We took the grand girls for Thanksgiving grocery shopping…That was okay, but it got better when we went to Wendys….it even got better when a toy came with the nuggets! And then, EVEN BETTER… as.it was on to Walmart to the toy department!Tthere were electric cars, and Baby Alive, and bikes, and Lion King kids, and dogs you could pet thru a special hole in the box, and Bratz, and Cabbage Patch, and Baby Alive diapers, and Barbie Houses 4′ tall, and more and more and more, and oh my gosh! Oh to be 5 and 9 again……sprinkles of stardust shown in their eyes and Christmas Lists grew and grew to 5-10-20 times the original size!! Lov’in life.
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CAT ON VACATION
We try to keep things as low key as possible…..we hide the suitcases…..bringing them out to fill when he is in the other room napping. His potty box stays in the usual spot until the last second….
I must say, however, Pookie is a seasoned traveler….He has been ‘on the road’ at least 4 times a year, cross country, which does not include our trips to Las Vegas to see his cousins, two beagles, an old barn cat, and a desert tortoise that will live longer than all of us. Pook came to us 12 years ago.He is one of those ‘ordinary’ American Shorthair designs. Even when we adopted him from another family who were getting rid of children (graduating from high school and college) and pets (schooling unknown), we thought him cute but kind of dull. However, we soon learned we were dead wrong and he has been an absolute joy, even a party at certain times.
First we found we didn’t have to worry about a water bowl….we already had them, scattered around the house….yes toilets. Works fine for him, works fine for me. Next, an even more important trick came to our attention….he can open doors. Not too good with the knobs, but with the handle kind, he is killer. Friends who come to visit, and who are not especially ‘cat’ people, come to find him sitting on their chest about 7:30AM.He is either looking for breakfast or a nice warm spot to cuddle for some extra winks. Because of this, we station door stops for privacy.
Now back to vacation……well, the bags are packed, the maps are found, the Interstate has been picked out, the La Quintas have been chosen, and now we show him the red leash! Yes he walks on a leash….and he’s pretty good at it….Or I’m pretty good walking with a leash, don’t know which. The leash isused for safety,cause I don’t want him to jump and run when a German Shephard, also staying at the La Quinta, comes strolling down the hall. We walk on a leash regularly cause it keeps him (or me) in shape. Cat owners also know that when walking, a cat will always walk along the wall, not out in the middle of the hall….that is the ‘wild part’ still in him. The interesting part is that Pookie always follows the wall to the extreme…he even zigs and zags in and out of the doors to each of the rooms. A little OCD maybe? Who knows.
He also is good at sitting on top of hotel luggage carriers….He waits patiently til cat box, cat food, suitcases, and books are packed and then sits proudly as we stroll down to our room. I might add he even understands the concept of elevators and waits til the door is completly open or closed before entering or exiting.
We have even been offered special deals while we were vacationing……A growing family of 5, packing and piling in the little tikes one morning, offered an even trade……our dutiful pet for all of their clan. We passed. Our clan is now in their mid-thirties.
As of this writing, Pookie is now visiting his cousins in Shreveport, La. They include a black cat, 1/2 his size, who can chew him up and spit him out in a second, and a full-sized golden doodle. Although they have know each other for 8 years, they have not grown tight. His cousins try to show him a good time, however, he chooses to hiss in response, and head directly for his room. He does not leave until the potty box leaves and there is no talking him out of it……
I know, I’ve heard it from Pookie a thousand times…..you can choose your friends, but not your family”. It’s only a few days away from Thanksgiving….so forget what Pookie says…..don’t hiss at your relatives, know where the potty box is, and enjoy your meal.
dollars/sense
On NPR yesterday, a comedian said the ‘super committee’ was still working on getting the spending under control…they made a little headway when they found $23.17 in couch cushions…..too funny
shreveport, la
kind of like summer here today….a little humid……Shreveport is a mix of the south and the midwest….all kinds of scenery. Good place to film movies.
weather com’in
Big day in California…it’s gonna rain… sometime, we always need water…,it is truly California’s gold.
ABUSE =
So how’s it work’in for ya…..the abuse thing. It doesn’t matter you aren’t legally married anymore, does it Tom….you can’t stand the idea of losing……not losing Marty, just losing…..You zero
You hit her, you yelled at her, you scared her, you lied to her, you took her share of the life savings and squandered it. You zero.
You threw her and your daughter out into the night, almost weekly, with no place to go, just because you were mad. Thank goodness Boulder City is near Las Vegas and Henderson cause there are hotels where mother and grown daughter could find a safe place to stay.You zero.
When Marty went to be with her dying mother, you would call her cell every night to say you were going to kill yourself, in the desert, if she didn’t fly back . How do I know, I listened to your raving on the phone. You zero.
She finally called the police, because of the abuse. The authorities were going to put you under surveillance, while Marty could file a report….She declined because she didn’t want you to lose your job making $250,000 annually, and therefore, possibly losing what livelihood there was left. You zero
Marty finally went to Family Court and a Restraining Order was issued…..( the judge had no problem making the decision after reading the info she provided.) And then suddenly it was, ‘poor Tom’ the pitiful misunderstood husband. Marty continued to think that the separation could be done amicably, by keeping him from being embarrassed in the Boulder City neighborhood they lived in.The order was done quietly and no one knew. You left and went to suck off the friendship of local people, who had no idea you was abusing your family and not even working.
You moved to Reno and rented a high-end apartment. You said you were going to be near your daughter who lived in Carson City. (She was only there for a few months) You even told the prospective landlord you were renting the apartment for you and Marty, and it was going to be a surprise for her, when she came north! Isn’t that special!y You didn’t have a job and had just finished blowing hundreds of thousands of dollars of their retirement nest egg. Who was to know….except maybe now. Come to think of it, you did exactly the same thing to your current landlord in Las Vegas….You used recent income tax records to show your income, however, you weren’t working and were separated. ( I know that Nevada law states each spouse is entitled to half of the pie) My point is you weren’t working, it was never mentioned, and it was presented as though there was good income to pay for the apartment. You zero!
In the past you had been the one to boast about having one million dollars….you lived higher than necessary, just to show off, and when the family objected to the excessive spending, you made fun of them, remarking that they didn’t know how to enjoy money. You zero.
Judge Sullivan first heard the case…..and he was good…he was also interested in listening and not being biased. What a shame when Judge Sullivan was sent to a Juvenile Courtroom and Judge Elliot was drawn. That was when the bias began….One can look at the court records, and see how the judge has ruled in events concerning this divorce. The examination of these lengthy and bias proceedings show that Judge Elliot serves with an incomplete understanding of what abuse is and how it works. I am sorry for anyone who has her for any kind of family court .
Your attorney presented you as the one who was abused…..explaining that you were the loving husband who had held the family together, while Marty was the one with mental ailments. Your attorney stated you urged her to seek help and was continuing to keep the home together when she filed the restraining order. Judge Elliot went right along with the idea, never checking your past abusive ways concerning your wife, daughter, family, and friends. Twenty plus people had signed on to come to court on behalf of Marty, to share with the judge, exactly what kind of beast you actually are. Oh, not necessary, it was decided, no police report, so no abuse.
What will become of it all Tom…..you continue to harass, to needle, to ‘not follow thru’ concerning the judge’s orders. What you fail to understand is that we are free of you….our family is free. Marty and Andrea are free.
You think you can continue to cause her pain…you are a hangnail, not a wound. You have no core family. You have no contact with your family,and now they will know, they were right in staying away.
It’s over Tom…..give it up. You lose……You zero
NEWS FLASH..THE BROUHAHA OF BIALEK
I’m old….wait a minute, I’m older I’ve been around the block, (so they say), but not around ALL the blocks! I admit that gives me a limited amount of knowledge concerning some topics, so I’ll muddle thru this one.
I became aware of presidents about the time of Eisenhower. I was old enough to know about elections and remember being awakened by my parents saying he had won. At that time, if it was okay with them, it was okay with me.
Down the road, however, I’ve become more aware of those who choose to politic….They are not better than I am, their skin is just thicker. They may or may not be purer than I am, but I do believe I am a lot smarter about realizing the outcome of that answer, in certain fields of endeavor. I speak to this because it seems sexual error is the only area most people are interested in……Foreign policy, nah, taxing the hell out of everyone, nah, following laws that are already on the books, nah, firing inept people within the ZIPs in Washington, nah, checking on whether the troops have enough to keep them safe, nah. Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.
It’s the sex…..the who did what to whom, and when and where they did it! Tonight, when you put on your jams, think back over the list of politicians, from mayors to Presidents, who have realized after the fact, that men cannot make good decisions with their pants down…..even someone elses…..
Now I’m not saying that taking advantage of a person is acceptable. Selected abuse is abundant and should not be tolerated, period…regardless of age or sex. But this game of politics is rife with checking out those who seem to fall from the grace of another,( who has been, or is doing much of the same thing.)
So here is my plea……if we are going to acknowledge what Ms. Bialek said, let us I not stop with Herman Cain…….I’m sure there are many men who have made sexual advances to her in her lifetime……So lets, for the sake of the list, start in the 1990’s somewhere. If it is good to remind us of Herman, please remind us of others who have done you wrong, or attempted to. I feel it’s the only fair way to handle this……Otherwise, it would suggest that you are selecting Herman, and I don’t like that. I don’t like that at all.
Incidentally, that goes for all the OTHER girls and boys who want to play the game of politics…..name one, name them all.)
NEWS FLASH–(NOT) PAY AND PLAY, RIGHT HERMAN
Sorry Herman, you must be getting too close to being a frontrunner. Time to call in the ‘dirt’ squad. Never mind if it is true or false….dirt can cause one to disapapear…..and that’s what the squad wants. more later on today
JURY DUTY
We love the mail most of the time….except when we receive THE NOTICE…….for jury duty, that is. In fact, I think that rates above all the bills, even notices offering 3 days 2 nights in Cabo, for a time share offer.
It doesn’t happen very often….in fact mine only come once a year. I don’t know if that is good or bad news, or if I am the norm. But I am absolutely amazed at the way people regard jury duty,the lengths they discuss it, and if truth be known, the hours of sleep they lose prior to the date.
To me, it is a priviledge and honor being selected to serve. Hear me out now… cause I’ll get to the negative side soon enough. However, back to the being a potential juror…..First, they don’t just pick anyone, and ‘they’ are the attorneys for the prosecution and defense. Even the judge gets a shot asking the questions to best define your fairness and ability. Each side gets so many ‘you may be excused’ choices,before having to seat the jury.
We all know we are just the greatest so it can be quite a surprise when some total stranger says we will not be making the grade. I mean, after we’ve made it all the way there, having made arrangements for school, work, kids, supper, crafts, vacation, voting, becoming racist, having a relative who is an alcoholic, and another who was abused, and yet another in jail for tax evasion, we still feel the sting of not making the list (on the inside).
But that is not really what it’s all about…..being called for jury duty is being called up to be an American, a devotee of democracy, a follower of freedom, and champion of rights. Men and women have fought and died for the opportunity to serve. A trial by jury, tho not perfect, sure beats what we read about in other countries…..Remember a high school grad disappearing from Aruba…..or another being sent to jail for a murder she did not commit and just now freed……Kind of makes a jury and a country who says innocent until proven guilty……and beyond a reasonable doubt, incidentally, sound pretty damn good.
Potential jurors are treated with respect and held in high esteem, by those who run the courts. They do, I repeat DO understand that your life has been derailed, as far as you are concerned, and they are most sincere in making your stay as painless as possible. All you really have to do is have your badge and show up. There is coffee, music, TV, movies, food machines, games,and plenty of breaks to help you wait. I have served as a juror in 2 states and both have treated us as distinguished guests, excluding having to be checked for drugs, guns, and knives when we came thru the front door.
I have been on 4 juries and, in doing so, have met men and women from all walks of life. They chose to come forward and participate, and therefore represent the American judicial system in its best form. They were rich, poor,and middle; retired, students,and working stiffs; handicapped, without cars, and living long distances…….and yet they came and stood tall.
The days can be long on a jury, and also tedious. It is a position that should only be held by those who are ready and faithful. They must choose to render a truthful verdict based on questions and answers submitted to them. Notice I did NOT say….what they hear on TV, what they assume happened, what Aunt Sally hears at the shop, or generally, just how they feel about it.
Being part of a jury is good…it makes one stand a little taller, even a pinch smarter, and above all, a better person, for having done what was right.( in spite of having that uncle who evaded taxes, in 1898).
WEEKEND WITH MY SON
came for a rainy weekend..to see his mom, that’s me. Movies, eating out, TV, computer questions, ideas, friendship, more food, barnes/noble, mall, questions and answers, so nice just being grown up together.
seriouslyscorpio 