A ride in the country

April 10, 2006 8:53:27 AM - Got up late (again!). Fixed a cup of coffee and am drinking it now.

For lunch, I had a Southwest Taco Salad from the Wendy’s Restaurant on High Street. A week from today, they are scheduled to open in their new location (right next to their present location).

After lunch, I drove down to Crystal Springs, to make a delivery to Bank of the South. It was just so beautiful, today, that I wanted to go for a ride in the country.

For dinner, I had one-half cup of yogurt, one-half cup of cottage cheese, and one cup of milk. Right now, I’m drinking a diet soda.

Tonight, I’m going to try going to bed earlier than usual, to see if that will make a difference in how much I eat. I notice that I snack “after hours.”

Errands and chores

I got up shortly after the alarm on my Palm PDA woke me up at 8:30 AM. I fixed myself a cup of coffee with canned milk. I had already had my breakfast, of two pieces of bread, when I had gotten up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.

I surfed the Internet, looking at news and the CompUSA sales, then lay back down, pulling up the covers, since it was fifty-one degrees at 10:00 AM.

We listened to the Galloway church service from eleven o'clock until noon. The sermon was about Jesus riding on the donkey into Jerusalem. I emailed the pastor telling him that I enjoyed the sermon.

We ate lunch at noon. I had two eggs (egg substitute, actually) and water.

At one o'clock, I took Mother to do her errands: pharmacy (where we saw Mildred McGrew), the post office (where I received four pieces of mail), and the grocery store. We have switched to doing our errands on Sunday, instead of Saturday, because the grocery store offers a senior citizens' discount on Sunday (Wednesday, too, but Sunday is more convenient, because I don't have to work on Sunday).

I tried to telephone to Bill, twice, while we were out, but, both times, I got his answering machine, although I didn't leave a message either time.

At two o'clock, I mowed the front and back yards and pulled some of the branches, which could have scratched my car when I pull into the driveway, away from the street.

After I finished mowing the lawn(s), Bill called. They had been out, and, when they returned, they saw, from their caller ID unit, that I had called them.

Haircut, errands, eating out

I got up just before 6:00 AM and took a few photographs of my hair, before going to get a haircut. Then, I had a cup of coffee and played an April Fool's joke on Mother. I told her that I didn't sleep a wink last night, and she believed it. Then, I said, "April Fool's!" Hah, hah!

I got to the barbershop at 7:33 AM and was back home just a few minutes after 8:00 AM. Mr. Graham said that someone had broken into his shop and stolen the money out of the gum ball machine, which had been placed there twenty-five to thirty years ago (when he first moved there) by a local Civitan club.

After I got back home, I reheated and finished my morning cup of coffee. Then Mother and I went to the post office and the grocery store. On the way, I telephoned Bill and asked him what kind of soda pops they would like for us to have ready. He said Classic Cokes. They had not left home, yet.

It is now 9:53 AM, and I am waiting for 10:30 AM, when Mother and I will leave to pick up one of her prescriptions at the pharmacy, go to the Piccadilly Cafeteria for lunch, and the Home Depot to buy some more rocks for the driveway.

At the Piccadilly, I got the roast pork loin, broccoli casserole, macaroni and cheese, and a piece of garlic bread. I ate only the pork and brought the rest home for dinner.

When we got home from the Home Depot, I poured the rocks into the water puddles in the driveway. Then, I took out the garbage and the old newspapers.

I watched television, for a while, but there was nothing on that held my interest. I ate the piece of garlic bread that I brought home from the Piccadilly.

It is now 2:30 PM, and I'm sore, I guess from hauling those heavy bags of rocks.

No cash for you

I was panhandled, again. The last time was on the twenty-second of this month, only nine days ago. The company secretary says that the panhandlers find me wherever I go.

I had ducked into a local Walgreen’s drug store to buy a twelve-pack of diet Cokes, in preparation for this weekend’s visit by my brother and his family. As I was leaving, a black guy approached me.

Him: “Can you do something for me?”

Me: “What can I help you with?”

Him: “I’m trying to feed my little girl.”

Me: “I don’t have any money, but you can have these,” I replied, on a whim, thrusting the Cokes into the somewhat surprised man’s hands. “Will these help you?”

Him: “Yes, sir.”

We parted company. As I was getting into my car, I turned and saw him at a pay phone. Maybe he was calling some of his friends, perhaps asking one to panhandle for some chips and, another, for some dip. Sorry if I sound cynical, but I am. I have been panhandled so many times, I believe that I can tell, to some degree, if the individual is sincere ... or not.

I was panhandled today. My first encounter of the new year, with someone of the panhandling persuasion. I was approached while sitting in my car in the parking lot of the downtown post office.

The man's story was that he had just arrived from New Orleans. (Isn't he a little bit late getting out?) He said that he and his family were staying in a motel on Highway 80 and that he was trying to "build enough" to get some chicken wings and a loaf of bread. There was more to his story, and I just let him talk for a while, but, in my opinion, it was just a tale invented to generate money. No matter. I gave him five dollars. He asked me to join his family for dinner. I politely turned him down.

I got up early today and cleaned out the Ford Escort. We expected Mildred to call us and then come over to look at the car. The (new) battery was dead, so I took it up to the service station where Milton Chambliss works and had them to charge it up. I also got an inspection sticker for the car. (The one on the windshield had expired in 2004!)

Mother and I went on our regular errands. An employee of McDade's grocery store asked me if Mother had gotten her "license." It turns out that Mother's state-issued identification card was in the office! Whew. That was great. Now, I don't have to take off work to help her to get a replacement.

This afternoon, I checked the oil in the Escort. (It was fine.) I cleaned the leaves out from under the hood and the trunk lid. Mildred didn't call. Maybe she went to Natchez.

Just downloaded and "installed" the free version of MacJournal. I was thinking about buying the application, but I read a review of the pay version at MacWorld, where the reviewer wrote, "[S]ome users may find the freeware version enough to meet their needs," so I decided to try the freeware version.

Mother and I ate lunch at the Piccadilly Cafeteria on I-55 North. The cashier had trouble with the gift card, again, and we got our meals for free. The assistant manager suggested that I call the toll-free number on the back of the card to try to straighten things out. I did so, but the agent couldn't help me. She suggested that I have the balance transferred to a new card, the next time that we eat at Piccadilly.

We had dinner at the Wendy's Restaurant on High Street. We each had a quarter-pound, double stack burger and a side salad with creamy ranch dressing.

Also, today I put down three more bags of gravel on the driveway. Doing so made enough of a difference that Mother could get into the car without me having to move it all the way back to the street.

My humility

Last Friday, I needed to cash a check. I only had some loose change in my pocket: no bills. So I went to the bank. It was closed. Huh! I figured that the branch I went to must have gone out of business. Maybe they didn't have enough customers at that location. So, I went to another branch. When I saw that it, too, was closed, it finally dawned on me that all banks were closed because it was Veterans' Day! Aren't I observant?

I really needed to buy some gasoline, because the last time that I had fueled my car was last Tuesday, and I take my Mother to do her errands on Saturdays. I didn't want to run out of gas with my eighty-four year old Mother in my car, and, oh, yes, did I mention that the gas gauge in my car is kaput? I asked her if she could lend me some money for gas, just until the following Monday, when I could cash a check, and she gave me a Thanksgiving Day gift of five twenty-dollar bills! Thanks, Mom!

Anyway, today, I did go to the bank, to cash the check that I had written last Friday, and I pulled into one of the drive-up lanes behind an SUV. Well, the driver obviously didn't have the paperwork, e. g., a deposit slip, necessary to conduct her/his business, because I saw the cannister come back with something in it. Then, the individual spent what seemed like an eternity filling the form(s) out, before sending them back.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that it is expected that bank patrons are to have their paperwork prepared before presenting themselves in front of a teller. As a matter of fact, I have seen signs to that effect posted in banks, beside tellers' windows. I wouldn't dream of inconveniencing somebody by making them wait while I filled out a deposit or withdrawal slip. On more than one occasion, I have parked, gone inside the bank, gotten a slip, and filled it out, before returning to my car and proceeding to the drive-up window, just to keep such a scenario from occurring.

Why can't other people be as considerate as I am? In other news, I'm extremely proud of my humility!

Butt Crack

Since my brother and his family (wife, eleven-year-old twin girls, and an ancient cat) will be coming to visit during the week of Thanksgiving, I decided to wash the mountain of dirty clothes that I have been collecting in the kitchen. Actually, I only decided to wash one-half of the mountain this weekend; the other half, I plan to wash next weekend.

This weekend, I took all of my t-shirts and briefs, no dark clothing, so that I could use bleach, and get them really white. Even though I took only one-half of the clothes that needed washing, I still was going to need to use the "industrial strength, heavy duty, extremely huge" washer, the one that takes five dollars in quarters.

Before I could get going, however, I first needed to purchase some laundry detergent and some fabric softener sheets, so I went to the grocery store. Since a Books-a-Million was in the same shopping center as the grocery store, and since I had neglected to bring The New York Times crossword with me to pass the time, I went into the bookstore, looked around for a while and purchased a copy of Crime and Punishment.

Then, I went to the coin-operated laundry. Wouldn't you know it, the only five dollar washer was in use! Bah! I drove to a not-too-distant Walgreen's, in search of some chips, for a snack. Unfortunately, they didn't have Sun Chips, that type that I had a craving for. I drove on, ending up at a convenience store, which did have them. By the time that I got back to the laundry, another patron, a big, fat guy, whose butt crack I could see when he bent over, was loading his clothes into the big washer. Crap!

I drove downtown, to a convenience store which I knew had a cappuccino machine and got myself a cup. While I was out, I saw a red pickup truck with a bumper sticker which read: "Sorry I didn't make it to church. I was busy practing witchcraft and becoming a lesbian." When I returned to the laundry, I only had to wait about five minutes for the coveted washer. Yay! I loaded up my clothes and sat down to enjoy my coffee.

After I divided the clean clothes into two dryers, I opened my book and was able to read ten pages of it before the clothes were not only clean, but dry, too. I got back home at approximately twelve-thirty, which, since I had left at a little before ten o'clock, made my outing between two and one-half and three hours.

A deadly game

The government of North Korea continues to try to blackmail the United States into giving it aid.

[North Korean negotiator] Kim pressed Pyongyang's demand for an end to the U.S. sanctions imposed in October on eight companies accused of trafficking in nuclear, missile or biological weapons technology.

It was unclear whether those sanctions would have any effect, since the United States already bans trade with North Korea. But sanctions also were applied to a Macau bank that dealt with North Korean companies, disrupting Pyongyang's commercial activities.

"These kind of sanctions are in violation of the joint statement we have adopted and are going to hinder the implementation of the commitment we have made," Kim told reporters outside the North's Embassy.

Here's a news flash: The "commitment" referred to by Kim isn't worth the paper it is printed on.

Postage increase

Just keep it up, post office. You will price yourself out of existence. People will just turn more and more to using facsimile machines and email.

Video blogging

Review: Blogging Tools Need Integration

Operation Iron Fist

Thirty-six terrorists killed, so far (two days), in Operation Iron Fist.

"There's only so many of them out there," [Marine commander Col. Stephen W.] Davis said of the insurgents. "The enemy has a problem out here every time he shows up he gets bombs dropped on his head ... What you're seeing now is the dissolution of their network."

"Stingy" Americans?

I have been reading some articles on the Internet about how some of the developed nations are planning to forgive up to $55,000,000,000.00 in debt owed by some of the underdeveloped nations, and that's fine. What I am wondering, however, is this: Where is the money going to come from to pay off these debts?

What's that you say? The governments of the world's richest nations? But governments, themselves, don't have any money of their own. The only money that they have is money that is given to them, or coerced by them, from their own citizens. Isn't that correct?

Isn't it also true that the United States of America is generally conceded to be the "richest" country in the world? The individuals of which country, do you suppose, will shoulder the bulk of the burden of debt forgiveness? If you answered "the United States of America," how would you reconcile that with the suggestion by Jan Egeland, U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, that the United States is "stingy" with relief funds?

I'm just sayin'.

Freedom of speech

I am an American, and I am grateful that I am; however, the British are more reasonable than we, when it comes to free speech. Witness an article entitled "Universities told to spy on student extremists," appearing on TimesOnline. Although the title of the article is unnecessarily shrill, the contents prove to be enlightening.

“Following the London bomb attacks in July, we are all having to re-examine certain policies. One is how to respond to those using the freedoms of our society to promote terrorism and violence,” Ms Kelly said. “Freedom of speech or expression is one of the most fundamental rights that individuals enjoy. And higher education is a bastion of those values.

“However, freedom of speech does not mean tolerance of unacceptable behaviour. I believe that higher education institutions need to identify and confront unacceptable behaviour on their premises and within their communities.” Universities needed to be alert to the activities of student groups and “unafraid to set their own boundaries” about what was acceptable, using the law as support. “That means informing the police where criminal offences are being perpetrated or where there may be concerns about possible criminal acts,” she said.

“Universities and colleges have a duty to support and look after the moderate majority as they study, to ensure that those students are not harassed, intimidated or pressured.”

An invitation to commit fraud

In an article entitled "Government credit cards for Katrina expenses draw scrutiny," the Associated Press reports

About 250,000 federal employees have government credit cards, which typically have a purchase limit of $2,500. At the request of the Bush administration, Congress increased the credit line to $250,000 as part of a massive Katrina recovery bill approved last week. The aim is to make it easier to speed aid to victims.

This opens up a huge avenue for fraud, much greater than in the past, when the limit was only $2,500 per card.

Lunch

I was panhandled, today. I told the two men that I wouldn’t give them any money, but, if they would follow me into the Wendy’s Restaurant, that I would buy their lunch. They agreed.

Louisiana pork?

During the Bush Administration, Louisiana received more Corps money for flood control than any other state, but spent hundreds of millions of dollars on pork projects.

"The Blame Game"

Michelle Malkin's post The Blame Game focuses on criticism (warranted and un-warranted) of those responding to the crisis in New Orleans, Louisiana: the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and the flooding of the city.

Katrina

I live in Jackson, Mississippi, which is approximately 150 miles north of the Mississippi gulf coast and 200 miles north of New Orleans, Louisiana, areas which both suffered tremendously from hurricane Katrina and her aftermath.

The company that I work for closed at eleven o'clock Monday morning, August 29. Electric power failed at my home at 1:40 in the afternoon, and the storm blew through Jackson that night.

Tuesday morning, before I became aware of the extent of the problems, I drove in to work, arriving at 7:45 am. There was no one there. Since my boss is always there by that time, I turned around and went back home.

Tuesday night was very hot, and I did not sleep well. Wednesday, I opened four windows, windows which had probably not been opened for fifteen years. There was not much of a breeze, but at least some air was circulating, and I slept a little better.

Wednesday, I telephoned the company that I work for. There were only three people there, and the boss said not to worry about coming in until Thursday, when, he said, we would try to operate as normally as possible.

Today is Thursday, September 1. The last time that I filled my car with gasoline was last Friday, and, since the fuel gauge does not work, I am becoming concerned about running out of gas. Many of the gas stations are out of gas, and there are long lines at the stations that do have a supply. A television report told of a line of 200 cars at one gas station, which didn't even have any gas. There was a 50/50 chance of it receiving a tanker truck today.

Some gas stations that do have a supply have been closed to ordinary citizens, the gas being reserved to emergency vehicles only. The stations that supplies our company vehicles, while currently out, told my boss that they were expecting a delivery of fuel today, and that they would telephone to him before the tanker got there.

Also, I got a report that a station near my home is expecting a delivery today, but, as yet, I haven't been able to reach them by telephone.