our brother-in-laws niece- It’s a small world after all. We knew it was serious when Jerry began bringing Irene to family gatherings. Then close to Christmas last year, he and Irene visited our home, by themselves, to tell us Jerry had finally popped the question, he and Irene were engaged. Hurrah!

Not wanting to waste time, having been single quite long enough, thank you, they began planning the wedding. Samantha, our six year old granddaughter, Heather and Joe, Victoria & Brett, and Lisa were all in the wedding, and that was only our side. Big wedding!

Everything was gorgeous, especially the bride, and the groom was his handsomest. We enjoyed the reception too, with its bouts of Greek dancing.
There were about 10 little girls who attended the reception with their families. Somehow they all got the memo that said to wear pink, interestingly, even little girls on our side of the aisle. Anyway these little girls in pink, along with Samantha, the flower girl, in white, began chasing each other in a pink pack, most often with Samantha at the head of the pack, across the dance floor weaving among the adult dancers, dropping petals as they went, occasionally trying to dance together and reminding me of a scene out of Swan Lake. Delightful!

Here are the bride and groom:

OUR LITTLE GIRL GOT MARRIED - TWICE

2007-05-12T18:05:00.003-04:00

After a Christmas choir concert at GVSU in 2005, and after asking my and her father's permission, Brett asked Vicky, our youngest daughter to marry him. He did this in front of the entire choir and it was a surprise. She did not know he was even coming to the concert. He was in a suit, with a red rose, and singing For Sentimental Reasons. By the time he was through, every co-ed in the room was crying and Vicky was beet red. She said yes.

May 1st, when Victoria visited Brett in Monterrey California, where he was in training, they eloped and got married by the ocean. Then Vicky went back to being a college student and Brett went back to his Air Force duties. They kept the marriage secret for quite a while, telling most of the family at Christmas.

Vicky still wanted a formal wedding, and as she and Brett would be moving to Nebraska where Brett was then stationed, we agreed to give them a wedding, or technically a renewal of vows ceremony. The wedding was on May 4, 2007 at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, with the reception following in the same venue.

It was a beautiful affair even if I do say so myself. Here is a photo--

CHRISTMAS WITH SAFE-T-INSPECTOR

2006-12-24T21:56:00.000-05:00

Every year for the past four years, we have gone to my son Joe (Also known as SafeTinspector to you blog readers) and Heather's house for Christmas Eve. This year was no exception. Though, the amount of people who participate has grown. This year was Riley Louise's first Christmas. She was all chubby and cuddly, and laughed at everyone, especially here grandmother, me. Samantha was very grown up at 5- 1/2, helping with Riley, handing out presents, and even taking her own toys out of their entrapment in their store boxes.

Here is a picture of Samantha and Riley in their Christmas dresses:

Also present -- Jerry, his steady girl, Irene, Lisa, Vicky, Brett, and Papa, also known as Tom, my husband. Tom spent a lot of the evening holding a sleeping Riley on his lap and getting very adept at opening his presents one handed. We tried out having a gift exchange this year for the first time, so everyone did not have to buy a present for everyone. That worked out well, except Heather and Joe got each other. Tom went his own way, getting a present for everyone anyway. May not be a bad idea, as we informed everyone they had presents at our house and would have to drop over to get them.

I did take pictures of our Christmas Eve gathering, but will post them later. Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night.

I AM SELLING THE CAR I DROVE IN HIGH SCHOOL-- A 1961 CHEVROLET IMPALA CONVERTIBLE

2006-07-08T13:39:00.000-04:00

Well, after 45 years, my 1961 Impala and I will be parting company. She was a 46th birthday present for my mother in 1961. You may remember the admonition to make sure you do not buy a car made on a Monday or Friday, because it would not be made as well due to absenteeism and hangovers. Well this one certainly was NOT made on a Monday or Friday. Though the engine was only 283 cubic inches and was an automatic, she performed more like a 4-speed 409.

When I got hold of her after I got my license, I quickly learned I had to be careful on hot summer evenings when tooling through the Chuck-a-Burger on Florissant Rd in Ferguson, MO. If I wasn't, any quick acceleration would cause the Impala to lay rubber, which the Cop hiding in the used car dealership across the street would not appreciate.

She always looked like there were risers on her front springs, and when I took her down to the truck highway in St. Louis where the cops let us drag at night, she always won, beating 327's and 409's. Once she even beat a huge Harley. Of course she would not have won in a longer race, but in the quarter mile, her quick pick up could not be beat.

I even had some of my opponents, males, of course, claimed I had switched the insignia on the car from saying 327 to 283, and demanded to see the engine. I showed it, and as the hood rose, I would hear--"Well, I'll be @*#@% ! It is a 283!" (Explicative deleted). They were also amazed that she was an automatic. In fact, I took to pretending to be shifting when I was challenging someone to race, because sometimes guys would not bother to race me, figuring I would be a pushover, and a waste of time.

The fastest it was ever driven was when my friend Alice, who got her license before us, drove all of us to Suntan Beach. We got up to the top number on the speedometer--120 miles per hour on the straight flat country blacktop that went there. None of us were allowed to get on the Interstate, so could not try out the speed there.

We also sometimes took it to 'Seven Hills' near St. Charles where we accelerated until the car flew in the air over the sixth hill. I slowed down after that. I was not brave enough to speed over the seventh hill--- I did not know if I could make the sharp 90 degree right turn at the bottom of the hill. (If you tried and failed, you would go over the bluff and into the Missouri river about 30 feet below. Ouch!)

But mostly, on Friday nights, if we did not have dates, I would pick up three or four other girls. We would go to the Clark Station, each put a dollar in the tank (enough to cruise all night) and each buy a 25 cent pack of cigarettes, then off to cruise the drive-in eating places.

Round and round we went. Ferguson Chuck-a-Burger, Florissant Steak-N-Steak, Kings Highway White Castle-Big Boys & Steak-N-Shake, even Snidhorst Big Boys in South St. Louis was sometimes on our route.

Once in a great while we would go to "The Rock" across from the Jennings Steak N Shake. This was the parking lot of the Rock of Ages Baptist Church, and this is where you could get adult beverages from the guys who managed to buy it, or steal it from the liquor store. Boys had to pay. For some reason, they gave it away to the girls.

When the Impala was filled with both boys and girls, we would take my Chevy to the levy and go rat stomping (those rats were the size of puppies), or see what was up at the nudist camp, watch the submarines go down the Mississippi, or the spaceships land by the schoolyard. (It was not until I was middle aged that I found out that submarines had gone down the Mississippi past St. Louis, but during WWII, not the swinging '60s. I do not think the spaceships had ever been real.)

In the winter time, we sometimes still road with the top down. The heater would be going full blast, the girls in the back would have a blanket, all the windows would be up, and so would the volume on the radio, and so would be our arms, even the driver, when we went under railroad over passes. Sometimes we would stop on a deserted street, get out of the car and dance. Sometimes we would just all say-- "Let's Dance! No, lets not, and just say we did." Somehow this was amusing, but I do not remember why.

Anyway, all good things come to an end. In 1968 someone put sugar in the gas tank at my parents home in Spring Lake Michigan. The engine was ruined and had to be replaced. It was replaced with another 283, but she never won a drag race again.

My mother continued to drive the car until she passed away in 1984. Dad kept it for a couple of years, then, turned it over to me permanently, as my mother had wanted. I thought I would keep her until I passed away too, but I really could not drive it every day, or even very often. She was just too old now for that, and I had gotten used to FM radio, air-conditioning and power windows. Finally I figured out what I wanted more than anything was a brand new convertible like my mother got for her 46th birthday. So I got a 2006 PT convertible. All the fun of the Impala, with heated seats, FM radio, CD player, and power windows. It also has great cup holders.

I just hope the old girl goes to a good family. She is for sale on eBay for about two more days. Check out her auction by clicking on the title of this posting.

Here is what my son wrote about my 1961 Chevrolet Impala Convertible when he posted the auction through his on-line eBay store Auction It Today on eBay III :

WOW!! What a cool ride.. This is a nice driver that is probably ready for a little restoration as the current restoration was done about 20 years ago. A little bit about the history of this rare GM convertible: this car has been owned by the same family all it's life. It was purchased as a birthday gift in 1961 for the current owners mother, then passed down to her in 1984.(really 1987) The car has not been driven much since then, only on special occasions.

This is what we know about the car:

82,158 Original Miles on Chassis
Not Original Motor - Replaced in 1968 with a different 283ci
Carter 2 barrel carb
New Top and Paint approx. 20 years ago. Some touch up paint here and there covering chips, nothing major.
Car was repainted the original color (Bamboo Cream)
Top is in great shape
Original AM Factory Radio - still works
Body is solid with no rust-throughs
There is one case of bubbling on the front passenger quarter behind the wheel
Original Back Seat and front passenger seat upholstery
Driver seat was reupholstered (not quite a match to passenger seat, but the white stripes are still original)
Car starts and drives well - runs without problem
Transmission shifts smooth
Does have a transmission leak - but may have been a result of overfilling, as the level is good. Was told by one mechanic that it was the result of sitting for a long time.
Chrome is only in fair condition with numerous dings and scrapes.
After market Cruise Control - Unsure if it works
Service Records included, dating back to the 1961 original sales paperwork!

Well at least, after the Impala is gone, I will still have my 1947 Frigidaire Refridgerator. He has been working continually without repair since my parents bought him when they were expecting me.

FLAG DAY-- HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTHER

2006-06-14T00:01:00.000-04:00

My mother, Marian Catherine Holmes Starcevic, would have been 91 today.

Happy Birthday Mother

Mother died in 1984. I still miss her terribly.

Mother told me that when she was growing up in Greenfield Ill, population 1200, she thought everyone flew the flag for her on her Birthday. Since her father owned a grocery store and therefore was one of the important members of the community, her assumption was not that far fetched. However, of course, the flags were for Flag Day, not Mother's birthday.

Still, every Flag Day, for that one day only, when I look upon the Stars and Stripes waving in the breeze, I remember Mother.

A TRIBUTE TO HENRY FORD AND JUDY

2006-06-13T12:38:00.000-04:00

More particularly, this is a tribute to Judy. Judy is a nurse at Henry Ford Jefferson Clinic.

I sent in a request on Wednesday, via e-mail for a referral to my Chiropractor. First of all, I had been told my insurance did not cover chiropractor, so had never asked before, but the billing clerk in Dr. Kay's office said my insurance told her I was covered. So, nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the saying goes.

I sent the request on Wednesday, but first of all, expected the e-mail to go ignored or be miss filed with someone who was never in the office, or even misrouted by the Henry Ford server to an entirely unrelated clinic or specialty. All of which have happened in the past when trying to use their e-mail system. But to my surprise, amazement and gratitude, my request got to Judy, who called me the first thing Thursday morning and said she was getting the referral I asked for processed, but needed to know why I was seeing a Chiropractor. I told her. Even then, I expected to either never hear of this again, or get a rejection several months from now.

However, on Friday, Judy called again. Not only had she submitted the referral request, but it had been approved starting the day she asked for it, Thursday. She also said she had faxed the completed referral to Dr. Kay's office, but was going to call and make sure they got it. She would also mail me a copy of the referral for my records.

I got the copy on Monday. Hurrah for Judy! Hurrah for Henry Ford Health System!

I was so encouraged by Judy's prompt actions, I decided to try the e-mail prescription renewal option on the Henry Ford Health System web site. A process that failed me more than once in the past. Maybe it will work this time.

Check out Henry Ford Health System by clicking on the title above. Check out Dr. Kay's practice by clicking here--> Yellow Pages Web Site (pay no attention to the pictures, no one from Dr. Kay's office is in them)

Again, HURRAH FOR JUDY!! Thank you for the prompt attention to my e-mail request.

MY DADDY CAME TO SEE ME THIS MORNING

2006-06-13T12:15:00.000-04:00

My Dad, looking much like the picture here, taken in the late 1930's or 1940's, came to visit me this morning, though he has been gone from this earth for over two years. I know I was not dreaming. I know it was him. He was watching me in bed. Maybe he has done that all along, however, today, I caught him. My husband and I were lying in bed sort of watching morning TV. I was on my left side facing my husband's back, when I felt someone watching me from behind. I turned over and there was Daddy, standing there looking down at me and smiling. Then he must have realized I saw him too, he turned quickly, and left the room, swinging the door open as he left. I swear!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAFETINSPECTOR

2006-06-07T12:31:00.000-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR JOE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU----AND MANY MORE----

Ah, I remember the day you were born. I was there you know. I remember it like it was yesterday and not ______ years ago. Did you know you could have been born in Grandma's convertible? And that after you finally made up your mind that it was time for your appearance, you were pretty fast getting here. Typical of you ah? Grandma had come from Michigan to be with me and help me when you were born. You started and stopped many many times in the two weeks leading to your birth. I guess you just could not pay attention even then. But on the morning of June 7th, I knew it was time. I told Grandma that we were going to the hospital. I said it calmly. Grandma was sometimes known to get flustered when pressured. She said something like-- "That's nice" and just kept cleaning out a closet in my apartment where her cloths were. I waited patiently, but contractions were already 5 minutes apart. Finally I said, "Mother, we need to get into the car now." She replied. "Really, I thought you were in false labor again" So, we finally got in Grandma's 1961 Impala convertible and drove from Granite City to Alton to the hospital. I was amazed and relieved that Mother had driven so calmly on the way to the hospital. She started up the winding hill to Alton Memorial Hospital, drove sedately around the curve to the Emergency entrance, then floored the accelerator instead of putting on the break and almost crashed into the back of an ambulance. If she had I probably would have had you there and then. As it was you came 2 hours and 45 minutes after I told Grandma it was time to get in the car. In a hurry even then. When I first laid eyes on you, you had a huge red and blue bump on the left side of your head. I got hysterical-- "Who dropped my baby?" I screamed at your father. He hurried off to find out. The doctor came right away to explain that no one had dropped my baby. You had just been in so much of a hurry to be born you had not waited until there was room in the birth canal and had bumped your head on my pelvic bone. Yes that was you my boy, my 9 lb baby boy who was in such a hurry to be born. At least you were not the twins or 12 pound monster the doctor predicted in the delivery room, or the fried egg in an incubator I dreamed you were a few weeks before your birth. Just my active Joey who has been a joy, a trial, and a blessing for over a third of a century. I am so proud of you the adult Joe. You are a fine man, husband, father and son, but I remember. Would you believe you were less then 6 months old in the picture above?

Happy Birthday from your MaMa

06/06/06

2006-06-07T10:46:00.000-04:00

The sign of the beast. Well, I do not know about that. I am Christian, but Revelations always stymied me. It makes about as much sense as a Nostradamus quatrain. However, yesterday, 06/06/06 was not my best day, at least technically. To begin with, I was awakened by a phone call from the Marina. Jim was calling to apologize for sending me a harsh e-mail. He said he had been reading the e-mail I sent him about the blog I set up for our Marina. He clicked on a hot link in the e-mail which lead to the blog, and at the blog, had clicked on an e-mail link and found himself inside his marina e-mail box. He did not know how I had gotten access to his marina e-mail box, but somehow he thought I had the expertise to do this, until---- his son's girlfriend, a more PC savvy person, told him that since he was already in his marina email box when he clicked on the link, of course it took him back to his marina email box. Hence his apology for the harsh e-mail to me. That's nice, but I am retired. A call later in the day would have done just fine.

The second thing that happened was that a Buy It Now eBay Buyer e-mailed me that the checkbook cover and FREE bookmark she had paid for had never arrived. I had mailed it to her on May 25th. It surely should have been there. The US Post Office web site says first class mail is suppose to arrive within 2-3 days. Even allowing for Memorial Day, it was now way over 2-3 mail days.

I immediately made plans to replace the items. In fact, I made the inserts, put them in the vinyl covers, and even produced a new receipt and printed the address on an envelope. The ironic thing was that this buyer lived within 25 miles of my home. If gas were not so expensive, I could have just driven the item to the buyers door. Because of the closeness, the buyer, at first agreed to pick up her replacement at my son Joe's, aka SafeTinspector, store, Auction It Today on eBayIII. But in a subsequent e-mail, my buyer decided she would rather just have a refund.

I immediately sent a refund. Almost immediately she sent an e-mail stating her mail had been delivered and the checkbook cover had arrived. Where that envelope with the buyers purchase had been for 12 days (another two 6's) is beyond me. I mailed one of my checkbook covers to England once. It got there in less time then this envelope took to go 25 miles. Weird but true. Now I have to wait for her to pay me again for the checkbook cover and FREE matching bookmark.

But, oh no, that was not the end of the weirdness on 06/06/06. Another buyer had ordered a Sunflower checkbook cover. The one with a very vivid yellow sunflower against a bright blue background. I sent the command from my PC to my HP printer to print out this checkbook cover. Freakishly, the printer added a wide lilac stripe in the middle of the sunflower checkbook cover. Had to print it over. It printed perfectly the second time----------------------

The mistake, however, was pretty enough, so trying to salvage my cost at least, I decided to scan it into the computer and put it on eBay for sale. I started scanning it. In the middle of the operation, it just stopped. The software being used to scan seemed to freeze, I could not get it to close even. I used Ctrl Alt Delete and told my computer to end the non responding program. Even though the window indicated it had closed, it had not. I tried to use the shut down choice on my start menu. I got a message that the PC could not shut down as it was still scanning. By this time, I had even turned off my scanner. I was forced to reboot with the little reset button.

I tried scanning it again. The scanner and the software worked perfectly now. Next I set about printing another checkbook cover insert which another buyer had won on one of my auctions. The printing was fine, but when I went to put the insert in the vinyl cover, I noticed a small hole in the cardstock, which must have been a manufacturing defect. Problem was it was right in the middle of the checkbook cover insert, making it unusable. Had to print that one out again too.

Then, when I went to print the buyers address on an envelope, my computer decided to send the instructions to the wrong printer, where the address was printed on a plain piece of paper instead of an envelope. So had to do that one over again too. By now, these tasks which would have normally taken maybe an hour or so, had eaten up over 3 hours of my time. It was time for a break. Shut down the computer and did not go back to it until 11:30 PM.

Amazingly, the lady to whom I had given a refund just as her checkbook cover was delivered- late- by the mailman, had e-mailed me to complain about my shipping and handling charges. Could not understand why it only cost me $.63 to mail the checkbook cover and bookmark, but I had charged $4.00 shipping and handling. I am afraid I lost it. I sent her a rather harsh e-mail about what I saw as ingratitude on her part. I had bent over backwards to accommodate her when we both thought the item she had ordered had been lost by the USPS. Now she was begrudging me my shipping and handling charges. I wanted to challenge her to find as unique a checkbook cover at a lower price. I have done my research. There are a few folks selling clear vinyl checkbook covers with homemade inserts on eBay, but in general, these others are commercial patterns either cut from paper or cloth and glued on a cardstock insert, with an asking price of $8.00 and up before adding mailing charges, and not unique or original designs.

Currently the most one pays for a checkbook cover with a unique computer graphic insert, designed by me alone or with my husbands artistry, is $7.89, and for that one receives a FREE matching bookmark. Without the bookmark for Buying It Now, one of my checkbook covers can be won for as little as $4.99 including shipping and handling. A bargain either way, I think.

Thus ended 06/06/06. I was gratified today, my son's birthday, by the way, to find my buyer with the late checkbook cover had left a positive feedback for me saying she liked my product and my thorough e-mail communication. I also found out from my son, SafeTinspector, that I could have refunded through the original Pay Pal payment from my buyer and saved myself $.53. Well, I guess my missing this opportunity on the Pay Pal payment record was just part of the 06/06/06 techno curse. I could swear I looked all over that entry on Pay Pal and saw nothing about refunding, though when I looked today, it was plainly there.

I do know one thing though, if any buyer ever says they have not received their checkbook cover in the future, I will ask them to wait at least three weeks before I refund their money. And I am glad that to date, not one of my checkbook covers have gotten lost in the mail.

This rant is now done. Amen

SULUSTAR CREATIONS

2006-04-22T14:00:00.001-04:00

I have not posted very often of late. I can tell you why. In January, I revived my business name, and started selling self made Checkbook Cover Inserts in Vinyl checkbook covers on eBay. This venture has turned out to be fairly popular. I have sold well over 100 checkbook covers and related items since then.

As I make them myself and offer personalization for a fee, this endeavor has been taking up a lot of time. In fact I have been spending enough time making checkbook inserts that it feels like a job, but not a job that I could make a real living at.

Well as long as it is fun I will keep doing it, and at least I am making enough money to pay for most things I would want to buy on eBay myself, like Channel parfume, a number keypad for my laptop, a new leather cap for my husband, a new bedskirt, etc.

I have decided that I will try to limit my work on my eBay projects to every other day, just so I can get something else done in my life, like housework, bill paying, spending time with my husband, watering my Petunias, and especially enjoying my back porch, pond and family.

If you are interested in a new Checkbook Cover with a fairly unique insert like this one:

Follow the link in the title of this posting or in the list on the side.

VICKY PAYS REVISITED

2006-04-22T14:00:00.000-04:00

Vicky our college aged daughter is away from home attending school at Grand Valley State University, my alma maitre. She saw this posting and complained. She did not think I should put her name in this article, or "write about something I know nothing about". So, I have replaced her beautiful High School graduation picture with one less identifiable, though more contemporary.

Vicky is shown standing next to a large pendulum on the grounds of GVSU, wearing the required student backpack and uniform.

But, unlike her contention that I did, nowhere in this posting have I found that I included her full name. I only ever identify her by her first name.

Oh, she may think that the cancelled check likeness, that I based this humorous fictional posting on shows her last name, but it did not. Lke the name, address, routing and account numbers of the bank, I also blurred Vicky's last name, except for the first letter. Perhaps I should have blurred that as well. ------So, now, I have.

I am sorry if Vicky was offended in any way, but she should not be. I am sure there is a very logical explanation for her curious memo remark on a $4.00 check, but when I saw the check, it did strick me as humorous. So I made up what I thought a humorous story to go along with the check. Here is that story:

--------------VICKY PAYS---------------

As a favor, because I know she pays little attention anyway, I have been keeping track of Vicky's savings and checking accounts. Besides at least 90% of the money contained within these accounts comes from, you know who--we, her parents.

While balancing her books on-line I came upon an interesting and puzzling cancelled check which I would have thought a newly fianced co-ed would not have written to man who is not her intended . Here it is :

I cannot decide whether I am more intrigued by her comment in the memo line "A great night!" or that this "great night" only cost $4.00. Ah, the thrifty Dutch. Willing to work for what a thing is really worth, and not for highly inflated values.

Of course if you all knew my seriously religious & fairly innocent, for her age, daughter, you would no more suspect any hanky-panky with Benjamin then the man in the moon. It must have been an innocent but not well thought out comment, written in the excitement of the moment, probably about some concert or sporting event to which Mr. Bytsma escorted her. "Dutch Treat" of course. Go Lakers!! I love you Vicky!

THE OLYMPIC VILLAGE PEOPLE

2006-02-11T10:27:00.000-05:00

Anyone who knows me, knows I love the Olympics. I watch hours and hours of the competitions of each and every Olympics. I especially like individual competition. Gymnastics and swimming in the Summer Olympics, Ice Skating and skiing in the Winter Olympics.

But best of all, I like watching the opening and closing ceremonies. It is interesting to see what each country comes up with to entertain and celebrate. The current Winter Olympics in Torino Italy is no exception.

I watched the opening ceremony last night. I enjoyed the ballet dancing, the acrobatics, even the monstrous skirted women dolls that were paraded around the arena. Even if I do not know why.

The Italian racing car showing off it's speed and power was spectacular. What I like best of all, though in every opening ceremony is the parade of nations participating. I like seeing what they are wearing, and watching the mostly young hopeful exuberance of the athletes as they march in.

As usual, there were some aspects of the ceremony that mystified me. Why the Italians would have a Japanese reading a poem about a British song, and then having an American singing it I found a little strange. Having important women carry the Olympic flag into the area was a unique idea, with an extrodinarily famous Italian actress, metal winning elder Olympic athletes, and a Nobel Prize winner I understood, but Susan Serandan? Weird. If they wanted an important and famous American woman to help carry the flag, I can think of several who would have been a more appropriate choice. Oprah, Martha Stewart, any female US Senator, even Angelina Jollie would have been a better choice.

And the last and I think the most spectacular weirdness was that when the nations paraded into the arena, they all marched to a DJ's selection of 1970's American Disco songs. About the only songs I did not hear was Betty Davis Eyes, and Disco Duck. And when the Hungarian contingent paraded in, they did it to The Village People's Y.M.C.A.

I cannot help wondering if the strangely attired Hungarians had ever seen a Y.M.C.A. or could appreciate the deliberate Gay underpinnings of the song. Now all together, form your arms into a Y, then an M, then a C and then an A.

MY SON WENT TO A GAY WEDDING

2006-01-28T01:37:00.000-05:00

Joe, Heather and Samantha went to a Gay wedding in Windsor. The crazy Canadians have apparently made same sex "marriage" legal. Personally, I am happy when anyone finds love, as it is hard to come by, and, I think that gay couples should be able to be joined legally, in order to insure shared benefits, financial interests, right of inheritance, and the ability to legally carry out each others wishes, file joint taxes, receive survivors pension benefits etcetera, but I do object to that joining being called marriage. Call it something else, partnership, co-mates, cohabitation contract, whatever, but just not marriage. Marriage by definition is between a man and a woman, period! If you start expanding the definition to include same-sex couples, why not two men and one woman, two women and one man, a man and a goat, a woman and a kitty cat. Why I heard that the other day a British tourist went to Australia and married her favorite dolphin. It was not legal, but it could be, why not?

Oh, and the picture is of Detroit taken from Windsor. Beautiful facade, ah?

MERRY CHRISTMAS OR IS IT?

2005-12-22T00:41:00.000-05:00

I have been rather ambivalent about this fast approaching Christmas. I have not finished decorating my house for Christmas. I look toward Christmas with some apprehension and should I say it, dread. I, with immense help from my hubby, as I had no ideas whatsoever what to get for anyone, purchased one gift for each adult in the family, and some a second gift, and I have wrapped them all, but I am still not in the mood for Christmas. We purchased several gifts for our one and currently only grandchild, and I have wrapped them all, but even the anticipation of Samantha's delight in her presents has not brightened my mood. I have played Christmas music on the car radio and the house radio, and marveled in the amount of snow we have on the ground this year. Most recent years it has been pretty dry up to Christmas, which always dampens my mood, but this year with the snow, instead of fostering a Christmas spirit, the snow has done nothing except be a nuisance. I even watched for about the 40th time, How the Grinch Stole Christmas the cartoon, with my youngest daughter. I did not even want to sing along with the Whovillers. For some reason, Christmas time has become the time I mentally tally up all my loved ones who are no longer on this earth to celebrate Christmas with me. Today it occurred to me that the only one left from the generation before mine in my family is my cousin Eddy, who is 80 this year. Eddy was my Aunt's child, but he was born only 10 years after my father, so I always count him as in my father's generation, not mine. And I miss them all. Then comes my son's annual ba humbug e-mail and I come crashing down. He does not want to give presents to adults. He says we all have enough stuff we do not need any more stuff. Of course he is right, but what about the joy of getting and giving gifts. It is not the gift that matters, but the giving of it. I get more joy when I give then at just about any other time in life. You might say that is why I spent over 30 years doing Social Work. I loved and love giving of my time and talents and possessions. I believe, despite my youngest daughters concern that I am not spiritual enough, that I was called to do God's work among the less fortunate, the less able, and the less stable, more vulnerable members of our society. Despite working for a government entity, I even prayed with some of them, and of course prayed for them. How my son, could not feel joy in giving, will forever remain a mystery as though I have asked for an explanation, the ones he proffers ring hollow to my ears. I hope to salvage the situation by compromise. I think it is time that our family adopts the Secret Santa program. Everyone draws a name of someone else in the family to be a Secret Santa for the next Christmas. With Secret Santa's, no one would have to give presents to everyone, but everyone would get at least one present. What do you think? I would like to hear from those who have tried this or something similar in their family. How did it work?

MERRY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL

2005-12-13T02:43:00.000-05:00

***********Christmas Letter 2005 **************

good tidings of great joy

Our house in Eastpointe is up for sale but,we have the bad luck to be in the only part of the country that is not having a housing boom.

Our extra dock is still for sale. Any takers on either?
Joe and Jeff started a second business, a walk-in eBay store.
Auction-it-TODAY on eBay. Check out what they have for sale:
http://stores.ebay.com/Auction-It-TODAY-of-Sterling-Hts
Sue got the eBay bug too; selling stuff we no longer need or have room for.

Check it out: http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=sulustar
Blogging has become big for Sue and Joe.

Comments are always welcome.
Check it out:

Sue’s Blog Meandering with Sulustar: http://sulustars.blogspot.com/
And Joe’s Blog, Safe-T-Inspector: http://safetinspector.blogspot.com/
Once you are on either blog, there are links to our other blogs.
Joe has one for Samantha, one for his music, and one for his writing.
I have one for The Purple Gang, one about our ICM dock for sale,

and one for the South Park house.
Sue took Tom to her 40th high school class reunion for

McCluer Sr High, Florrisant, MO.
On the way visited Barbara at her beautiful new apartment, in Bloomington IL
Spent some time in Greenfield IL where Sue’s parents graves are located.
At the Reunion had fun visiting old friends we had not seen for many years.
Breakfast with Joy & Bud Bartold, & Alice and Dave Hunt.

Visits in Edwardsville, IL with Marge & Ed Witchie,

and in Oquawka IL with the Revs- Bob & Betty Meode.
Enjoyed it all, though Sue had to use a walker and Tom a wheeled chair.
We made quite a pair.

Tom had a bad leg, could not stand or walk a lot.
Sue had a strange condition causing loss of balance without warning

and felt dizzy all the time.
Tom is better, though not entirely, he is seeking a diagnosis and treatment.
Sue, it was found, had 3 herniated discs in her neck

caused the lack of balance and dizziness.
Oddly had no pain in neck and continued to enjoy full range of motion.

Traction did the trick.
Sue is almost back to normal now.
Thanksgiving at Jerry’s house was pleasant,

we met Jerry’s girlfriend, Irene, and surprising;
Joe volunteered to say Grace.
He was thankful for a long list of blessings

and finally for the fact that his wife is pregnant.
Whoa, what did you say? Heather pregnant? Yeah!

Tom and Sue want a boy.
Samantha wants a girl.

Heather just wants a healthy baby.
Joe is secretly hopping for a boy. Shh! Don’t tell Heather.
Victoria, in her junior year continues at GVSU and on the honor roll.
Brett asked Tom & Sue permission to ask Victoria for her hand in marriage.

We said yes.
Vicky said yes.

Wedding in two years, after Vicky graduates from college.
Brett is off to serve his country in the US Air Force.
He left for San Antonio for basic training on Dec. 13.
He plans to keep in touch after basic, through his blog: http://www.xanga.com/jetpackdivesavah
Sue had to get another car as her lease was done.
Bought the little Red Focus for Victoria.

She had been driving our old 1993 Tempo.
A Chrysler PT Cruiser convertible fit the bill for Sue.
Sue realized she was hanging onto her mother’s car, a 1961 Impala convertible, not just because it was Mother’s or ‘cause she drove it in high school,

but just because it was a convertible.
With a new, just as snazzy convertible, Sue thinks it is time to send the Impala on to someone who can do more with her than Sue can.

(Any offers, Buddy?).
Lisa continues to do well with her business,

but has decided to seek an advanced degree.
Taking all the classes on-line for a Masters in military history. Amazing.
Christmas will find us with our family

enjoying each other’s company and opening presents.
New Years we will host our annual open house for those with nothing better to do.
We do have fun and lots of food and drink.

Shrimp and Champagne at midnight.

Let us know if you are coming.

Hope all have had a joyous year and are in good health.

Hope to hear from you all.
Joyous Christmas,

Happy New Year,

Tom & Sue

ODE TO A 1993 TEMPO

2005-11-30T15:23:00.000-05:00

On the last day of Winter semester in 2005, Vicky, and another student met violently in the parking lot at school. Luckily they were both in their automobiles. Anyway, Vicky's right front bumper was crushed. We did not know if the insurance company would cover the deductible or not, as it was not immediately apparent who's fault the accident was. However, it was plain that if the deductible was waved, the cost of repairs would be more then the Tempo was worth, therefore the car would be totaled out by the insurance company. While waiting for a determination, Vicky wrote this about the Tempo.

Preface: The fate of the Tempo hangs in the balance. Will she be totaled? Or will she run free? Will the man take her over, crush and compact her? No, I say! No! We have shared too much together. In these desperate hours, while I wait for the insurance company of doom to make the decision of a lifetime, I would like to leave a little something for posterity. I call it,

"Ode to the Ford".

Ford Tempo, year 1993, how much do you mean to me?
your pick-up nonexistent, your problems most persistent.
Cruise control and automatic locks used to make you quite a fox,
but without them now you're just 4 wheels and a box.
Rotted weather stripping lets in the rain,
repairs attempted always in vain.
Remember when that girl crashed into your side?
Now no bumper graces your hide.
Yet even if some say you're no longer a thrill,
I still fall for your steamy grill.
You get me to work and to play,most of the time with no delay.
So Ford Tempo, year 1993, how much DO you mean to me?
The answer is this: you've made driving a total bliss.
Please, don't let those insurance demons take you away!
I long to drive you for forever and a day!
But dear Tempo, even if your grip on life fails to hold,
I will always love you, even when your engine grows cold.

As it turns out, in case you are interested, no fault could be determined so the deductible was not waved. The Tempo still runs, though still with a damaged front end. Vicky however, was not quite as attached to her Tempo as she expressed. She was happy to start driving her mom's 2003 red Focus, when Mom got a new PT Cruiser at Thanksgiving.

So, here is Vicky's new ride. I wonder if she will wax poetic about the Focus?

SAMANTHA TO BE A BIG SISTER

2005-11-24T16:22:00.000-05:00

Samantha the future Big Sister

"Thank you God for all the wonderfull food we are about to eat, and for our family, thank you for the good year we have had and thank you Heather is pregnant, and Samantha is going to be a big sister."

Knowing my son's propensity to goof around, I interrupted his Thanksgiving prayer and said, " Heather are you really pregnant?"

"Yes," she replies.

"Yeah!" I exclaim. "Yes, thank God, Amen!"

And thus, our little Thanksgiving Day gathering around Jerry's dining room table, was informed that our wonderful, beautiful, smart, loving, daughter-in-law/sister-in-law had our second grandchild residing in her tummy.

I pray that in about eight months, Heather and Joe will have a whole and healthy baby, whom we will all adore, whether a girl or a boy, but I, who have nothing to do with it and no say in the matter, want a boy. :-)

JOE VENTURES OUT OF TOWN

2005-11-16T12:54:00.000-05:00

I laughed myself silly. What do you think?

Howz my Drivin'?
The roads are slick with rain, the fog sticks around 'til quarter past ten and its damn chilly out. November has hit like a damp sponge, and it's just plain miserable.

Already in a foul mood, I use my rear-view mirror to fume in sullen silence at the tailgating Dodge Neon behind me. I pretend he sees me looking at him and that it makes him feel uncomfortable. Then I accidentally pretend that, after having seen me looking at him, he instead mocks me with a crooked grin.

Damn him! What an ass he turns out to be in my imagination.

It was at about that moment that I drove up behind a bus which was slowing down to pick up passengers. I check my side view mirror and my blind spot for cars in the next lane over. Seeing none, I activate my impending-lane-change warning beacon (in other countries this is known as a "turn-signal", but not in the civilized bastion of my head) and begin to move around the bus.

Remember the tailgater that mocked me in my head? Well, back in the real-world he saw that I was about to change lanes, thought that seemed a fine idea, and proceeded to whip around me without warning, almost causing me to collide with him and/or the bus. Frickin' jerk!

I fume unproductively at the ass end of the stinky city bus, as traffic now pins me in place like the steel Ford tail-on-the-donkey that I am.

Traffic moved oddly and it was only a minute or two later that I caught up with the Neon as he weaved through traffic in a mad, futile effort to gain just one more car length further upstream. I noticed one of those "How's My Driving? Call 1-800-xxx-xxxx" bumper stickers.

I've seen these all my life, although I'd never called one until that day. I dialed my cell phone with an angry finger.

The friendly vehicle safety officer at the Whatsit Corporation, a lady named Emily, took from me the license number of the Neon as well as a description of current road conditions and then asked me what the Neon had done to merit my report.

"Yes, the driver was tailgating me, and," I began, only to be interrupted by Emily.

"He was tailgating you? For approximately how long?"

"Oh, at least a minute. But that isn't all."

"Right," I could sense her head nodding over the phone, "So he was tailgating you for about a minute. What else?"

"Well, then he changed lanes and cut me off from MY lane change," sounded confusing, so I rushed on, "see, I had already turned my signal on, and he decided to change lanes first, and accelerated to block my lane change. A pre-emptive lane change, see?"

"Uh, maybe.."

"It's very simple. He wanted to keep me in my lane."

"..keep you in..."

I was losing her. Fast, man, think! "That's not all! He made me look at religious literature!" There was a moment of shocked silence.

"What?" she finally demanded.

"Just what I said! I swear, he flipped me off, paced my car and held up a 'Jehovah's Plan' pamphlet. Pushed it right up to his passenger window so I would be FORCED to read it!"

A short pause and then, "why would he do that, sir?"

"How the hell should I know?!? And then, to make matters worse, he rolled down his window, shouted something about how I should stop wasting my life, and flung a copy of Dianetics at my car!"

"But-"

"I know, that doesn't even qualify as a religion! But THAT'S the kind of jerk you people let drive your precious Chrysler vehicles." I figured that would get her attention. Get her mind on the valuable company car and I was sure she'd see things my way.

"OK, OK, let me get this down. The driver displayed a religious booklet-"

"brazenly displayed a booklet," I corrected.

"...brazenly displayed a booklet. Of a religious nature?"

"It was called 'Jehovah's Plan.' I think its from the Jehovah's Witnesses," I was startled to a sudden conclusion, "You know, it might be about the Jehovah's Witness Protection Plan!"

"But then he threw a book at your car from out of an open window?"

"Yeah. I was waving him off, trying to pantomime that I already accepted Jesus as my personal savior and personal trainer when he decided I'd be better off with L. Ron Hubbard's gang. At least, that's what I'm assuming since it was Dianetics he bombarded me with."

"...Bombarded you with Dianetics. Did your car receive any damage from this?"

"Except for the expensive Scientology classes its been begging for since then, I don't really think so. But I just can't afford to get rid of his damn Thetans."

"We're talking about your car?"

"NO! We're talking about your damn driver! You want to know the worst thing he did?"

"Uh, sure." She sounded none too certain, but I pushed on.

"Using a complicated series of hand-held, painted fans, he proceeded to tell the drivers of all the cars around us that I was a foreign national named Sean-Luc Mac VanWiederson and had counterfeit DVD's of Mariah Carey's 'Glitter' and J Lo's 'Gigli' in my trunk for sale at $3 a pop! He nearly caused a riot, and if it weren't for the distraction I caused by tossing that copy of Dianetics through the windshield of the bus I probably wouldn't be alive today."

"Sir, you expect me to believe that he used fans to tell people your name was Sean-Luc Mac VanWiederson? How?" Emily seemed so incredulous!

"With words painted onto the fans, of course. I figure he must have had them prepared for just such an occasion; he seemed to have them on hand and ready to go."

"Right. Is there anything else, sir?" "Don't forget about 'Gigli' and 'Glitter'!"

"Got that. 'Gigli' and 'Glitter'. Anything else?" she asked somewhat desperately.

"No. That'll be it. You've been most helpful. Would you like me to send you a copy of 'Glitter' or 'Gigli'? I got lots."

"But--" she asked me almost against her will, "didn't you say that our driver just told people you had-"

"Funny thing, that. He was dead on! Only, my last name is MacVanWeidermaker. Character assassin! That's what you have working for you!"

"Well, ok...if that's all..."

"It most certainly is. Thanks so much Emily, you've been very understanding, and I hope that jerk loses his job over this." The conversation drew to a close shortly thereafter, and I can only assume my unknown antagonist has been sacked. Let that teach him to mess with SafeTinspector.

MORE MEANINGLESS E-MAIL TITLES

2005-11-09T11:57:00.000-05:00

Ok, Did someone put out the word that I enjoy strange e-mail subject lines and senders? After my first posting regarding this phenom, I have gotten twice as many. Here follows is the current batch. Needless to say, I know none of the senders. Only one name is at all familiar. I have always enjoyed Orval Redenbacher popcorn, and I used to live in Napierville, Ill, which was named after the Napier family that owned a lumber mill. In the late 50's, Mr. Napier sold some farmland he had for a housing development, with the stipulation that 90% of each home be made of wood. Neat Ah?. Well that sleepy little town went from 1200 population in 1950 to 12000 population in 1960 and is now a town of many thousand, but I digress. I hope you enjoy these offerings from my e-mail.

SENDER.................. SUBJECT............... DATE SENT/SIZE

Ginger Donnelly.... FW: independent not fantasia ...Sun 10/30 23k
Efren Farrell.......... bedevil hairdo.............................. Sun 10/30 36k
Keld Israel.............. Re: Scotts good news................. Mon 10/31 4k
Ray Galvan.... hamster, divisible be homecome it.. Tue 11/01 17k
Edgardo Hyde.......... nourish be rapid or horizon..... Wed 11/02 11k
Marquis Thomson.... dilatoryq................................. Wed 11/02 31k
Queen Whittaker...... FW: Also mutate as acreage..... Sun 11/06 31k
Orval Napier.............. Movie Camera Hookup............. Wed 11/09 5k

Let's have a contest. Who can decipher what these subject lines are suppose to be? The only two that made any sense were "Re: Scotts good news" and "Movie Camera Hookup" but even then there are problems. Does the writer mean a fellow named Scott or are they referring to the people who inhabit Scotland, or the toilet paper company? Also, I do not own a movie camera, and why would all three of the words in that subject line be capitalized? Do they want to teach how to hookup a movie camera or do they offer a date with a movie camera? Let me know what you think any or all of these subject lines mean. There may be prizes.

2005-11-02T23:04:00.000-05:00

Tom and Sue celebrate 25 years of marriage with their children at Andiamos Restaurant on October 30th. The actual aniversary was on October 25th 2005.

JUST HAD TO SHARE

2005-10-29T13:54:00.000-04:00

Getting more strangely titled e-mail. In today's batch there was an e-mail from Lydia Lockhart which tried to entice me to open by saying in the subject line: "venous , thrill the caracas it platonist in". I kid you not, to borrow a phrase from Jack Paar. Another one came from Khajag Hutchinson ( Just what kind of name is that?Almost as good as those given the Zappa siblings, Moon Unit and Dweezil ) boldly stated: "Re: Antony Schoepp Extra chance" And just who is Antony Schoepp? Never heard of him, but should I be interested in giving him a second chance? I was never informed that he had any chances. A chance for what? And finally an e-mail from the appropriately named Bennett Crum stating: "downbeat see dung may valid " What a crummy thing to say in an e-mail. However, the best was the e-mail I got from no one who's subject line just simply said "[none]". That one got immediately deleted. I am still contemplating the others. Their subject lines and sender names tickle me. May leave them sitting on my list for a few days, just to enjoy the chuckle when I check my e-mail.

IS THIS NECESSARY?

2005-10-24T15:00:00.000-04:00

Every time there is a hurricane, all the TV networks send reporters out into the wind and rain to report on the hurricane. What's the point? Do they think it makes the report more exciting to see the weatherman in danger of being blown away? At least usually they give the young ones the assignment of standing there like an idiot, trying their best to stand up to the wind, while dodging flying debris, but when I saw Al Rooker being held down by one of his camera men hanging on to his leg. I thought, doesn't this more than middle-aged man know better? He has told us his father made him promise to do something about his weight because he was concerned that Al would die early, but I wonder what his father would think if he saw him standing there like the other young idiots in that wind and rain.

Then as if to emphasize my thoughts, Al tried to get back to his room, and fell over as soon as the cameraman let go of his leg. Luckily he is all right. Seeing Al Rooker fall down from his own idiocy, was almost as funny as the female reporter in a canoe, who looked as though she was paddling her way down a terribly flooded street, that is until two fellows in waders walked by carrying their groceries, showing the street had only about a foot of water. At least the poor reporter came up with a good come back when Matt asked her about this. She said: "Why walk when you can ride?"

I think we all could see how strong the storm is with the feed from an unmanned camera, with the actually report being made by a reporter safe and dry inside. I wonder, if one day, one of these hapless reporters actually blew away, or got flattened by flying debris, would they show it on TV? Would that kind of occurrence make a more interesting weather story? Would it get higher ratings?

SEEKING BRADLEY CHUBBY. ARE YOU BRADLEY CHUBBY? REWARD OFFERED FOR PROOF OF EXISTANCE OF BRADLEY CHUBBY.

2005-10-01T19:00:00.000-04:00

" This might make you some money bradley chubby "

Just who is Bradley Chubby? Or did they mean badly chubby? I do not know whether to be amused or insulted. This sentence was the subject line of a recent e-mail. It was spam of course. At least this one wanted me to invest in some stocks, instead of purchasing Viagra. Oh I got one of those spams too today. It said in the subject line “regarding your account” so I opened it. Not only did it want to sell me some kind of penil enhancement drug, but also it seemed to promise a 12-inch erection. Actually I am not exactly sure what this e-mail promised me, because as soon as I saw the words ’12 inch erection’ I knew this e-mail was not about any account I ever had. I immediately reported it as spam and deleted it. I think if they are going to send spam mail from overseas, they ought to at least employ a person whose native language is English to compose and proof read in English. On the other hand, though, maybe not--spam mail would not be as easy to spot or as amusing.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY

2005-09-09T09:37:00.000-04:00

On Aug 25 th, Reuion.com sent me an e-mail. They send me e-mail about every two weeks or so, I signed up at their website sometime before I retired in 2002, but never renewed my subscription. I generally delete their e-mails without opening them, as I know from experience, they are trying to get me to renew my subscription. But this time, the subject line said:

SUSAN, Reply Free to Your Message from Mary Ellen Niemeyer/Parker (Woods).

As I am planning to attend my 40th high school reunion next week, I thought, I might as well check this message out. I looked in my yearbook and found Mary Ellen Woods. I did not quite remember her, but was flattered she remembered me. So I went to the web site and found an e-mail from 2002 witch said;

Hi Sue,

It has been such a long, long, time since we talked, and I know we did...but of course at this age our memories are a bit dull.Don't have a yearbook, but didn't you have brown curly hair and a little bigger than some of the girls? I was tiny but now twice that size due to illness and crippling.I think you stole my radio in the john, now do you remember me? haha (forgiven, if it has bothered you, we all did weird stuff then)

I married my highschool sweetheart, Earl, but divorced over 10 yrs ago. I have two children in their 30's and did like you , spread out my family....my baby is now 21. I have two granddaughters from Dawn, my highshcool lovechild, and two adopted grandkids from Eric, (he arrived 11 monthes after Dawn). I was still such a baby when I had those two. Travis arrived 14 yrs later and was the toughest to raise, the one that worried me the most I think. He just married this year and moved to Kansas City about a month ago.

Do you have a website?
Here's mine:

http://www.geocities.com/umpysite/

I was not the one Mary Ellen remembered, I did not steal her radio, as I had my own ‘transistor’ radio. We who could afford them carried them in our purses for use at lunchtime or walking home from school, and I did not have curly hair and was not overly large in high school, but I decided to contact Mary Ellen anyway. She sounded like a neat person. She, like me had been married twice, had a number of children, and had some of the same interests as I, even apparently expanded weight like myself. Besides perhaps she was coming to the reunion. It would not hurt to renew an old friendship before the party. Someone to look forward to seeing, for sure.

Although I did leave a reply to her 2002 e-mail at Reunion.com, I reasoned that she might not have the same e-mail address as had been connected to that 2002 e-mail, so as she said she had a web site, I started there. I was impressed with her skill and creativity on her website and felt even more that I would like to get in touch with Mary Ellen Through links and Googling I found several e-mail addresses for Mary Ellen. I sent a short e-mail to each, but each came back as a failure to deliver.

Still searching around for a more recent e-mail address, I found myself at the guest book for Mary Ellen’s website. The last entry was in Feb 2005. It was from her sister, Cathy. She said she had just visited Mary Ellen’s website, because she missed her so much.

I then Googled for Mary Ellen’s obituary and found it.

Mary Ellen Woods Niemeyer Parker, 56, of Harrison, Ark., died Sunday, Aug. 29, 2004, at her home. Just a few days shy of a year before Reunion.com sent her 2002 e-mail to me.

I am sorry Mary Ellen, that I did not find your e-mail to me sooner. I would have liked to have known you again. I am sorry I missed the opportunity. Goodbye.

WHO WOULDN'T LOVE THIS DOG?

2005-09-06T01:29:00.000-04:00

"Nobody likes that dog. That dog is certainly not coming to my house. No one else wants her at his or her house either. Put her in a kennel. Take her with you to St. Louis."

I cried. I had to get out of there before I said something really bad. I did not know why I cried, and why I had to leave. Even to me it seemed silly, at first. Over reaction in the extreme! Then I realized, Daxie has become a 6th child for me, and I suspect my husband too, only he was not with me to defend Daxie. I was as hurt to hear those awful things said about our dog, as I would have been if they were said about one of our children.

I always thought it was somehow strange and a little sad to come across a person, generally an older person, who seems overly attached to their animal, treating it like a child, taking it everywhere, and perhaps even putting cutesy cloths on it. But here I was, extremely offended that they did not like and refused to temporarily care for my 'child', Daxie.

All our children except one are long gone from the nest, and the one left is only home part time, being a college student. Daxie,a very small beagle, who has been in our family for over 9 years, is slowly becoming a substitute child for all those who have flown the coop. I even find myself referring to my husband and I as Mama and Daddy to Daxie when we are alone in our house. The dog sleeps with us, and my husband and I regularly exchange stories of the cute things our 'dog-child' has done, just like we used to about our human children when they were at home. Does this behavior make us old or just a little deranged?

In any case, a pox upon those who do not love Daxie as do we. Put Daxie in a kennel? How dare you suggest that? Daxie has never been left in a kennel, why she won't even go for a walk if she smells a dog that has been by our house too recently for her liking. And if either my husband or I raise our voices, even in joy, Daxie hides, until we tell her it is Ok. Daxie, we think, must have been the runt of the litter, and as such defers to all others in the world. Going on the trip with us would also not work. She just would not do well on a long trip. Every place would be strange to her and full of smells of frightening things. She would probably spend the entire trip with her tail between her legs and hiding as often as possible.

Well, I know there is one person, who was absent from this loathsome gathering where our 'child' was attacked, who loves Daxie. She will take care of Daxie while we are away. But just why would anyone not love Daxie?

THIS PICTURE SHOULD BE IN A CONTEST

2005-09-04T23:59:00.000-04:00

Joe's Samantha and our Victoria. Niece and Aunt. How nice! xoxox

SPAM BLOG COMMENTS?

2005-09-04T15:39:00.000-04:00

Well, I guess there are now enough bloggers that spamers have come crawling out of their holes to try to prey on us. After posting my daughter and granddaughter's gorgeous picture, I got a comment. The comment started, "I like your blog it is very creative." I smiled, proudly, until, I finished reading the comment. It went on to say I could make money selling scooters and invited me to find out how at a certain web site. Blah!!

Luckily, I found there is a sort of off button on my blog settings. From now on, if you want to leave comments for me, you will have to copy one of those wavy word pictures. I know it is somewhat inconvenient, and I am sorry about that, but just when I was trying to decide if it was worth restricting comments this way, I found I had just then gotten two more advertising comment spams on my daughter and granddaughter's gorgeous picture.

So, I deleted the offending comments and changed the setting to word verification for your comments.

I SAW THIS ON ANOTHER BLOG, SOUNDED FAMILIAR

2005-09-04T14:41:00.000-04:00

any ideas

ok so my sister is 16 years old. and i dunno whats wrong with her but she is like electronics dumb or something. shes been through like 6 cell phones, and three cameras. the first camera she dropped and broke. the second camera she lost and the third got stolen. so she moped around and bitched about it and her dad gave her a camera on loan. now when he gave her the camera he told her DO NOT lose or drop this one. or you will be grounded for life and no more cameras or something like that. she had it three days.......

knocked it off the table on accident and broke it.

JUST WHO DO THEY THINK THEY'RE FOOLING

2005-08-31T01:15:00.000-04:00

I would just like to know why the closer one gets to a poor section of town, the less it costs for a gallon of gas? And conversely, the closer you get to an affluent part of town the more the gas costs. When the gas prices started to increase by leaps and bounds, I of course started to pay more attention to the gas prices listed on the signs looming over the gas stations I passed.

I found that as I traveled toward Detroit from my home just off 20 Mile Rd, in the main, the gas prices on the signs gradually went down. Sometimes the difference between 20 Mile Rd and Eight Mile was as much as 20 cents. Ttried to figure out a legitimate reason for the discrepancies. Never wanting to think the worse of my fellow man, I almost had myself convinced that it just cost the gas supplier more to truck the gas out to 20 Mile Rd then to Eight Mile.

Then I went to Troy to see my doctor. He is just off Big Beaver, or as we call it on this side of town, 16 Mile Rd. This time I was traveling parallel to Detroit from East to West. From Middle Class to Upper Crust. Guess what? The closer I got to my doctors office the higher the gas price on the gas station signs. Coming back I checked again. Sure enough the closer we got to Lake St. Clair, the lower the price of a gallon of gas.

I guess you might say that is pure capitalism at work. Charge what the market will bare. But I think there should be some modecum of fairness. I just do not see why gas station owners feel the need to raise prices just because the price of a barrel of oil goes up. If they have not had a new delivery of gas, the gas in those tanks under the station cost the station owner no more today then when they were last filled. I can see raising your prices when you have to pay more for the gas you put in your underground tanks, but personally, I think it is gouging to raise the price of a gallon of gas just because the price of a barrell of gas goes up. After all, it will be some time before that costlier fuel comes to your gas station.

I saw an example of that just yesterday. The BP gas station at Hoover and 13 Mile was charging $2.69/ gallon of regular gas at 12:30 PM, but when I passed it next at 6:00 PM, after the commodities market had closed with a record high price for a barrell of oil, I saw a gas station worker changing the price to $2.85/gallon for regular. And as I continued to travel home, I saw most of the gas stations I had passed earlier in the day, now with prices 20 or more cents higher than when I passed them earlier.

Now I do not know about the gas station at 13 Mile and Hoover, but I seriously doubt that all of those gas stations received a new supply of gas between the time I left my home this morning and the time I went home.

Can you make bathtub gasohol? I sure would like to try.

LOGO FOR EBAY

2005-08-24T14:28:00.000-04:00

I found I can add a Logo to the email sent to buyers at the end of auctions so here it is. Maybe this will make up for the scolding e-mail I got from the eBay folks the other day.

Some time ago, I became "Verified by PayPal" and was offered a Logo that would show this status on my auctions. All I had to do was copy some computer language (HTML) onto the end of the HTML for each auction. I did, and a nice sun shaped seal appeared with PayPal Verified written in the center at the end of the description of my auction items. It looked nice and I like PayPal, so might as well advertise PayPal and my Verified status.

Well the aforementioned e-mail from eBay ( which owns PayPal, in case you did not know) accused me of violating their logo rule. Even threatening me with possible banishment from eBay for my transgression. It seems that logos on auctions cannot be over 110 pixels by 90 pixels, and the PayPal logo was larger. Sure enough when I checked, the PayPal logo was 100 pixels by 100 pixels.

I find it really strange, don't you, that PayPal would offer a logo for display on eBay that exceeded the maximum allowed space on eBay. (Of course it could be a diabolical test to see if e-bay members know the rules. ---Not likely) Furthermore, as the logo was actually a square containing this seal, when I shrank it down to 90 pixels by 90 pixels, the words were not legible.
Doesn't the right hand know what the left hand is doing? This scolding e-mail did further inform me that eBay had checked with PayPal and sure enough they agreed that the PayPal logo appearing on my auction was too large. LOL

So, I did the only prudent thing. I took the seal off all my auctions and informed my accuser that I just would no longer display a PayPal logo on my auctions. I did suggest that they inform the geeks at PayPal to redesign their logo to conform with eBay rules and be legible when it does. Do you think that will happen?

Do you like my logo?

WELL I JOINED A WEBRING

2005-08-10T15:32:00.000-04:00

Not sure if I will like being a member of a Webring, but will give it a go. So far I have read the musings of an obviously slightly left lady who wants 6 weeks off in the summer like Bush, and a Canadian who described in detail her sighting of a coyote, and passed on a Blog that announced the writer was a bisexual transgender male.

2005-07-16T14:05:00.000-04:00

Who's trucks are these?

Early Friday morning, 4:00 AM to be exact, we all got up to take Vicky to Metro Airport to catch a plane to Florida to see Leeta, her big sister. Both on the way to the airport and on the way back, we saw a heck of a lot of trucks on I-94. Most of the trucks proudly proclaimed their owners; Kroger's, Beacon Movers, Ford Motor Co, etc., but many were absolutely unidentified. I have noted this during many trips in recent years. Big white semi-trailer trucks, not a word, not a number, not a picture anywhere on the trailers or the trucks, the only identification showing at all being the license plate, if that isn't covered in dirt. I find them troubling, especially with terrorist attacks a real possibility in today's world. What are they carrying? Where are they going? Where did they come from? Who owns them? Even if these are leased or rented trucks, why wouldn't the owner want to at least have a discreet sign saying something like, 'Bob's Big Truck and Trailer Rental' somewhere on the trailer and truck? And if one of these semi-trailer trucks is ever stolen, what description do you give to the authorities? 'Ah--- its white, and it's big'. If the thief changes license plates, I would think, you might never see your truck again. I think there should be a law requiring some kind of identification on commercial vehicles. I am sure no one ever would have thought there would need to be such a requirement, as in the past, owners were only happy to advertise themselves on the sides of their trucks, which is why I find these totally blank trucks puzzling and ominous.

JUMBO HAMBURGERS AND OTHER OVERSIZED FOODSTUFFS

2005-05-31T18:57:00.000-04:00

There ought to be a law! Have you noticed that just when you and your significant other get settled in front of the TV for an evenings viewing, (That is from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM) they start with the fast food advertisements? No one without a supercharged metabolism should have to view these advertisements. The close-ups of hamburgers, chicken wings, fruit pies, and other foods are designed and do succeed in making us both hungry. Never mind we just finished a full dinner. Never mind we are both way overweight. Never mind that neither of us is going to leave our cozy home to buy the proffered foodstuffs. We, having seen a 35-inch wide hamburger are hungry. And of course, we end up eating something. Not the hamburger, but whatever is fast in our own kitchen. Chips, cookies, ice cream, leftovers, even nuts soon pass our lips to become our newest layer of fat. It should be against the law to advertise food on TV after 8:00 PM. Toothpaste commercials, cloths washing detergent, under arm deodorant, even a vacation at Disney World ad is welcome, just stop with the food ads after 8:00 PM. Well that’s all I have to say about the matter.

OK, WHERE ARE THE COMMENTS?

2005-05-17T13:29:00.000-04:00

You know, I am getting discouraged. I know there are folks who have looked at this Blog, cause they tell me so, but except for one lost young fellow who was looking for articles on Red Hat computer language, not the Red Hat Society, I have had no comments recorded. Even my son, who now has started his own Blog, I know has looked at my Blog, but has not left a comment. Joe, who has a lot to say about everything and anything, sometimes until one just, wants to yell “SHUT UP” (though not frequently, I love to hear him talk, he is soooo smart, and composes and plays wonderful music on the piano as well. :-) apparently has nothing to say. Come on, someone say something!! Please.

IT’S FOR SALE

2005-05-07T18:33:00.000-04:00

Well, we finally listed our old house for sale. Century 21 got our listing. You can see our house on Flo Abke’s web site. Flo thinks it will be hard to sell our house, because it is a buyers market right now, but I hope not. We have put a lot of money time and effort in the house over the years.

For those of you who have not seen our house and who might be interested in moving to Eastpointe, Michigan, here are some of the features of the house.

Two story brick colonial on large tree filled corner lot.
Newer tear down roof, gutters, downspouts. Modern storm windows throughout.
Newer forced air furnace and whole house air
2300+ sq ft above ground living space
400 square foot-finished rec room with sink in basement
Basement Laundry room has both gas and electric dryers
New washer and two dryers stay
Storage room with cedar closet in basement.
Another small room in basement could be used for storage or office.
Built in workbench and storage by furnace.
4 bedrooms all with walk in closets
2 full baths, one with jetted tub and separate shower- with offset bathroom exhaust fan in both baths
2 half baths (one on first floor, one in basement)
Eat in kitchen with built in ovens, stovetop, exhaust fan and dishwasher, garbage disposal, and water filter faucet.
Fireplace in large living room.
Library alcove
Formal dining room
Three season Florida room
Large deck out from sliding glass door in Florida room.
2-½-car garage with storage room attached.
Fenced in back yard with tree swing, bird feeder and fruit trees.

Our home was built by the first doctor to practice in Eastpointe, and has a lot of the extras available in 1937. Cove moldings, wide windowsills, some made of marble, plaster walls of course, etc. The doctor sold the home in 1960 to a family with 7 children, who were all teenagers or older when they sold the house in about 1980 to a small family with only two children. They were transfered out east before they had a chance to fill up the house with children. We bought the house in 1983 and eventually raised four children. With all the children grown and all but one gone, it is now time for us to move on. We have enjoyed living in this home and raising our family, now it is someone elses turn. Will it be you?

FUZZY WUZZY WAS A BEAR AND OTHER MATTERS

2005-04-21T12:38:00.000-04:00

I never see a goose without thinking of my dad. My dad was born in 1914. The house he grew up in did not have an indoor toilet. He told me that when he was little, it always was an adventure getting to the outhouse. His father and mother kept a goose for the eggs. The goose apparently thought it was her job to protect the outhouse. Dad would have to out run the goose to the outhouse. If he were not fast enough, she would grab him by the seat of the pants with her beak. He said when that would happen he could not go anywhere. The mental picture of my dad, a small lad of 4 trying to run while being held back by a goose that had his behind firmly held in her beak, always made me laugh. Dad had good stories of his childhood.

Besides telling me stories of his childhood, my dad would patiently read to me my favorite nursery rhymes and stories night after night at bedtime. My two favorite nursery rhymes when I was little were:

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy was he?

And:

I never saw a purple cow
I never hope to see one
But I can tell you anyhow
I’d rather see one then be one.

I guess even as a little girl, I was a sucker for the physically handicapped and mentally ill. No wonder I became a Social Worker. Later as a mother, I was ecstatic to find a stuffed bear that had a fur coat that unzipped and came off like a union suit. He had red-stripped underwear underneath. My little girl at first did not know why I insisted he be called Fuzzy Wuzzy. But I was glad to tell her the poem and also glad someone had, from my point of view, been able to solve Fuzzy Wuzzy’s no hair problem, and very neatly too. Never did find a purple cow, but that is why I am a Social Worker and not a mental patient.

THE PURPLE GANG

2005-04-13T19:00:00.000-04:00

I am a proud member of The Purple Gang, a chapter of The Red Hat Society. We meet for lunch and fun the second Saturday of each month. This past Saturday was one of the nicest, not the food, but the company. It is my birthday month and I wore my new purple hat. We normally wear red hats, as the society name implies, but if it is our birthday month we can wear purple hats. Anyway, I got a lot of compliments on my hat, and I got birthday cards and presents. Thanks to all that gave me such nice cards and gifts. Among other wonderful presents, I received a Red Hat Society teddy bear and Glow in the Dark jigsaw puzzle from my Secret Sister and a heart shaped frame Pat gave me. I got other presents too. The conversation that day was good, I felt good, the adult beverages I consumed were good, but the meal was not. Oh well, can’t have everything. There was only one thing missing which would have made the afternoon especially nice. My best friend Karol was not there. We joined The Purple Gang together; almost always go to the meetings together, but this day she had to visit her brother in the hospital in Ohio. Hopefully she can attend again next month. Next Monday, we hope to go to Lansing for a Red Hat doings. See all you Michigan Red Hatters there.

2005-04-13T12:40:00.000-04:00

BIG FISH LITTLE POND MY TOM

Tom caught this wide mouth bass in the little pond behind our house this morning. He was so excited he called me on his cell phone from the edge of the pond. I was just in our office/craft room. I took the picture. Tom liked the picture. Besides the beauty of the fish, he thinks it really shows the beauty of where we live. Over the long cold frozen winter, I almost forgot the best reason why we had moved to our manufactured home, but with warm weather and the reinstallation of the two fountains, and Tom’s joy of fishing, it all came back to me. I am going fishing as soon as possible.

HEY RED HATTERS

2005-04-10T17:05:00.000-04:00

Can any of you tell me where this quote comes from? “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls…” No, it is not from a news account of a Red Hat affair. Give up? Click here: The Answer. Amazing! Any comments?

CHAIN E-MAIL LETTERS

2005-04-09T01:48:00.000-04:00

Does it have a bug in it, or a virus tagging along? Will opening it cause my computer to crash or do weird things? One time, some bug or virus took over the built-in search feature of the Address bar on my web Explorer program. Thereafter, no matter what I was searching for, my inquiries lead me to a page full of links to products or services for sale. Never could get that fixed. Had to wipe the whole hard drive and reinstall Windows. That worked, but suddenly the monitor of my laptop refused to show anything. That was money down the drain. You can see why I am so leery of those e-mails that start out announcing they have been forwarded to me from someone else who got them from someone else, and which almost always have cute subject lines or pleading ones like: You have to read this! Besides, just between you and me, most of these much passed on bits of prose or pictures are not cute, funny, or interesting enough to look at, let alone pass on to someone else.

MORE ON BIRTHDAYS

2005-04-07T14:41:00.000-04:00

Well, according to the web site I linked to re birthdays, also born on April 6 was Berry Levinson, Billy Dee Williams, John Ratzenburger, Marilu Henner, Merle Haggard and others. Well, guess what, Jerry, my stepson, and I were joined by a very publicly expected baby, Grace Hasselbeck born to Elisabeth Hasselbeck of The View. In addition, though of course, we do not know what the date is on LOST, but Claire had her baby last night. on LOST. Congratulations to all the new babies, real or pretend that were born on my special day.

BIRTHDAYS

2005-04-05T18:46:00.000-04:00

I was born on Easter; my Dad said that made me special. My Mom said it made me handicapped. You see I was born in a Catholic hospital on Easter Sunday over 50 years ago tomorrow. According to my mother, all the hospital staff was in Church all day and she, was ignored most of the day, and when she was not ignored, she was medicated to hold the birth back as there were no nurses or doctors to attend her. She and my father played cards and smoked cigarettes while waiting. My mother was in labor 36 hours. I was born with very mild CP. I do not know if being born on Easter made me handicapped, but I feel lucky to have been born at all. You see, my parents had been married nine years, had both gone through WWII as members of the armed forces and they never had any other children. I on the other hand, gave birth to three children and raised two more. I always thought my son; my second child was special due to the circumstances of his birth. Joe’s father and I were not getting along well the month Joe was conceived so the probability of conception was very low. Let’s put it this way, Joe was almost an immaculate conception. I was not even aware of my pregnancy for four months after conception. My body behaved during this time as if I was not pregnant at all. When I finally got an inclination that I might be preggers, I thought I was at most a little over a month. You can imagine my astonishment when the gynecologist announced after his exam that I was four or five months pregnant. On the day I got that news, I started my first real professional job and my husband walked out on me. My job was working in a detention center for delinquent youth. While pregnant, Joe and I survived a riot by the inmates, an assault on me by a female inmate and some crazy folks trying to break in to the detention center in order to harm one of our inmates. In addition, my car skidded on ice and rolled onto its side into a slushy pond in the center of the interstate median, whereupon I found the then current TV advertisements for VW Bugs were inaccurate. They were not watertight. The next day, when walking across a parking lot into a store an old lady in a large Cadillac hit me and knocked me down. She apparently had no knowledge of how long her car really was. Thank God, Joe was born whole healthy and well, all nine pounds of him. You can see why I thought he must have an important purpose in life. Well, maybe he does have an important purpose, but I no longer think he will ever be President of the United States. That he is Samantha’s Daddy and a damn good one is purpose enough. Ah Birthdays. Follow the link to see who else had or has your birthday.

SAMANTHA WAS HERE YESTERDAY

2005-04-04T14:25:00.000-04:00

Samantha is our only grandchild. You would think with 5 children, depending how you count them, we would have more grandchildren by now, but sadly we do not. We have hopes for the future however. Our youngest is only 19 and still in college, and we are teaching Samantha to tell her mother she wants a little brother that she can boss around. Samantha’s mother who has an older brother might see the appeal of Samantha being able to boss a younger brother around.

Samantha at 3 ½ years is into everything when she is here. She gives lots of kisses and hugs, semi torments the dog, likes to watch cartoons and do anything with Papa, my husband and her default paternal grandpa. She is thankfully less active then her father, my son, who at almost 33 is still extremely hyperactive. He was here too yesterday. I am exhausted today.

Samantha’s father thinks, probably rightly so, that Samantha watches too many cartoons on TV, so, when I finally got her settled down to watch cartoons on the TV in her Aunt Vicky’s room, so Gramma could get a break from her activities, her Dad found her and started chasing her around the house. I found myself yelling, just like I did many years ago, “ Hey you two, no running in the house!”

DEATH WITH DIGNITY

2005-04-03T12:04:00.000-04:00

Terri died. Her husband’s lawyer said she had a peaceful beautiful death. Her right to dignity had been preserved. Well, I for one do not want to go into that good night peacefully. Dignity be dammed. Let me leave kicking and screaming, struggling, in pain if necessary. My husband and I agree, “Please use all methods, medical, mechanical, supernatural, or otherwise, to keep our bodies alive as long as possible.” There is always hope. And even if hope is gone, I do not want to just slip away, as if life has no worth, or purpose. We have all heard of folks in profound coma awaking after many years when all hope was gone. Besides, I firmly believe we humans have no business deciding when another human dies. Except in war, which is sometimes a necessary evil.

MY FIRST PRONOUNCEMENTS

2005-03-30T18:21:00.000-05:00

I started this Blog to record anything I might be thinking or wondering. I am retired, but when I was working, as I drove from home call to home call, I would listen to talk radio. Often times I wanted to add my two cents worth to what was being said, but by the time I would have stopped and found a phone, I knew the conversation would be off on another topic and anyway, I was working, so should not be using work time to call radio stations. I learned about Blogging from the news so thought; Great!, a place I can say what I want, either in response to current news, or what my spouse, children, grandchild or others say, or what I read, or even remembrances of past times and people.

2004-07-08T22:27:00.000-04:00