I Feel Mr. Brown's Pain

Poor guy got shafted all the way around and now he's got to face Congress. I liked what he had to say here. The bad part is the Dems (Dims?) in charge won't be allowed to give him a break and the Reps will be accused of political brown-nosing (Oh God, don't take that like it sounds!) if they do. Anyone doing his job at that time would of been hung out to dry. It's not his fault that he had to deal with Louisiana and the worst natural disaster on record.

NOW I'm Feeling Kinda Guilty!

Thanks to the deities that Rita took pity on Houston/Harris County and was a No Show. Thanks even more that my casa was spared the agony of losing electricity! I've had satellite throughout, my DSL worked flawlessly and my phone service was never interrupted. My only complaint is that I missed all the new shows on NBC, CBS and ABC due to local broadcasting of the traffic horrors. I couldn't even sign up for the Chronicle's Blogger Reports because I had nothing to report!

SO now I feel kinda guilty. Like survivors of plane crashes do only on a minuscule level. My brother in Hemphill has no electricity and no phone and is probably running out of cold beer and it was expected that they were far enough away for the storm not to be a problem! He had folks evacuate to his place to be safe!

I felt so bad that when the neighbor next door ran an extension cord across the street to the neighbor directly across from him, I did the same with the one across from me. The trucks on in my Hood today and everyone will be cool and comfortable tonight. Good deal!

If there was some way to run my extension cord to Hemphill, I would! But knowing my bro tho he has scored a generator and at least has a fan running.

It goes without saying, but I've never been one to not state the obvious ..... it's the little pleasures in life we take for granted until we lose them. Like being able to bitch about the price of gasoline while we are pumping it into our over priced gas guzzlers. Or griping about the crap on TV as we waddle to the fridge to pop another brewski. Or being able to walk though the house instead of wadding through the flood waters. The best plan is that man (and that included woMAN) is an adaptable creature. God sure knew what She was doing, huh!

Best "After" Article

Check it out at Ken Hoffman's A Little Disappointed, A Lot Relieved. He always does a good job of cutting to the heart of the matter and telling folks what he thinks is the matter!

Don't Mess With The Best

Law Enforcement in Harris County Texas has zero tolerance for looters. It just won't happen here. Some of Sheriff Thomas's finest are actively searching for a passel of looters in the Wal-Mart store off F.M. 1960 even as I type and they won't rest until all the culprits have been rounded up and hauled to the Inmate Processing Center. I applaud both their attitudes and their skills.

Come to think of it, now is as good a time as any to say how proud I am of the Houston and Harris County power base that worked seemingly effortlessly with FEMA and The Red Cross and Metro, etc. I was impressed with all facets that planned and executed the evacuation and particularly the way no one was trying to pass the blame if plans did not go as smoothly as hoped. I feel that is a talent learned through experience, intelligence and maturity. How easy it is to whine and finger point and deny personal responsibility these days. You-know-who in N.O. comes instantly to mind. I believe that the unspoken, or perhaps not spoken to the media, agreement was that our guys and gals were going to bend over backwards to show the world that Texans know how to get the job done right! And darn if they didn't do just that!

Ready For Rita

I've got a TV on all day, two radios tuned to 740 AM and even my Harris County Sheriff's scanner broadcasting and as near as I can figure from the deluge of information being widely disiminated by all in authority: We are going to die.

However, just in case we don't, they say you better have lots of water, etc. and don't be shocked if the power is off for two weeks, etc., etc. I think the bottom line is if you do die it's your fault for not heading The Word.

I'm doing what I can to be a good former Girl Scout. The Boy Scouts were told to Be Prepared. The Girl Scouts were told to clean up after the Boy Scouts and keep our mouths shut. My main hurricane preparations have been to get my washing done and make sure all the dishes are clean.

I've never seen the eye of a storm as tight as this one. It is scary, but once you're done all you can, you just have to trust that God will take care of the rest.

Cody Is 12 Years Old Today!

Today is Cody's 12th birthday! That's quite a feat for a large dog. He acts just like a puppy most of the time too. He was raised on Eukanuba dry dog food, which I consider the best in the biz. After his TPLO surgery I switched him to Iams canned and dry. I alternate Iams Lamb and Rice with Iams Beef and Rice. Today he got Beef and Rice for his birthday repast. Now he's stretched out digesting and wondering what a wonderful day he'll have today. Here are two snapshots to mark the occasion. I aplogize for the poor quality, but without using a flash, it was the best I could come up with. He's not fond of the camera and moves so fast just as I snap the shutter that it's usually easier to catch him in the yard when he's lighted better and capable of distractions.

Where Do The Shopping Carts Come From?

Is the Red Cross giving out shopping carts to evacuees to put their belongings in? If not, where are they getting them? I've been to the Dome dozens of times and Reliant a few and dang if I ever saw shopping carts for the taking.

And on another touchy subject.... how can you lose your children? Especially your little kids? I'm pretty sure I'd drown before I went off and left my kids. They can't all of been with their daddys on the other side of town! I must be missing something because that just doesn't ring true to me.

But now it's clear why the illustrious Mayor Ray Nagin is whining and cussing..... he sees the chance to make some bucks! He'll probably end up doing quite well financially once the Feds gets through paying him off.

It's Never To Early To Campaign

My take on the N.O./Katrina/Blame Some White Boys fiasco….

Give me a break! It’s gone from merely sad to downright ridiculous. Why are President Bush and his whole friggin’ administration taking heat for a natural disaster? The only evidence I’ve seen that even remotely hints at a slower than normal recovery process is being spoon fed by CNN, etc. And just when did the Federal Government become responsible for every facet of our lives? Come to think of it, I can’t think of a single, solitary thing the Government has ever done for me or mine and we like it that way!

If you listen you’ll hear the most vocal are the most malcontented and the ones that hope to boot the Republicans out of office by hook or by crook. Even a Democrat must know that at the beginning the Federal Government had no business rushing into the Gulf Coast and taking over. The States have rights and the citizens should look first to their own State for assistance. Now President Bush “took responsibility today for federal government mistakes in dealing with Hurricane Katrina” and that’s just wrong. As wrong as Mr. Brown taking the rap and leaving his job at FEMA.

Who are the malcontents? As usual when the race card is played, Jesse Jackson has his mug in front of the cameras pointing and, guess what, he’s a Democrat. Then there’s Louisiana's Democratic governor, Kathleen Blanco; Mayor Ray Nagin, Democrat ; Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va.; Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.; and, of course, the Democratic Senator from N. Y. who wants to be President. They are all beating their drums trying to make sure the Democrats have a chance at coming back politically.

Well I’ll never vote for any of them and if this keeps up I predict the backlash from people who think as I do will be terrible and swift. People are donating and trying to do everything humanly possible to ease the suffering and they aren’t going to take kindly to being constantly criticized. The malcontents are not just bashing Mr. Bush, they are bashing each and every one of us that are trying to aid and comfort. Have you seen even one picture of any of the above scooping up dead bodies and bagging them or standing in a dank warehouse sorting through tons of unmarked donated clothes, or making and delivery food etc.? Ha! No, I didn’t think so. I’m proud of my President and this country and I respect the tremendous job that FEMA and the military and all the volunteers are doing. God bless them all!

I Blame It On Pacman

In 1980 PacMan was the hottest game in town and I blame the way people drive in traffic today on that very same game. I know that Pong was actually the first computer game, but IMHO PacMan was what let the manic out of the man. The object was to win and to win you had to gobble up everything in sight….. I think that gobble mentality has been pervasive in every facet of our daily lives.

People used to let you “in” more and not be so aggressive in traffic jams. They used to stop at stop signs. They used to use either turn indicators or hand signals and not just expect folks to read their mind about the direction they intend to go. I learned to watch people’s head for clues as to what they had in mind, but then they started putting window tint on so heavy it’s more difficult to see the head….. well …..and that’s if a head is visible and not almost completely lying down in the back seat!

When we first got Right On Red, the rule was to come to a complete STOP and then you could turn Right, unless otherwise forbidden, if the way was clear. Now they don’t even bother to slow down and they get mad at the oncoming traffic if it’s in their way.

Used to if people saw a sign that indicated they had to go straight, no turns allowed, they knew what that sign meant. Same can be said for the signs that said you had to turn… going straight wasn’t an option. Now folks just do whatever they want and get sore if the cops pull them over. The speed limit is how fast your car can go. The right of way is whoever gets ahead of you. Tailgating is how you ‘encourage’ the guy ahead to get out of your way. I don’t foresee it getting any better any time soon either. I guess my best course will be to go ahead and dye my hair blue or white and get a big Lincoln or Caddy and putt down the road oblivious to all around me.

Get Checked

I saw this in the Chronicle today......

"It is estimated that more than 18 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, although some do not know it. The number of people with diabetes is believed to have tripled in the past quarter-century."

I've had "it" for 12 years. It's no fun. In fact, it sucks. I recently had a health care authority tell me that diabetes is "a progressive disease".... no shit, Sherlock. Who knew?! The best one can hope for is to keep the beast at bay, and there in lies the rub. The wisest thing you can do is find out if you have it and then deal with it if you do. Diabetes is forever. It doesn't grow up and move away after 20 or so years. You can't get a divorce from diabetes. You can't ligate it either. You can pretend you don't have it or ignore that you do, but it'll bitch slap you sooner or later to get your attention. For sure, it's one of those 800 pound gorillas.

A Single Dove

They say “one is the loneliest number” and they are right.



All my life I’ve heard that doves mate for life. I’ve been Googling today and can’t confirm that, but I did find some interesting Dove Sites. What I didn’t realize was that it’s not “morning dove”, like I’ve always thought, its by-God “Mourning dove”! No wonder they release them at funerals! There are links all over the WWW for funeral releases.

I have one sweet little dove that lives in my yard. I’ve seen her time and time again. I think she is a widow because she is always by herself and in with a flock of sparrows. Years ago I remember seeing a dove grieving by the side of the road, watching over the dead body of another dove. I just knew that was her mate lying there. I don't know if this is the same dove or not, but she reminds me of me. I’ve been single, through no choice of my own, for nine years come December 17, 2005. Right now, when fall is in the air, I get melancholy and miss him as much now as the day he went away. A bucket or so of tears will fall and then I’ll pick myself up and dust myself off and keep going because that’s all a single dove can do.

Here’s my favorite picture of my sweetie …..

What ya gonna do when they come for you?

New Traffic, Criminal Laws went into Effect September 1.

Check 'em out at TDPS.

My favorite one is:

HB 225 extends the renewal time for a CHL from four to five years, which will reduce the average annual cost of a license.

and

HB 1038 reduces CHL renewal fees by 50 percent for anyone over 60 years of age.

What A Loser!

Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans is sure no RUDOLPH W. GIULIANI. If he can't keep his big mouth shut they ought to lock him up. What has he done besides run his mouth at the media? Shit rolls downhill and as the mayor, the pile is at his feet now and he's just whining and complaining and cursing as if that will help. I know nothing about the man, but I'll bet he's a Democrat...