*#@**#@@@!!!

    I can't put in words how ANGRY I am with my government. It deregulated banking, it let the insurance industry, the health care industry & the oil industry dictate policies that have thrown me & hundreds of thousands out of work.

    After stealing my livelihood the BASTARDS have the BALLS to pass out obscene bonuses for a job well done!

    Getting rich wasn't a goal I set when I started my life. Having a good family, loving, caring, honest, one like my parents had, was my goal. I have that. But now at 59 years RICH FAT BUSINESS BASTARDS have made it so that while they lay about at the beach I sit at home waiting for .....

    I do see the need for revolution and revolution needn't foster violence or rely on it to reach it's goals and I steadfastly REFUSE to ally myself with Homophobic Racist no matter how similar the goals might be.

    Venting here really doesn't get it all out though it does some, but seems that FB isn't considered the place to post it, or so I'm told ;~)

Zipidee



    

And then

    We bring up 'If it's ok for them to do it it's ok for us to do it. What? third grade playground ethics now? It's not ok for Franks to do it or Shelby for that matter.

    If we don't put this States & Region crap behind us a start acting like the Union we're suposed to be we will become a third world country.

     The same things are wrong in the state I live in that are wrong with the state you live in. Yes we each have a few unique wrongs but for the most part we're the same. Only concerted effort to correct all of the wrongs will set us on a path to progress. Continuing to justify wrong actions by previous wrong actions is infantile.

    

Put up yer Dukes!

    Seems ole Unc thinks that posting an opinion on a certain social networking tool is an invitation to a fisticuffs. Not so. Merely a statement of opinion. You're entitled as am I.

    I, unlike Unc, love to talk politics. The fair exchange of ideas is bread & wine to me. I learn a lot in discourse. If I had the answers I wouldn't be sitting here bloggin, I'd be telling the world. So share with me your thoughts, if I find them persuasive I might make them a part of my belief, if not you've lost nothing.

    The issue that I have with those I named on FB is their source for their stated subject. One of them says something that not only can't be substantiated but can often be repudiated. It is then repeated by the others and when the original is asked for a source of his facts quotes one of those that merely repeated his original calumny.

    I find this from those mentioned far too often. I look for it on CNN, NBC, MSNBC, CBS and ABC but have yet to find one instance where the source was a past report by a fellow reporter.

    You don't know how I pray for a grass roots uprising that will take back our government and restore my vote. This 'Tea Bag'thing was, in the beginning, an answer to that prayer. Until it was co opted by Far Right Republicans, Racist Homophobes and Wack Jobs. Sarah Palin as the 'Light that Leads'!? Oh My God. If that's the best they can come up with I not only want nothing to do with them but laugh at their lack of intelligence in their choice. Is there no Newt out there? Is there no truth to be used? Do they have to use fear, ignorance & libel to advance their cause?



Zipidee wishes he could be more concise ;~)

Such a place

There's a place in my mind where every thing's fine,
I go there as much as I can.
Then something pops up that brings me about,
Lord knows it's such a distraction.
It used to be things full of wonder & glee
but more often than not now just upsetting.
The world as it is, such a wonder to see,
being picked apart by TV.
There's the 'Left' & the 'Right' and a 'Middle they say,
but all just divisions of 'US'.
They use ugly names all sides do the same,
I think I'll head back to my place

Excited distress. Now there's a combination.

   I always get excited about going into NYC. There's an electric charge, that I'm sure is created by me for me, whenever I go 'in'.

   I live in a rather rural setting, for the northeast that is. Not the 5,000 sq/mi solitude of Verbena but isolation just the same. To go into the Megalopolis of NYC in just 2 hrs of travel from our seclusion still thrills me.

   But there is also the distress. Driving closer to the flame creates a tension that's only released by driving away.

   So Tuesdays trip 'in' to attend the Memorial services of a dear departed college friend is fraught with anticipation, stress, excitement & remorse.
   So many feelings -- Life is grand!

DAMN!

All I want is some work. If it was up to me those Bas*#@*! that stole our economy would have to pay back every cent & go to jail. They're at the beach & we're at the breach.
It's comin folks! Be careful & beware.

Health Deform

   I tried to start a discussion on FB about Healthcare Reform and got one rant from a Libertarian friend who thinks anything done by the government is a screw up. Although her Mom's on Medicare, She teaches at a school that is government subsidized and uses the interstate road system to get from one place to another she thinks that any government program leads to Socialism.

   I'm not a proponent of any particular reform, hell I'm a carpenter,but there's gotta be some smart people out there that don't have an agenda of their own that can come up with some ideas.

   Guess I have to take that back 'cause there is one thing that might save some money & improve your healthcare. Get rid of the insurance companies. Here's an industry that started out as a gambling tool in a bar in in London back in the 1500's. It was Loyds. They put their money up hoping that "their ship would come in". They've even retained certain terms, 'spread the risk' comes to mind, that attest to their beginnings.

   When we decided to start a family we looked into getting insurance and found that by not being in a large group our premiums were going to be more than we could afford. So we lived without insurance. My income level made our children eligible for coverage subsidized by our County Assistance (Socialism).

   But I do belong to a large group. The largest group in this country. I'm a citizen, got a SS# to prove it but if all of us citizens had the same policy provider then all of tose agents & CEO's wouldn't be living a better life than I can afford.

   I just can't believe it's so difficult to work out & I know it's not. There are two big problems and they have no real connection with the mechanics of the cure.

    Number one is Lobbyist. The Healthcare Industry has spent $380 million dollars so far in Washington to defeat healthcare reform. That's about $1.75 per citizen 18 & over. Over a million of it went to the Senate Finance Committee Chairman Baucus.

    Number two is our Senators & Representatives have insurance that can't be canceled paid for by you and me that'll just about cover a full body transplant with no deductible for THE REST OF THEIR LIVES! Take it away. Make them buy a policy for them & their children and you'll see reform the next day. If the Healthcare Industry was taking money out of their pockets instead of putting it in their pockets this topic would never have come up.

    So that cures that! Now for Social Security! Whoa! Socialism. Touchy subject. Same cure though.

   Interesting that the major hurdle we citizens have to get over to improve our lives are the people we send to Washington to see that our lives are improved. Hmmmmmmm


   MAN THE BARRICADES!!!!!!



      Zipidee is Flippin Out!!!

Mo Mems

    In Brunswick on Emanuel Drive the curbs were curved instead of squared. This allowed us to approach them from the street at an angle and jump onto the sidewalk. We would spend quite a bit of time in this endeavor.

   Once Rob was using Rays bike. It had a very large basket on the front. Rob comes racing down the road (speed = distance) launches up the curb pulling back on the handle bars (speed + lift = more distance). As he and the rest of the bike lift to great heights the front tire remains firmly in touch with Terra Firma. As gravity acts & Rob, with bike, returns to the sidewalk sans tire the bike stops but not Rob. He skids across the sidewalk on his face. He winds up with a scab under his nose for several weeks. With his blond hair and little square 'Mustache' he was often nominated to play Hitler in our Nazi bashing wars.

   Yes we were very into WWII. Here's why. For ever we'd played Cowboys & Indians then we saw "The Guns of Navarone". Gregory Peck, David Niven & Anthony Quinn whooping Nazi's like no tomorrow!

   This accident may have been the reason for him getting a chrome 3 speed bike for Christmas.

Blogin

    Seems like only yesterday I was talked into starting a blog. It was where we would all share stories, hopes, rants, ideas. Now it's a place I go to talk to a wall. OOOOOW There's a FB phrase. Now I FB with everyone else but there's no room or audience for stories, hopes, rants, ideas on FB.

   Peachy puts up pics of Tucker and I really appreciate that but the rest are MIA or should I say MIFB ;~)

   OK no more bitchin! Now there's a story!

   In '67 we moved from Southern California to Central Alabama. Culture shock beyond anything you can imagine. Hippies and Surf Bums to Buba and Birmingham. They were still rolling up the fire hoses. Civil Rights was a newspaper headline not something practiced in Montevallo.

   As a 'Navy Brat' moving every 2 years the first thing you did at a new Station was find a best friend. We'd only been civilians for 2 years but the family habit of bi-annual migration wasn't over. Anyhow I looked out my back door and there was Billy 'Bones' White working on his car in front of his garage. It was after dark and there was one of those large round shades with a light bulb under it suspended from an arm attached to the gable above the two hinged doors that almost wouldn't close due to the slight right tilt of the building.We were best friends from that day until graduation. I went to college Billy went to work.

    For the few short days (weeks?) before school started Billy tried to help me adjust to the new surroundings. One day while walking down the main street of town, which was only a block from our homes, Jimmy Brown stepped out of a store in front of us. Billy introduced us and in conversation I learned that Jimmy was Co-Captain of the football team. His first question was ' You gunna play?' This question was repeated by any and every person I met, no matter there gender or age. It was my first realization of how much football was a part of the southern creed. My answer was 'No', to Jimmy at that time and to all others later. Our conversation wained and the three of us continued down the sidewalk. Across the street a very pretty blond stepped out of a store, she smiled and waved, we waved back and i said "Now there's one Bitchin Babe". BAM! next thing I know Billy is helping me up while trying to keep Jimmy from hitting me again. "Hey what was that for?" Jimmy, "You just called Trish Baker a bitch and I'm gonna teach you to watch your mouth!" "Wait! Hold on! Where I come from Bitchin is as good as it gets. I was just saying how fine she looked." Jimmy, "Well you better find a better way of sayin it."

   It's amazing how fast you can change your vocabulary :~)

Platitudes

I've been using that word wrong forever.

Platitude n. A trite or banal remark or statement, especially one expressed as if it were original or significant.

So what word should I use for sayings by famous people applied to situations by others suposedly to instruct the young. HMMMMMMM

Ah a story to enlighten.

In Brunswick Maine, our second time there, we lived in Base Housing. This was a little confusing because the Base was on the other side of town but still Base Housing. Everyone in that neighborhood was military of varying rank.We all walked to the same school, played in the same fields & woods. Our house was on the perimeter of the project which gave us, not legal, all of the woods as a playground. Into the woods and down a ways was the 'Sand Pit'. Most of the year we used it to recreate Nazi woopin battles but after it snowed it was our sledding place.

Hours upon hours down the hill ...trudge back up the hill..down the hill ... trudge back up. With the occasional snowball fight. There was no adult supervision there was no need. Well almost no need. I guess there's always a bully in every neighborhood. Ours was an older guy, older than most of us anyway. He liked to sled down beside you grab the side of your sled and flip you over. This got real old real fast. One evening I told Dad about it. The only part of the conversation I remember now and apparently the only part I applied then was "Walk softly and carry a big stick" a statement I was told made famous by President Teddy Roosevelt. Well if it was good enough for Teddy it was good enough for me by golly! Trouble was my 3^rd grade brain understood 'walking softly' no problem in snow & 'carry a big stick ' also no problem seeing how we walked through the woods to get to the sand pit. That 3^rd grade noggin also knew that carrying a big stick was good for only one thing-- yep WACKIN BAD GUYS! Remember we wooped Nazi's the rest of the year. So down the hill on my sled I went with my Big Stick in hand. Made sledding a little cumbersome but worth the effort. Then he came. Not knowing his peril, Teddy said nothing about a warning, he pulls up beside me and instead of a handful of my sled he gets a nose full of my Big Stick.

I remember it like it was yesterday. He went off without his sled, crying while holding his face, through the woods towards the houses. I was a bit of a hero except to the older kids, they seemed to think I was gonna be in trouble. Trouble? Why President Roosevelt said it was the thing to do. No problem.

That is until later that night when Marine Major Daddy shows up at the door with his wounded offspring with the bandaged nose to talk to my Navy Chief Daddy. RICHARD! COME HERE! Did you do this? Yes Dad you told me to. Remember? "Walk softly and carry a big stick".

When Marine Major Daddy learned of his sons Bullying behavior & my Navy Chief Daddy promised I'd be punished the issue was resolved. I think I was not allowed to sled at the pit for a week or something minor as punishment.

Dad quit using archaic quotes to direct my behavior after that.

Radicals!

    You gotta love radicals! They're so --- full of whatever. Sometimes a cause, sometimes themselves, sometimes misinformation.
    I've been a radical before. It was so invigorating. Radicals usually cluster in ever larger groups which can be so empowering. And in such closed spaces quite often result in closed minds.
   I try not to be closed off from opinions other than my own by seeking others that I know have views different than mine. They're rather easy to find. I just ask where do they get their news. If the answer is TV and news papers/news magazines isn't added then I can be pretty sure I'm dealing with a person that bases their opinions on information delivered in sound bites. We'll have different opinions I assure you. If they say Fox news we'll have radically different views.
    I've a dear friend that believes Bill O'Rielly is the true fountain of all political truth & speaks to the truth at all times. That she reads some of her news makes her feel informed. Trouble is she reads what Bill says or says to read.
    I can't fathom why so many that are at risk of bankruptcy are so opposed to reform. Their cries that government run health care will be a boondoggle is founded on what? Medicare/Medicaid, Veterans Administration, our military hospitals?
   The American Journal of Medicine study says that 62% of bankruptcies in 2007 where linked to medical expenses. 80% of those had insurance.
    Having health insurance is only a false sense of security. Unless you have Medicare/Medicaid, VA or Military. I have a State subsidized policy thanks to the tobacco settlement. It's good for office visits and small issues. Something big is beyond its scope.
   It (reform) is going to cost a Trezillion dollars and create death squads! These are such a hoot to listen to.
    Who was the first company that the government bailed out? AIG! The largest insurance company on the planet. It insures the insurers & banks. That was real inexpensive little move there wasn't it. Did that money spent increase your coverage? Did it reduce the cost of your pharmacy bill?
    So socialism for BIG business is good but government provided health care is bad?

Zipidee :~(

To Blog or FB? HMMMMM

Well I'll still come here every now and then to rant or wander. FB seems to be where everyone else goes. Unc blogged once this year. Yes Happy Birthday Unc.
It's funny how these venues for expression & connection come & go. I know there's twitter out there somewhere and once everyone goes there I'll finally be left behind. But I said that about FB too and now I'm there.
Ev said today that he has to edit his conversations due to the size of the family attendance. Hmmmm
I've seen how FB discourages more than a passing thought by limiting the length allowed. Seems a shame because it sometimes takes more words to color your statements to mean what they're supposed to mean without tonal inflections.
So like Ev I find I have to edit my comments or just not comment, not due to the audience but the lack of space. So I come here -- ramble -- no limit.
And seeing how this venue is only viewed by family censoring is totally unnecessary. Cause no matter what I say here they're stuck with me. You can pick your friends & you can pick your n....... yea whatever.
Was asked in an Email, remember email, where I would live if I could chose a place. I did chose a place, this place. Sorry for those that live where they're not happy being. Or working a job they don't like. Not to sound to hedonistic but being happy is all that matters. He didn't give you this day to be miserable. Exult in his creation that is the best worship.

Zipidee

Random memrys

Fizzies
The first fizzy on your tongue (before Space Rocks)
The little jar with matches in it in Maw Maws bathroom in the Mill village. The original 'Air freshener' ;~)
Sheri's Big Bald Doll. Well not completely bald but near nuf.
Rob's Chrome 3 Speed
Ray's 2 seater Lambretta scooter.
Granddads office
The Wilkins boys, behavior beyond our experience
Visiting the Keels in Johnson City
Using milk weed pods as grenades in battles in the Aldrich's field in Lisbon Center.
Walking to the little store in LC to buy home made penny candy. Red Hot Jaw Breakers
Selling the morning paper in the Millington Base Hospital. Scary at first.
Losing friends almost as fast as you made them.
Having a Southern accent in Maine and a Yankee accent in Tenn without altering your speech pattern one bit.
First 'real' job -- Busing tables at a Sizzler Steak House
First day in a new school
Getting to the one room school in Lisbon Center early on the first of May to surprise the teacher with flowers.
Hearin Elvis's 'Hound Dog'on the car radio for the first time while driving from Bath to Brunswick
Not associating with your siblings at each new school but not knowing what you'd do without them.
My first 'Steady' the exotic Rene van Tuyll von Serooskerken
Helpin the Milk Man in Olathe deliver milk & baked goods & occasionally being allowed to ride on the running board.
My first car. A Chevy coupe peddle power. my Paw Paw got it for me on my 4th birthday
Ray being hit by a car while riding his bike
Winning a bicycle rodeo in Brunswick. The prize was a light for my bike that had a generator
Riding bikes Everywhere
Making my first skateboard out of a chunk of 2x4 and a steel wheel skate at Pt Mugu
Trick or treating in Zaymore Homes, 1st grade. One guy was making the kids do a trick to get the treat. I told Dad. He said to go back with a bar of soap & ask the guy if he wanted it on his screen or on his window. The guy gave me my candy while mumbling.
Team wrestling on Dad when he'd get home from deployment.


Zippidee

Ah! The Keyboard.

   Well to sit & blog. These are going to be rants & raves that've built up (or down) in these last 5 months. Many things happened while I was away. Some to me where I was and some here at home where I wasn't.
   I've been around awhile, 58 years, but I've never been treated (mis) like I was this trip to Eclectic. I went down to my good friend of 38 years Janey Smith's (now Birge)to help create her 'Dream Kitchen'. Besides doing all of the work, which saved loads of money not having to call in separate subs for Electrical, plumbing, sheetrock......, I charged less than half of my usual fee. This saved her $15,000. I'm spelling this out so you'll be able to understand the tragedy of the last day there. I do good work. I did some of my best work on this project. On the last day I got up and spent the morning finishing the last few touches. At about 1 PM I finished and spent the next couple of hours packing my tools in my truck. I tied my 26 foot extension ladder on top made sure all was secured and decided to spend a couple of hours in Janey's pool with a glass or two of wine. This would be my last time in a pool and was, for me, a celebration of the end of a difficult task.
   Janey joined me in the pool and we talked. I was trying to keep the conversation light, our relationship had deteriorated over the course of the project, and it was a comfortable two hours. Janey decided she'd had enough pool and got out. I was fixing to do the same when she came back out and said " Ric I don't want to piss you off but is that my ladder you have tied to the top of your truck?" I replied " I'm not pissed off I'm insulted. You're accusing me of stealing your ladder. That's my ladder that I've had longer than I've had children. Why would I donate $15,000 worth of labor & profit to you and then steal a FUCKING ladder?" "Well I didn't mean for it to sound like you were stealing" DUH? "If you say it's yours I must be mistaken".
   Out of the pool into the truck. There was the weakest "Thanks for the kitchen. It's real nice" and I was gone.
   I'm 20 minutes from her house, almost half way to Clanton, when she calls on my cell. "Ric I've looked everywhere for my ladder and it's not here (she never had a ladder how could it be)You have my ladder and i want it back NOW!"
My reply was to hang up because I went into a dead zone and lost the signal. It was a good thing, I don't like using certain words but boy was I ever gonna use everyone that I knew.
   When I got to Verbena I came back in range of a tower and there was a voice mail for me " Ric I'm sorry that is your ladder, can you forgive me? I hate for this to end this way". She apparently called her new husband and he told her she didn't own a ladder.
   Well I should forgive her. It's the Christian thing to do but there were so many other slights in the 5 months I was there that I'll not go into that are making forgiveness real hard. I didn't reply and haven't called her. Then again she felt so bad about it she hasn't tried to get in touch with me and feels that a voice mail with a weak apology is all that's required.
   Well like a preacher told me once "No good deed goes unpunished".

Snow -- The difference

Received many calls yesterday, March 1st, from family & friends in the south about their snow storm. It must have been an amazing day. Even here where snow is a very normal seasonal occurrence storms are an event that excites.
Interesting that there's always a run on bread & milk whether the snow's in Birmingham or Scranton. Twice in 25 years our roads were closed for a day keeping us from going to the store. That record doesn't slow the hoarders down one bit.
Anywho down to the difference. Talked to one of yesterdays callers this morning. It's cold there, 28 29 degrees, but the snow's gone. The snow started here in the very early hours of this morning. We have 2 inches on the ground and expect another 3 before it's over. It's 12 degrees here and this stuff will be with us 'til about Easter.
So in the south the snow comes and quickly becomes a memory where here it comes and remains an issue to deal with for weeks.
Hey! Did any of y'all make Snow Cream?

Zippidee

Wasup!

I go to Bama and away from my keyboard and everyone gets amnesia!? Lordy Lordy! I've had the time to 'member but you've all tried to be online at Mom's and know how frustrating that can be. But I'm in front of my 'puter now and will try to spark the conversation. Hmmmmmm! now let's hop into the way back machine. This'll be before some (sorry).
Granpa Garner loved peppermint sticks, or so we were told, and we never went to their house without a few to give him. Then one day we discovered the GIANT peppermint stick. It was about a foot long and as big around as a half dollar. WOW! was he ever gonna love this. Well he made as big a deal about it as we hoped he would and we continued to bring them to him at every visit. Much after he'd passed and I'd grown I realized what a pain in the ass that thing musta been. Visualizing him sucking on that humongous piece of candy cracks me up now. Knowing that to eat it he'd have to shatter it with a hammer to eat any of it makes me appreciate how much he loved the gift & givers more than the peppermint. Wonder how many were just tossed.
I sat with Unc last week at the coffee shop that used to be Grandad's paper. I was totally washed in memories while talking with my brother. The register & coffee machines occupied the press, the Linotype was replaced by what seemed to be a private sitting area. Grandads Coke box had a bathroom in it's place. Just behind where I was sitting I could see Grandad in his lite grey pants and long sleeve white shirt, sleeves rolled up, setting type in a tray by hand. I wanted to go out the front and up the stairs & past Grandads office where all the confetti was and the glue pot where he made note pads for us. I had more than coffee & a danish that morning.

Zippidee

Whoa!! Now!

    Hang on cause we totally skipped a few Millington years.


    Yo unc! Do you remember picking cotton with me behind the house on Arnette Place? Lawn mowing wasn't getting enough work so we asked the guy (was he our landlord while waiting on our house to empty?) down the road if we could pick cotton. Liked to killed us! what'd we make 50 cents each? For the whole day!

    How bout trips to Shelby State Forest & swinging on the vines?
    Here's one. Dad & Duffy taking us all, five boys, fishing in Duffy's boat on the Mississippi. We get to the boat launch and unload the car & boat. Duffy backs down the ramp and is stopped for a reason I can't recall and he gets out of the car forgetting to set the brake. The boat & car wind up way down in the Mississippi. Turns out there was a very steep & deep drop at the end of the ramp. Could have been what he was being told when stopped.

    OK so now I'm on a roll. It was in the fall. An overcast Saturday with just enough wind to make you pull you collar up. Dad had promised to take you and I hunting and Dad kept his promises. He spent Friday night showing us how to clean the guns, plenty of oil helps get rid of & prevent rust. A 4-10 shotgun from his youth and a Springfield bolt action single shot .22 caliber, his very first gun. Well I don't think we were quite sure what we were hunting. Coulda been squirrel dunno not sure I cared. I had a gun in my hands. The single shot .22 Calibre. Ray had the 4-10 shotgun. We were walking in single file, Dad, Ray then me, through rows of cotton towards a wooded island. Seemed all cotton fields had these and our suspicion was there'd be critters to shoot in them. Any way for some reason (I personally remember a bird)Ray decides to cock the shotgun. This is done by pulling the hammer back with your thumb. As ray is cocking the gun he's raising it(in anticipation of 'Baggin a Bird')and as he reaches the level of the top of Dads hat his thumb slips of off the freshly oiled hammer. Blew Dads hat off. When he turned around there was look & tongue a plenty. We returned to the car & Dad never took us out with loaded weapons ever again.
     P.S. Both of those guns are in my shop.

The tounge.

     The tongue wasn't always associated with anger. The tongue was a sign of intensity. If it appeared while angry or upset then there was cause for concern 'cause it were a intense anger or upset. The intense part was usually short lived with anger but with other things could last as long as the task.
    Quick story of intensity. Maine, it's snowing, Dad stopped for gas. While out of the car he decides to clean the headlights, they'd get real dim with road crud, he leans over and gets real intent on cleaning that light. Someone in the car makes a crack about him licking it clean. When he gets back in the car he can't understand why everyone is convulsed in laughter. No one was going to tell him either.

    This is the youngest pic I have of Dad. Yes that's Aunt Ev too.

    The picture that pops up for me is Dad in uniform. Usually Khaki but I can remember him in Dress Whites. That was a sharp outfit. If I remember he wasn't fond of the whites.

    Dad could sleep at the drop of a hat or so it seemed. He could also go without sleep longer than anyone I've ever known.

    This pic was taken about 50 years ago. I knew this kid! I knew his dreams & desires. His hopes & wishes! Did he make it? I sit here on January 30th, 2009 and tell you YES! 50 years later and the things he thought were important still are important and are the bedrock of his reality.
    This is a testament to June & Leland West
     To 'The Kids' we know if the world had our Mom & Dad there'd be no problem,.