Aging has its rewards

Turned 50, had to get new glasses.  I already have the bifocal thing, so didn't feel extra-elderly when having the eye exam done.  I can still read pretty well without the glasses, so that hasn't started to annoy me either. The doctor was efficient and funny (in a good way).

 All in all, it was a good experience, until it came time to pick out the frames.  I hate it!  I'm always 10 years behind the times (just ask my sister), so all the frames looked extra "trendy" and, well, just not "me".  The woman helping me was very patient, and eased me from "but these are not anything like my old pair" to "well these aren't as hideous as I thought they would be" in under an hour.  I wouldn't be surprised if she had to go home and drink--heavily.

She quickly figured out I would not do pointy--honestly, are cat eye glasses really coming back??!

She steered me away from the red ones, for good reason--my "Sally Jesse Raphael" days are WAY behind me! They were "bitchin" though, weren't they?



Then, after finally selecting a pair, there comes the wait.....and the buyer's remorse:  "Did I buy the really hideous ones?"   "I'll bet Karen (or Erika) will really hate them!"  "They aren't really pointy, are they?"

Finally picked them up tonight, and they're not too bad.  A little more square-shaped than the last pair.  [Check out the door behind me--I love that our front door is metal!].  I have Karen's approval, but Erika hasn't seen them, so I'm still a little nervous.

                            But check out the inside--they are lime green!:

I was also brave enough to select
(again, on my own!), a pair of sunglasses.  I'm pretty sure I could be the wintertime version of Louise!
Orrrrrrrr......not.





It will be a couple of days before I get used to these new specs, so if you see me headed right into traffic, feel free to yell, "Magoo!"

Massachusetts Raises the Collective Middle Finger

Last night, Massachusetts flipped us the bird. 
They elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate--the first time since 1923 that that had happened in this state.  Granted, Ted Kennedy held the seat for over 40 years, and had inherited it from his brother, but still. 
This was a seat that was there for the Democrat candidate to lose.  And lose she did.  And in my humble opinion, Martha Coakley owes the Kennedy family, and the voters of Massachusetts, a huge apology.  She outright ignored the biggest rule in politics--NEVER, EVER take the electorate for granted.  Once you commit to run, you give it your all, every day--knocking on doors, shaking hands, meeting people, and explaining your positions.  You don't, as Ms. Coakley did, announce that you're the Democratic candidate, and then take a week-long vacation mid-race (unless your name ends with Kennedy or O'Neil, and you've been in office over 30 years, but I digress).  That tells the electorate that you're really not all that interested in the job, and you're just counting on all those true-blue Democrats to come out and vote for you.  It really pisses me off that she not only blew it for her state, but her loss has a huge impact on the rest of the country as well--because of her gigantic failure, the Democrats have lost their "super-majority" (60-40) in the Senate.  All indications are that the results really were all about Ms. Coakley--an overwhelming majority of Massachusetts voters like President Obama, and think he's doing a good job.  They just didn't like her.  Her opponent was not a charismatic person, did not present a smart platform of ideas of what he would do for the state of Massachusetts, and as far as I can tell, didn't have much to say except, "I will vote against Health Care Reform".
THAT'S why I think the Massachusetts voters gave us the finger.  They all have health care, provided by their state government. Polls indicate they are happy with it, for the most part.  So why should they care about the rest of us?  They have theirs.  "Fuck all y'all.  We don't care what the rest of the country needs.  WE'VE GOT OURS."
Yes indeed, they elected a candidate with no vision for the future, from a party with no vision for the country, but they don't care because they've got theirs.
This type of thinking makes me very afraid for this country.
It's time now for the Democrats to take their message back to the country.  Tell us again what they want for our country.  Tell us all why we need universal health care, how it's going to help all of us in the long run.  Tell us not to take our eye off the brightness we see in the future--that brightness, that future, will keep us going through the darkness that is now, that is ahead of us for a bit.  Just a little bit longer.  Our economy is rebounding, but we need to keep working for the Common Good.  Not for the good of the few, the rich, the ones who would like to keep us divided so they can earn more money than they can ever spend.  Not them. But us.
The Democrats need to grow a backbone.  They need to say to the Republicans--bring it on.  Filibuster all you want, but in the end there WILL be a health care bill.  Or change the rules--do away with the "super-majority" rule.  Since when did 51-49 mean you didn't win?
We all need to demand some things too:  we need to demand a vision of the future from both parties.  Spelled out in great detail, with the backing of the great minds of our time, not party hacks.  We need to start thinking for ourselves.  It's scary at first, but I think we can still do it.  And we need to demand accountability.  Ask this simple question:  who is providing the money for your website, your "grassroots organization", your campaign for office?  Who is "the person behind the curtain, and what are their motives?"
But maybe we can start with this question:  "Why did you flip us the bird, Massachusetts?" 

So I wrote a Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

To answer another writer:  “Will we be the generation that fails all those who follow?”  Sadly, yes—because of our greed and shortsightedness.  There are Hoosiers who are calling for property tax caps, failing to recognize that property taxes are the most reliable source of income for schools and local municipalities.  Remove that source of income, and we will absolutely see more of the same—more cuts in funding to schools, additional reductions in services.   Have trouble envisioning where all that will lead?  Look no further than bankrupt California. But hey, we won’t be paying more in taxes!

What’s ironic is most of the loudest “don’t raise my taxes ever” individuals are also those who are against health care reform.  Ask anyone who prepares a budget what the single highest increases are every year, and they will tell you employee health care costs.  It’s not unusual for employers to face double-digit inflation of health care expenditures EVERY year.  So, at a time when teabaggers are screaming for “no taxes” AND “no public option”, they realistically cannot have it both ways. 

Or can they?  I just hope they don’t come crying to me in 20 years when there is nobody left who is educated enough to build, operate, or maintain any of the machinery needed to  keep them alive, when we are part of one monolithic Indiana government.

 I am smart enough to know that we get what we pay for, and I’m willing to do my part.  Are you?

You in my life

Makes me want to watch "Fried Green Tomatoes" again!

Let's Hear it for the Vigilate!

So Scott Roeder, the cold-blooded murderer of Dr. George Tiller (he provided medical services to women), has decided his actions were justifiable homicide, and will base his defense on this idea.
Before I go on to being glib, I've got to say that I've really been shaken by what I read in the newspaper this morning.  According to the account, Roeder walked up to Dr. Tiller (who was being an usher in his church on a Sunday morning), put a gun to his temple, and pulled the trigger.  While there are certainly more heinous acts that have been committed in this world (even in the last 24 hours), it's still one of the most cold-blooded I've read about in recent memory.  Cold-blooded is truly the only way to describe it--Roeder knew, with absolute certainty, that he was going to kill his "target".  He knew he was going to end the life of another person that morning, in a house of worship--in front of the man's friends and family.
And he's going to justify it how?  Because HE believes, in his flawed mind (fueled by the vitriol of the anti-choice movement), that HE was right.  And in a courtroom in Kansas in January 2010, Scott Roeder is going to be allowed to be the poster-boy, the screaming mouthpiece, for a movement that needs neither.  The anti-choice movement is harming enough women, harassing and killing enough doctors, all on its own, thank you very much.
And the fundamental principle they all seem to ignore is that it's a basic right, protected by law--this women's right to reproductive choice.
Having said all that, let me take Roeder's premise and run with it.  For there are a few people I could kill, and call it justifiable homicide:
1)  Scott Roeder.
2)  Anyone who molests a child.  Talk about the taking of an innocent life--that child is robbed of its' childhood.
3)  Anyone who engages in domestic violence.
4)  Anyone who intentionally abuses and/or abandons an animal.
5) Those people who riled up Scott Roeder to the point that he thought what he was doing was justified.

Shame on the Kansas judicial system, for allowing a madman to sound sane.  My heart goes out to the family and friends of Dr. George Tiller.  They don't deserve this.

Snow Stupid

So I was driving home today during a snow storm.  I've been in worse, and all of my family has been in worse weather this past week, so I don't dare complain about the roads.  I will just say the roads were not that great.  In this type of weather, I have confidence in my abilities, but am very suspicious of the abilities of other drivers.  I've also noticed that, with even just 2 inches of snow on the ground, the average intelligence of other drivers drops by 70% (OK, 85%--I was trying to be nice).

As if to prove me correct in this last statement, I had driven only 1 block toward my destination when I saw what could only be described as a moving snowball.  As I watched in amazement, the snowball--a car completely covered in snow, except for the part of the windshield that could be reached by the wipers, drove past.  The driver had, at most, 6 inches of visibility--the hood of the car was covered by at least a foot of snow, all windows were snow-packed, and even if the driver used the directionals or lights (I highly doubt they did), you wouldn't be able to see them because they were buried under snow.  Lots of snow. 
Wow.  My mouth fell open, and then.....dropped...to..the..floor...when I noticed (as I looked through the narrow slit in the front windshield) the idiot driver WAS TALKING ON A CELL PHONE.  I kid you not. 
So here's the thing.  I've decided I no longer want my insurance to cover idiot drivers.  Like the moving snowball.  Like the person who runs the stop sign because they are texting.  Like the stupehead who cuts me off because they aren't paying attention to which exit is theirs. 
I'm going to start attaching a note to my insurance check:  "This money is to be used only for safe drivers who have accidents.  That aren't their fault." 
It's a great idea, isn't it?  I'll bet my representative, Steve Buyer, will be thrilled when I suggest it to him.  He will probably share my idea with Rep. Bart Stupak from Michigan; Stupak will think I'm brilliant, because he proposed just the same thing last month during the health care debate.  He said insurance policies shouldn't cover abortions because he's against women's right to have them.  Even though it's legal for women to have abortions, and sometimes they are needed to save a woman's life.  The Senate, in their wisdom, thought that it would be OK to say if women wanted complete reproductive choice, they could write an extra check every month to cover "those things". 
So, from now on, because representatives in Congress think it's OK for us to pick and choose based on our beliefs, this is my official proclamation:
"I want my insurance checks to only cover safe drivers who get in accidents that are not their fault.  I want my health insurance premiums to help cover older people (especially women), babies, kids, and adults who don't smoke, and people who don't start sentences, "Hmmm...I wonder what this will do?"  I don't want my health insurance money to go to Viagra, or any type of penile erectile dysfunction research.  I will pay my taxes, but I do not want my money to go to the support of war, except for people in our armed services--they just do what they're told.  I do not want my tax money to go to Blackwater or any other government contractor like them.  Actually, just put all my tax money toward Head Start and other early childhood education programs--they are the first real line of defense."
Hey....I kinda like what Stupak et al have proposed!  And how will you spend your insurance and tax dollars?  

Charlie and Kiki and the Hired Help

It's the first day of the New Year, and that means it's time to do some cleaning.  I roust the cats from their temporary take-over of our bed, and let them know how the day is going to unfold.  They are not pleased. 

 But, when I explained how much fun cleaning could be for everyone, they quickly got into the spirit.

Very quickly.

They were quite helpful.

 After all, they could see as well as I did that we have a significant rodent problem. 






In fact, they found great satisfaction in pointing out areas to be cleaned:

"This rug is a mess!"

 

"This room needs immediate attention!

"I have uncovered numerous health code violations!"

Even the computer gave issued some commands:

"This floor is filthy!  How do expect me to keep my paws clean on THIS?!!"

However, I found the "management" was easily distracted.....

And not as "commanding" as they could be......




"Ummm.....I think I'll just wait here until that vacuum is done upstairs....."

 Having issued the orders, it was lunch time. 

Finally, the "management" just gave up and left the labor alone to finish.