Hello Dear Hearts!

Did everyone have a great Fourth Of July? Hope so!

I didn't get to go to Enigma for their fireworks show, 'cause T-Bird has a flying bud who flies some sort of stunt plane, and goodness knows we can't miss that (dripping with sarcasm). But he did put on a good show.
Of course, one of the perks of being friends with the airport manager here is that we got to watch the fireworks show at the airport. They shoot 'em off at one of our parks that is conveniently located next to the airport. Since they rope off the airport to keep spectators off of the runways, we get good seats without the crowd. We also have local cops who patrol the area during the Fourth celebration. One stopped and sat with us to eat his supper in peace.
We were sitting under a security light that was drawing some interesting insects, and we were complaining about the bugs. The nice officer offered to shoot out the light if we wished. But the manager declined the offer. After all, he would have to explain THAT to the city, and replace the thing.
Two years ago before he took that job, he was fussing about the light that was over his hangar door. If he and T-Bird were working on the plane at night, they had to fight off bugs. Another pilot went to his truck, pulled out his pistol, and shot the light out. Problem solved! What are friends for?

The county put on a good show, and we headed home when the traffic cleared. When we got to the neighborhood, our neighbors were shooting off their own fireworks, and we found both cats cowering in the kitchen. I had forgotten that they flip out on the Fourth of July, and then flip out again on New Years Eve when every gun in the county is fired. They settled down when they realized that Momma and Daddy were home, but not much.
We got up this morning and were watching t.v. when they showed some footage of fireworks shows across the country. That scared the dickens out of the cats again, and they were nervous all morning. You couldn't take a step without trippin' over a fur-ball.

They had just settled down when the storm hit. It poured rain, and at one point it hailed. Pea-sized hail stones don't do too much damage, thank heaven, so the vehicles and the garden were okay. But the thunder and lightenin' was MOST impressive. Every time there was a loud clap of thunder, the cats went on high alert. Then the storm got baaaaad. There was a sudden gust of wind that whistled through the air conditioner, and both cats disappeared. *POOF* GONE!
I didn't blame them at this point, and the thunder that jarred my trailer scared the crap out of me, too. And then, we lost power.
I looked out the front door, and there was Gerald from across the street, lookin' out his front door. With just his shirt on. WITHOUT his pants. WITHOUT underwear.
Time to shut the damned door. Aliens could have landed in the middle of the road, or they could have held the Rose Parade on my street. It just wouldn't be worth it to look out again. It's not the first time I've seen this sight, but I do hope it will be the last. If you're thinkin', "What is wrong with that man?", don't ask me. I'm clueless here.

When the storm broke we went to the grocery store for cat food. If music soothes the savage beast, cat food soothes the nervous one. I walked by the magazine rack on my way to the pet food department and saw a teenaged boy reading a magazine. Usually, this does not rate a comment, but this one was wearing a football helmet. With a face-guard. I was in and out of Harveys in record time. Today it rained cats and dogs, hailstones, and assorted nuts.

Yep. Assorted nuts. Plural. Another nutcase started screaming at a train passing through town. Then threw rocks at it. I think what prompted the engineer to call 911 was when he actually JUMPED onto the side of the train. Last I heard on the scanner, the cops were lookin' for him.

I am going to bed now. Me and the cats are gonna share some sedatives.

Wow.

July 3, 2008.

I got up today, got dressed in sneakers, jeans, and a decent shirt, and drove to my somewhat low-paying job.
I didn't have to put on a veil, a head scarve, or a burka.
And I did NOT have to be escorted by a male relative.
Which was great for me because my nearest male relative (my husband) is on my crumb list. BIG TIME!
We have had one heck of a fight, but he cannot have me stoned, beaten, or decapitated. 'Cause the laws of this country say he can't!
Another plus!
While I was on the job, I got into two seperate discussions about government and the current leadership of this country.
Nobody is going to beat my door down and haul me off to be shot, even if they want to. And if they HAD heard me, they would!
I can say whatever I want to, anywhere I want to, and there ain't one pea-pickin' thing anybody can do about it.
I went to Wal-Mart, and bought what I wanted. Well, not EVERYTHING I wanted, but I can be stupid about my money if I so desire.
And I am writing this on my new keyboard, that I got with my new computer! Yippee for moi!
And this is a dandy computer! I can surf the net and see whatever I want to. I can do whatever I want to with it.
And I'm gonna post this little piece of drivel. And if YOU want to read it or anything else on the net, you can do that, too!
If I feel like it I may do some pen and ink work. The subject matter is my call, and mine alone. It may be subversive, or pornagraphic in someone's opinion.
If you don't like it, that's okay. Free speech and all that.
I can sleep tonight in relative peace and security, because there are people out there who will protect me and mine as far as they are capable.
But if the worst should happen, we have protection in this house. Lots of it.
Tomorrow, me and T-Bird might drive to another county to see what is supposed to be a great fireworks display.
We have the right to do this, and even though I am certain that there will be a roadblock or two between here and there,
we will be allowed to proceed. As long as we are not posing some sort of threat to other folks.
A co-worker is spending a couple of weeks in Europe; she can go to wherever her husbands cash flow will allow, and trust me, she will.
Then she'll come back to the Good Old U.S. of A., whether I want her to or not. And I don't.
And Sunday morning, I can go worship the way I want to, and I can believe what strikes a chord in my soul.
I can pray to my God. It may not be what you believe, but you go do whatever it is that your faith calls for.
If you want to.
Or go fishin'.

It may not look like much of a life to you.
Sometimes, it doesn't look like much of a life to me.
But if the opportunity presents itself, I can change it for the better.
And I can work for a change of life for all of us, if I see a way to do it.

All because, generations ago, a group of people decided to make their own way, and their own country.
And it was cemented by thousands of flag-draped caskets, and millions of mother's tears.

Is it a perfect country? Nope.

But it's the best one we've got. It STILL has possibilities.

Have a wonderful Fourth of July ya'll. And stay safe.

Please excuse Slick's absence from Blogstream over the last few days. She was The Mother Of The Bride on Saturday, and is experiencing a mild case of Empty Nest Syndrome. She will hand in a report in a day or two, if she can do so without sobbing. Or turning cartwheels down the road, depending on her frame of mind, which is now slightly warped. Thank you for your support.

On Friday the 13th we got another Come-To-The-E.R. call. My step-son and his wife had wrecked their Blazer.

Dammit! It feels like we just got my son home from the hospital, and here we go again!
So I called T-Bird and told him what little bit I knew, and hauled butt for the car.

I turned off of the dirt road, drove maybe a quarter of a mile, rounded a small curve, and saw nothing but flashin' lights.
Law enforcement, firetrucks, and a roll-back in the middle of the road. With traffic stopped I couldn't see what was going on, but with the roll-back present, I knew it was a wreck.

When traffic moved a little, I could see the vehicle. It was across the ditch, upside down, and pretty much flattened. Stuff from the vehicle scattered EVERYWHERE.

It took a minute to realize that it was Step-son's Blazer; it was mashed that flat. Now the thought: "Were the grandkids in that thing??!!?"

I couldn't get to the hospital fast enough. I got behind every law-abiding citizen in the county, and had to stop at every redlight. When I finally made it to the E.R. and T-Bird, the kids were being checked out, so nobody knew anything yet.

It took an hour to find out that the grandkids were fine-------not so much as a scratch on either child-------and Step-Son and his wife just needed a few stitches.

They say the wife was driving, and they came up on a car stopped in the road. She went to pass them on the left, and saw another vehicle coming over a small rise. She took evasive action that put them in the ditch, and then over-corrected. The blazer flipped over. The other drivers hauled ass, and nobody knows who they may have been. They didn't stop to help, as I understand it.

That's their story, and they're stickin' with it. From the looks of the tracks in the ditch, and the position of the truck, I'm wonderin'.................. She was charged with Failure To Maintain Lane. And the Blazer was totalled. So.......... the fact that this is a curvy, hilly piece of road with double Don't Even Think About Passing lines tells them nothing???!?? I guess not!

Thank God for seatbelt laws, and guardian angels.

Two or three months ago we got the Please-Come-To-Wal-Mart-And-Get-The-Baby-We-Are-In-Trouble call from the same kids.
Only Fort Knox has more security than a Wal-Mart store, so only a moron would think about shoplifting. They didn't even stop to think about what happens with babies when Momma and Daddy go to jail.
If the arresting officer had not known ALL of us ALL of his life, we couldn't have gotten their silly asses out of jail that day.

Never mind Mother's Day and Father's Day.

I want Combat Pay.

Maybe I'm jaded.

Maybe I'm old.

Perhaps I am just weary.

Or like Grandma said:

"Soured on life."

Whatever, I'm missin' somethin' here.

Yesterday, when I saw the toilet in the master bath in pieces I thought there might be a story behind it, but I wasn't sure I wanted to know about it. Much less be involved somehow.

I've been "involved" with "projects" like that before. I ain't stupid. I turn instantly into The Amazing Invisible Housekeeper. I remember when Bossling replaced the wax ring under the old one a few years ago. I wound up "involved" in that. It still makes me shudder....................................

So I just cleaned around this plumbing project, and let it go.
In the other bathroom I found that the old toilet had been replaced with a shiny new one. That explained the toilet in pieces in the other bathroom. Both were being replaced.

New plumbing does not excite me, especially if it isn't mine. And ESPECIALLY if I have to clean it. But when Bossling diddy-bopped into the office on some errand this morning and stopped by the desk to say hello, I said "That's a purty pair o' potties ya'll got." And I said it in my best Southern Redneck-ese. I'm pretty fluent. Ya'll didn't know I was bi-ling-you-all.

WELL, he was THRILLED with the new thrones, and went into great detail about the awesome flushing ability of these things. He says "Whatever you put in there it's GONE!!!! WHOOSH, outta there!" You just touch the handle and it'll suck it down!!!!!" And he just raved on. He was positively "flushed" with happiness. I'm just relieved to have one that flushes, and enough rectal ribbon for the job.

Well.............okay then! He has two Turbo-Charged Turd-Buster 2000's. I'll jump up and down with joy later. I ain't feeling the Joy right now.

Before I left the office to go to the house I caught Bosslady in her office. I said "He's tickled about those new toilets, isn't he?" She started laughing and told me he would just stand there and flush them repeatedly, and was overjoyed at flushing things DOWN them. Then she told me how , while the family was in the living room watching t.v., he'd send their son into the bathroom to flush the commode, just to hear the flush. She had to yell at him to knock it off.

And the new toilets DO make an impressive sound as far as toilet flushes go. I have to go clear to Wal-Mart-------all the way across town!------- to hear power-flushing like that. This will be convenient for me.

She did say how the noise scared the family dog. But Hell, butterflies scare that animal.

I do wish they had told me about the New Additions to the household, though.

I would have bought a gift.