Eat this

In a market already saturated with restaurants and fast food outlets, Johnson City has gone gaga over the prospect of a Tupelo Honey Cafe franchise locating in town. Well, the wait is over as the parent company of the restaurant announced they would locate in our fair city. It is to be situated downtown therefore tying its fortunes on the revitalization of a part of the landscape that I think should be leveled and made into a green space dedicated to the futility of urban renewal when, in fact, ol’ Urb don’t want to be renewed.

The Olympics are a few days old now and I’ve yet to catch an event on TV. Every time I try to see what’s happening, all I get is a bunch of talking heads attempting to explain in detail all the things I don’t want to know. Being as they are showing the day’s events in replay, it looks like they could cut-out some of the inane (insane) verbal “expert” garbage and home videos of the participants as small children and get down to the competitors doing their thing.

Mitt Romney tells the Polish press via his spokesman to ” kiss my ass” and to “shove it” while campaigning in Warsaw in an attempt to garner that conservative nation’s much needed Catholic votes. Uh, Mr. Romney; Poland is not one of the voting districts of the USA and there are probably not more than two-or-three tea partiers living within its borders. I suppose you are just passing through on your way to Switzerland to make a deposit in your Christmas Club account at one of that nation's famous banks.

Have a Tuesday!

New pumps

I gotta brand new pair of shoes! First I’ve bought in many years. For ages I bought only New Balance walking shoes because the ones I liked were made in USA. I can no longer find the domestic ones, so I ended up trying a new brand called ProPet which, of course. are Chinese made. I require shoes with Velcro straps because of my unpredictable fingers and wrists. They seem to fit well and feel good but I know it will take a lot of bunion and callous pads to get them comfortable. They were bought from Amazon, but I recommend ShoeBuy instead; their prices are a bit higher but they have very good return policies and delivery times.

Courtney has her first blog posted from her new home in California.

Romney is going to visit Poland; Jola is fortunate to be away at this time.

Have a good Worshday!

Young and old

Sammy was with us both Friday and Saturday for several hours each visit. He don’t nap much anymore; thirty minutes Friday and none yesterday.
Eight weeks back, he could stand under my desk with a little head clearance; now the top of his head is at least an inch (25mm) higher than the bottom of my desktop. Kids do most of their growing in summer, I suppose.

In court Wednesday in a case heard shortly before mine; Discover Card versus and old woman. Not just an old woman, she is ninety years old, suffering from acute dementia and nearly deaf. Her son was with her, explaining the situation to the judge and the prosecuting lawyer. The woman has no recollection of using the card any later than 1987; the judge was nice and told her she needed to have an attorney and reset the hearing date until October. She obviously doesn’t have any money and her son wasn’t dressed in finery either so I don’t know how she can afford legal counsel. Our government has all but shut down free legal aid to poor people, leaving folk like her in a bind.

No matter how desperate our problems seem to get, there is always someone in much more physical, mental, or financial distress than are we and our corporate nation cares not at all. Wake up, America!

Have a good week a’coming.

Mid-week

All went as good as could be expected yesterday. The doctor said I was in very god shape for my ages except for the RA. I came out of court with payments I could barely afford which will likely play into my knee surgery scenario. Ah well, we live moment by moment.

Another thing that has gotten us behind this month is that Carolyn did not receive her Social Security check which was due on the third Wednesday. She called the bureaucracy and they informed her that her check had indeed been sent but said they would send her a replacement. Also, one of her accounts didn’t pay her this month and and all this has put us in a bit of a hole. By month’s end, we should be ok, however. The cosmic karma is about to send the eagle of prosperity to shit on my head.

Got my shot today and tomorrow comes the Man. I desperately need one of his hugs.

Have a good Thursday!

Ride Sally Ride!

Back when I still thought there was a possibility of America having a great future, our first woman astronaut flew aboard the space shuttle, reinforcing my optimism. Sally Ride, who inspired a lot of women around the world with her pioneering journey, died recently.

Carolyn took the Escape to the mechanic yesterday. He found no electrical problems and ended up cleaning the fuel injectors. He said he was getting more and more cars with the same problem and that it was more than likely due to bad gasoline. He said a person should find a station they trust and buy all their fuel there. Knowingly selling bad gasoline is more of America’s moral and economic decay.

This is going to be a crappy week. Tomorrow morning I go to my doctor for annual checkup. In the afternoon I have to appear in court so a creditor can obtain judgement against me. I can tolerate the judgement decree, but I will have to stand on the crutches for an unknown time until my case is heard. These two things should envelope my entire day. Thursday is shot day again and hopefully Friday will be Sammy day; he can quickly cure an entire week full of ills.

Have a Tuesday!

Center stage

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players …
~William Shakespeare

I think W. Shakespeare pretty well realized most of the strengths and frailties of the human spirit. I also believe that most of us live at least a double standard and each of these standards comes with an assortment of faces we show the public, our friends, our enemies, and our families … and sometimes even ourselves. We play our roles as we see fit and as the whims of life tell us to. My own roles have been many and varied, I suppose.
I was thinking; it seems that in the last few years my role–never one of great importance–on life’s stage has become less pertinent as younger faces reciting shiny and important new words written in updated scripts have slowly replaced my time-worn and dog-eared pages. At the same time, I realized that I hardly used a script after I became used to my groove (rut?)in my continuing road of living and I doubt that most people do; life’s mature players simply ad-lib along. That is not to say I am comfortable with my journey; when a person becomes complacent they are asking for an awakening slap across the mouth from the people they most trust, not to mention the pains and sorrows their enemies have planned for them. Ad-libing is much easier than following a script; words and directions written for us, even if they were written by us, become stale and and we end up having to alter facts just to make them fit our view of the times. I am guilty of altering facts at times as I ad-lib them because in simple situations, saying a little white lie to ease me through is much better than having to face a big and complicated truth all at one time. My brain has learned a bit from my worn knees: small steps are less complex or painful to deal with than are huge strides. Older people are never suspected of knowing the truth about much, anyway.
Anyway, live your life on your terms but don’t forget that you really are on a stage and you should try to say or do something either silly or pertinent. One good aside can save a lifelong mediocre performance.

Have a good week.

Yesterday ... and today

Yesterday was rather busy; up early and to doc’s office for my shot and then off to the south end of town for a mechanic to take a look at the Escape. It has redeveloped the engine miss like it had last winter. He was busy so we have to take it back Monday for computer analysis. From there it was back to the west side and the post office where we get our pension checks and then to the bank. From there to on to a quick, take-out breakfast/lunch and off to the north side of town and Home Depot where Carolyn had to buy a few janitorial supplies. It was past two-o’clock when we got back home and I was very tired.

Sammy is coming today; I should be weary again by the time he leaves at around four this afternoon. It will be a good weary, though.

Have a great weekend, y’all!

It's not easy being green

I think I have let it be known that I have all but divorced myself from the Democratic Party and it is very obvious I have never had any relationship other than animosity toward the self-serving Republican party. With Mark’s input, this year I have decided to support the Green Party of the United States. The Greens seem to have most of the things in their platform which I miss from the old “New Deal” Democratic party which was alive and well until the Vietnam fiasco ended Lyndon Johnson’s presidency.

One of the many things that do need changing to help the party to succeed is to find a better name than “Green”. I’m sure none of us have anything against the color green, and in some European countries green parties have had some good (and bad) impact.

In the U.S., the words “politics” and “green” together have been stigmatized into a derisive term, “tree huggers”. Most Americans who will even give it a thought when asked if they know what the Green Party is and who its candidates are will probably answer with their own question, to wit, “Isn’t that the tree huggers” whom they know as environmental extremists and elitist activists.

I applaud the Green Party for is stance and fight against the wanton destruction of the environment of the only world we have; I say for the most part, tree huggers, elitists, and other activists are sorely needed. What I don’t applaud is the name “Green” attached to a party, even a very liberal party that wants to be a player on all stages of reform through politics. “Green” is going to do nothing more than turn off the average Joe and Jane voters because the “tree hugger” stigma will be the first thing that pops into their minds. We need a new name for the party which the American people can positively adhere to. Americans need to know there is much more to the Party; we have good ideas for the economy, infrastructure, political reform, environment, foreign diplomacy, healthcare, education, and stern controls on big finance and businesses that have learned to master most legislation from the local level on to the federal level by using the influence of lots of money and strong-arm power.

Let’s be much more than “those tree-hugger guys”; let’s get the ball rolling to save this country before it is too late. What is your idea for a new name for the party which encompasses what the majority of American people want the country to be?

Have a green Wednesday!

To shower or not to shower ...

Latest member of the Carta family

Tammy has a new friend. I know she is ecstatic to once again have two lories to fuss at her while she works.

I wouldn’t mind being a Wal-Mart greeter for awhile; wouldn’t that make an interesting opening chapter for memoirs?

I am threatening to take a shower and it is not even mid-week yet.

Have a Tuesday!

Two for the ages

Kitty Wells 1919 — 2012

Jon Lord 1941 — 2012

Monday moans

East Tennessee

Jeremy and Courtney are settling in and are living near Los Angeles. Courtney already has a job and Jeremy has some good prospects. Good luck, young’uns.

Sammy was here Friday and again Saturday. He slept a lot of the time; he must be a tomcat at night. He did manage to stay awake long enough on Friday to completely tire-out his old g.grandpaw.

We got enough rain in the past few days to make the grass green again; still rains nearly every night.

Off the net since Friday night; someone hacked my modem. It was mysteriously back in service this morning.
Didn’t sleep well last night. Hope to be back in full swing by tomorrow.

Photo made Thursday morning near where I live.

Have a good Worshday!

Friday rain

Wringers … should’ve saved this for Worshday

Sammy is coming back today; he won’t be here long but I am looking forward to seeing him.

I am officially supporting recommending and supporting the Green Party of the United States and all of it’s candidates for public office. I hope that American readers of this blog will take the time to compare the Green Party with the bought-and-paid-for offerings of the two major parties.

All this rain is certainly welcome but I am now wishing it would spread itself out over a few weeks instead of several days at a time.

Carolyn is teaching herself to text on her new phone. I have never texted and don’t intend to begin and she now thinks she knows something that I don’t know. I cannot convince her not to drive and talk on the phone at the same time and now I have to worry about her texting while driving. I hope she doesn’t kill or maim anyone.

The photo was made with the Droid X phone camera.

Have a great weekend!

Bridge

Cross the bridge but don’t burn it behind you because a friend may be standing on the other end awaiting your return.

No Sammy today, perhaps Friday. He is spending time with his dad.

Afghanistan: Six American soldiers killed defending a scab on the ass of he earth and it is barely reported by our glam-seeking media. The world is going to hell in a hand basket while we capitalists continue to blindly chase another inflated dollar.

Have the Mother of all Wednesdays!

Telstar

By golly, I like my tab computer. I imagine a 10-inch tablet can replace laptops--and even some desktops--for a lot of people. I've already got Netflix and Youtube on board, and the silly thing can even operate as a tv remote control. Pisses-off Carolyn when I am reading my e-book and all of a sudden her tv channel changes or the sound mutes. I can act as innocent as anyone.

Sammy was here yesterday but he slept much of the time; he is supposed to be back for an encore tomorrow.

Finally got a bit of rain and there is thunder to the west of me as I write this. Still need a couple days worth of steady drizzle to soak the ground.

Have a Tuesday!

Carpe Jugulum

Neil Young’s entire Americana album

Sammy is here!

Have a great Worshday!

Days Like This

Jeremy and Courtney are finally settled in California; it was not the easiest move to make but make it they did. I will let them tell of their journey with its trials and tribulations on their own blogs. Anyway, my congratulations to them for persevering in the face of extreme adversity.

Sammy is doing well, according to the doctor. He got two more shots and a finger prick which did not please him. He is to quit using baby formula and begin with whole milk. He has a toothbrush and must use it. He needs to be read to but whomever does that will have to be fast on their feet because he is constantly on the move.

Megashot seems to be moving forward very well with many new talented members from Southeast Asia joining in the past two weeks. There are many more page loads now, and the sites popularity is quickly advancing. As much as I dislike Facebook, I must admit Megashot’s tie-in with the social site has paid mega-dividends both ways. I understand that version 2 of the site is coming along well and I know for a fact that it will be easy to use, very customizable, and even more exciting than at present. At that, the present version is still the best photo site on the web. Megashot.net is the best of everything photographic.

I’ve had a relapse the past couple of days; yesterday I was barely able to get out of bed. I fear the shots are not going to work, either. However, I am going to try to give them another two weeks to do their thing. My hands and fingers were so sore I could not hold my new ebook to read. Today is better but not near as good as was last week.

Have a good summer week, my friends!

Darling Clementine

Happy weekend!

Carolyn has gone to take Sammy for his medical checkup; he is still tugging at his right ear.
Hooray!

• Hooray for Europe following Poland's lead in slapping down ACTA.

• Hooray for France for taxing the richest citizens and companies.

I was planning to have a decent 4th when the doorbell rang and it was a process server with an appearance warrant for me due to an unpaid debt. So, I am getting sued ... again. I've been to the courthouse so much in the past two years that workers there think I am just another employee.

CitiMortgage sold the mortgage on our old house to PennyMac. PennyMac is a company founded in 2008 by the officers of Countrywide Financial which is the one company most responsible for the housing market fall and the mess I am in.

Got my shot yesterday; if the liquid medicine is going to work, it should begin doing so within a couple of weeks; until then, I will struggle on with soreness and feeling of perpetual tiredness on some days days, like the last two have been. Actually, I am much better than what I was two weeks ago.

I will try to answer the comments from the past few days when the fingers decide to work together.

Have a good Friday.

Happy Birthday U.S.A.

Link to photo information

Birthday Buddy

In about three months, Keegan will be home on leave for a while, then off to Germany. Hope he can stay away from Afghanistan.

Perfection! The moment we awaken each morning is perfect; everything is fresh and nothing is required … but only for a moment and then life reasserts itself. If we can but stretch the essence of that fleeting second to last throughout our waking day we shall have found heaven.

I know it is big argumentative, but my pick of the three best musical performers of the late hippie age were Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin. I believe that Janis performing with Big Brother and the Holding Company was the best electric blues ever performed.

 Happy Birthday, Little Buddy!

Have a Tuesday!

Hotel California

Jeremy and Courtney are in Los Angeles, Calif. and are almost to their apartment as of 11:40 this morning.

We had some dandy thunderstorms at around midnight last night. It is only the second time in my life that I’ve seen lightning flashing continuously for more than a few minutes; the show lasted for more than one-half hour before slackening. However, we got only the edge of the storms; about three minutes of hard rain. The grass is still brown.

We are up to our ears in June bugs, they are all over the yard; most I’ve seen since I was a kid.

Sammy had a good birthday party; he mostly held one person’s or another’s hands and walked. There were several small kids there and all he wanted to do was follow them around. Ashley’s dad has him spoiled.

Have a great Worshday!

Weekend update

Sammy reaching for g.grandpa

Friday was Carolyn’s and my 48th wedding anniversary; the day eased by with little to note its passing. Outside temp hit 102°F.

Ashley had Sammy his first birthday party yesterday; he was ill and sleepy at first but finally ate some sugary birthday cake and then he went hyper. He was a joy for all of us. Outside temp hit 103° (39.44°C).

Jeremy and Ashley are about to exit Texas; they stopped for lunch in Dallas yesterday. Courtney tweeted that they were invaded and infested by grasshoppers somewhere in W. Texas. They both agree–”Texas is too damned big and too damned flat”. She also said that Mississippi roads are miserable to ride on. They say they will be on the coast of California tomorrow morning.
Shucks, I thought Georgia was flat.

Have a good Sunday and a great week, my friends.