I've Got a Laundry List...

of gripes, rants and other to do's...but I'll save them for phone calls with the Soldier Spouse...since they fall in his area.

Today (rather tonight) I want to say my bit on something that's been triffling at my mind for the past day or so. Now, don't think me a heartless bitch...I'm not. I sympathize, I feel and I'm downright heartbroken for the horrific scenes occuring in Haiti. I wish I had the skills to be useful there, I would go. I wish I did have the money to send...but unfortunately I do not.

"Just send your cash."

You've seen that, right? Well, that has me a bit wrung out. You see, Mr. Bush (W)...my cash is a little tied up right now in a huge list of taxes and bailouts. I pay school taxes on a school that we don't use/support. I pay sales taxes on everything from fast food to toilet paper (easy to confuse one for the other I might add). I pay city, county, state and federal taxes that show me little to no return for my investment. I bailout huge corporations and banks with my measly dollars and cents. Corporations and banks that have been practicing shady transactions for decades and now find themselves floundering.

I'm miffed at your statement, Mr. Bush (W) because...well...if it were me (and it has been) I would have had to stand in front of a bankruptcy judge and explain how the hell I got myself into such a dismal state of affairs. But then, if it were me...I'd be ashamed of the fact I was there at all. You see, I have that...shame. I'm not "too big to fail"...I do it all the time, then pick myself up and brush myself off and take the first step in a new direction. There in lies the key of the situation...a new direction. Not hope...not always change...making a new choice and recognizing what put you in the dirt in the first place is the way to go.

I'm also miffed because I know (because I've seen) that all those dollars and cents that get donated...well...they don't always make it to the places that they should and the people that need them most. They get tied up in bureaucratic policies and politician's interests. I have the feeling that "we" will be in Haiti for a very long time...not because President O says so...but because it will take years for the money to trickle down to those that need it most...years to make a difference. Reminder: Katrina and Ike

So I'm sorry that I cannot just send my cash. It is tied up in so many places that I can't even count them all. What little that remains will go to a charity that can use it most...my household. You see, I have two little boys that like to eat and outgrow clothing and shoes. And even though my Soldier works hard and believes that he's doing what is best for us (and he is) his pay is not much more than what he was making before re-enlistment. We, Mr. Bush (W), are your standard not quite middle class but not quite lower class family. We get by on little, save enough for when it's needed most in more ways than one and cringe when it's a week from payday but the car is broke down...we don't have the cash to send. Ask for anything else...food, water, blankets, clothing (I have lots that have been outgrown) but do not ask me for cash. You have enough of ours already.

Now, ya'll go click an ad or something!

Be Proud...

of me...I am. I spent a nice, BIG chunk of the day tinkering around under the Blazer with Dad. Okay, we weren't tinkering. It seemed, at first glance, to be a simple job. Shimmy the starter. Sure, simple. NOT!

For some reason, GM decided sometime back to make the engines of its vehicles something akin to a bajillion piece jigsaw puzzle. Now Pop's worked on GM cars (for GM) my whole life up until about 12yrs or so ago when he retired. So neither of us was expecting the challenge that faced us today.

Out came the first bolt...feel free to stop here if you've done this before, because I'm sure you know what's coming next....loosened bolt two...couldn't get the shimmy in because of the angle of the starter to the other hunks of metal and exhaust. Stand back, take a look...we both shook our heads. Yep, you got it. Off came the wheel and wheel well (hey, look...my firewall and parts of the wheel well are crumbling). Which of course meant out came the battery, off came the computer and coolant tank. Finally, enough wiggle room to get the damn shimmy in. 20 minutes of shimmy shamming later...kaboom! Hook up the battery and test it out.

Shimmy is good, but the solenoid is bad. Go figure. Funny that it took way less time to put back together than it took to take it apart. I think the Blazer lost about 5lbs of weight from the amount of sand that came spilling out from the wheel well though...wonder exactly what the previous owners did with this thing, but I'm pretty damn sure that taking care of it was not on the list.

So, here we go...one more thing on the to fix list for the Blazer. One more thing that Pops and myself will not be doing. I'm taking the beast to a mechanic, soon as I gather enough $$ to be sure I can cover the massive bill. Have mercy...wonder what I did to piss of the Fates?

A Lesson...

I was taught a lesson last night, by my own child. The eldest screamer was assisting in the pare down of toys. I was asking him to put away things that he didn't play with often, packing them up for future rotation. Nothing overly demanding like "we're giving these away" but he insisted that we do just that.

"I don't play with these and they just take up room."

I think...I might just have done something right raising this boy afterall.

Sometimes....

the little guy does win.  It may take years but sometimes they win.

Woman single-handedly beats IRS in court

She is my new hero. Determined to keep/get what is rightfully her's, even according to "their" laws. One woman, no lawyers...just determination. My hat is off to you Lori Singleton-Clarke.