Let's thank our Veterans!

Today is Veterans Day. I guess there's no mail delivery. Not receiving mail is the least we can do to honor our brave veterans.

My dad is a veteran of WWII. He flew bombers in North Africa, Italy & Germany. He even wrote a book about his incredible experiences. He signed up at age 17 with his mother's permission. Wasn't old enough to vote. Went to war. Then came home and could finally vote at 21. The irony.

Anyway, I'm just in awe of the type of personality it takes to serve in our armed forces. I'm too scared just to drive over high overpasses! There's no way in hell I'd ever have the courage to fight the enemy!

It takes a truly special person to risk his/her life for our nation. They go out on missions daily not knowing if they'll come back breathing. They put their nation first always.

Thank you veterans.

To order a copy of my dad's book, you can go to amazon.

Election 2008 is over & no excitement!

Yes the election is over and yes it is exciting that Americans have elected the FIRST African-American President. But, basically this election was dull.

My dad shared stories of elections when he was a kid. He grew up in a small town in south Louisiana where politics was and still is always spicy.

In the good ole days, the kids would gather at the polling place hoping to catch a glimpse of a good fight. Apparently there were always fist fights. The fights, I suppose, were a different form of the debate!

If you couldn't read, no problem. The poll watchers would make sure you marked the right spot on the ballot. The problem was, you'd have to trust the poll watcher to point to your candidate! After all, if you couldn't read, then you couldn't double check your vote!

In addition to the brawls, election day entertainment was enhanced with plenty of boiled shrimp, crawfish and crabs and hot dogs plus lots of beer to wash it down. It was quite a party day. I guess our present day Super Bowl celebrations have taken the place of election day fun.

Now all we get is a sticker that says, "I voted today!"

Dog Park Friends

You meet the most interesting people at the dog park. One such character is an 84 year-old man, name unknown. But he looks like Captain Kangaroo without the uniform. He had the dog park group in tears, humans that is.

He loves his dachsund, Princess. When he comes to the park, he also brings his friend's 2 big furry dogs, Sampson and Jackson. He just adores dogs. Everyone can tell.

He tells the same stories each time anyone sees him. He tells us about his wife of 60 years, of how he came to own Princess, of his life as a church organist, of serving in WWII, and of going to Baylor on the GI bill.

Yesterday I saw him. He shared a new story about his mother's love of dogs. As he told the story, he cried. We all cried.

He told us that his mother always had dogs, and probably loved them more than her own 4 children. Probably, he suspected, because the dogs didn't talk back! When his mother reached her 80s, she began to suffer from dementia. One day she walked to the grocery but couldn't find her way home. That was a sign that she was no longer able to care for herself. Her daughter took her in but couldn't take the dog. He told us that the day she told her dog goodbye was a sadder day than the day of her funeral. She repeatedly said to her dog, "One more hug."

He is wonderful. I can't wait to see him again soon.

The painting was done by Michael Jurogue Johnson. http://users.psln.com/sharing/Michael/mainMichael.html

Blue Jean Evolution

I took my daughter blue jean shopping today. My how things have changed!

I remember when I was a kid, if you wanted to buy a pair of jeans, you had to go to Jefferson Feed Store or to a uniform supply house. And still there were only men's sizes available. And then, we'd spend weeks making them look worn out.

Today I sat in the "Blue Jeans Bar" while Elizabeth tried on jean after jean in all sorts of colors and varying degrees of wornness. Apparently pocket size and pocket placement are also a big deal.

I'm not totally out of touch. I did know that there are straight legs, flared legs, trouser legs, and boot cut legs. What exactly that means, I'm not sure. But based on what I've learned from watching What Not to Wear, that my body style should wear a trouser leg. I think the wideness in the legs is suppose to detract from my unusually round tummy.

We finally decided on jeans. Hmm, they don't cost $25 anymore!! All I can say is that it's a good thing I had a 20% coupon.

To Catch a Thief!

Today I had an all time first for my dull life! I was in World Market buying a box of wine when suddenly I witnessed a shoplifting!

I couldn't believe it! This joker was browsing in the bath department looking at liquid soap and bubble bath. As I approached, I didn't think anything of it because he looked honest. He seemed to be clean in an academician sort of way -- messy but short hair, sweatshirt and blue jeans. When he saw me he flinched while his hand was putting something in his backpack. His backpack was sitting in a cart.

I thought about asking him if he was shoplifting, but being the trusting person I am, I decided to just observe. I moved around to the other side of the aisle and peered through the shelves. He was randomly taking stuff off of the shelves. Then he took off with his backpack on his back and leaving the cart in the aisle.

I quickly moved towards the cart only to find it empty. Then I ran towards the front of the store yelling that he just stole. An employee heard me and took off after him. In a split second, the thief was gone. It was amazing how fast this whole event went down!

Later some of the employees told me that it's common for people to steal small stuff, then come backlater to return what they stole. Without a receipt, customers get store credit. Well with the store credit the crooks purchase something bigger that won't fit in backpacks. How bold!

Election blues.

I'm so sick of this Presidential election I could spit! It's getting so ugly on every level, not just between the candidates.

My family is divided. My tennis team is sort of divided (1 against 13). Insults are being thrown around right and left. I've never seen so many angry people in my life!

Yes, I am driving around with a campaign bumper sticker on my car. No, my car hasn't been vandalized. But, the other day as I was picking my daughter up from dance class, a dad screams from across the parking lot, "Hey you've got bird poop on your bumper. Oh, no, I'm sorry. It's a _________ sticker!" That really pissed me off. I felt like saying, "I'm made of rubber and you're made of glue. What you say bounces off me and sticks to you!" But, fortunately at the time, I couldn't remember the words so I just kept my mouth shut.

And then there's that poor schmuck, Joe the Plumber. I feel sorry for him. People are so catty saying things like he's not smart and he only makes $40,000 per year. He's a plumber for goodness sake! He just a hard working good ole boy! For whatever reason, he's not a smart man who was able to stumble into an Ivy league school or receive a Navy commission at Annapolis. Quite frankly, I think that he's been smart enough to handle himself very well during the grilling he's getting from people like Diane Sawyer. I would have passed out under that same scrutiny! I got frazzled when I met my daughter's homecoming date!

Hopefully after November 4th, no matter who wins, when things die down, we will all forgive each other for thinking that the other is stupid. Or at least learn to live with each other's stupidity.

Compliment or Insult?

The other day I was making a purchase at Ross Dress for Less. The teenage boy at the cash register asked if I wanted the Senior Citizen discount. And, when I said no, he gave me a look as if to say, "Well why not?" I just assumed that the discount didn't apply to people under 50. Maybe I'm wrong and I should have taken advantage of the offer. But to tell you the truth, I was a little insulted.

But, whenever I'm buying a bottle of wine these days and the clerk asks to see my ID, I'm flattered. Imagine, he thinks I could be under 21! Well I'm not paying any attention to the fact that the cash register will jam if the clerk doesn't type in my birth date.

To help my self-esteem, I'm just going to continue thinking that I could be under 21, and stay away from Ross!