tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84318657364229303212024-03-05T13:13:08.672-05:00That's Life ... Sometimes!!!<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/5186309/?claim=zvbwmacpck9">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.comBlogger193125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-37304418875499993992018-02-26T11:51:00.000-05:002018-02-26T20:43:41.007-05:00So, You Hate Labels But You Label Yourself. Does That Make Sense?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Can you think for yourself or are you just<br />another member of the herd society?</i></b></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Why is there such a need to </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">declare oneself a member </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">of the "Left" or the "Right" </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">in today's society?</span></b></div>
<br />
Okay, so, CNN represents the "Left" and<br />
<i>Fox News</i> the "Right." That's a smart business decision by both agencies management. It means they can slant the news to suit the opinions shared by those in their respective audiences and influence them with the sensationalism they present. Of course, their audiences fail to see the "slants" and feel as though the news being presented is accurate and true. Infallible reporting, of the facts!<br />
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<b><i>You really must be joking.</i></b></div>
<br />
Two herds of sheep, being maneuvered by two different sheepdogs to go in different directions.<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Baa! Baa! Baa!</span></i></b></div>
<br />
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<i>"I'm right and you're wrong! </i><br />
<i>I'm a Republican and you're a Democrat. </i><br />
<i>I'm a liberal and you're a conservative. </i><br />
<i>We think different. That makes you a worthless pile of crap. </i><br />
<i>I hate you! </i><br />
<i>God, if we could only clear the United States of you and your opinions, </i><br />
<i>we'd be so much better off! </i><br />
<i>Y</i><i>ou suck!"</i></div>
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<b><i>Sound familiar? Have you listened to yourself lately?</i></b></div>
<br />
Why do so many exhibit tendencies of needing to belong? Is there a fear of standing alone and being an independent thinker? Is compromise a concept that brings fear to those that feel they're entitled to have it all, regardless of how it affects others? Or, is it simply that one's comfort zone relies on not having to think for yourself for fear of being wrong. After all, just following the direction of a herd is so much easier. One only has to believe as they say and lo and behold, life is so simple!<br />
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<br /></div>
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<b><i>Stop allowing fear and ignorance to rule your life!</i></b></div>
<br />
Yes, I have belonged to many groups over the years. For some reason, most of them reminded me of high school days and being a member of a popular clique. I could tell my friends, "Oh, I belong to ..." and am a somebody. Oh, you don't? For shame." Nothing like feeding the ego, right?<br />
<br />
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<i><b>Didn't we outgrow high school when we graduated? Didn't we do the same when we left college? Or, was it too sweet to be the big person on campus? Do you honestly believe we must continue that false facade into real life?</b></i></div>
<br />
Mankind has always found safety in numbers. Running solo in early times meant walking into an unknown group and being attacked. So, we found others that were alone and formed our own group. As these groups grew, religions thrived, dynasties and empires conquered lands, and later, countries became powerful entities.<br />
<br />
As long as the smaller groups within the larger group didn't create problems and all profited in the quality of life, minor differences didn't matter. (I know, not the best choice of words, but it makes a point of tolerance.) Why? Because, regardless of minor differences, the power of the people as a whole supplied a major force with which to deal. Governments found they could only push the people so far before the numbers pushed back. A couple of obvious examples would be the French and American Revolutions. Governments that were unconcerned with the masses and utilized laws and practices benefiting only the upper class, soon found themselves being ousted for the injustices they presented.<br />
<br />
Of course, as politicians have always been a sly lot (scam artists), and many came from the ranks of Big Business (*BB). Long before any of us were born, the concept was figured out that by splitting power of the masses they could get away with murder. An example of this in our own history, before recent years, came with the Vietnam Conflict.<br />
<br />
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<b><i>It's all about the money!</i></b></div>
<br />
Our government and BB looked at the Baby Boomers becoming of voting age and said, "Damn, we've got to divide these folks up so we can control them. That way, if we piss half of them off, we have the other half still on our side. Let's see, the French sucked eggs fighting in Vietnam and are leaving. We can slide in and take their place, get industry moving again, and divide the population between those that will believe our bull about keeping Communism in check and those that won't believe we should be there. And, to help us out, this racial crap is coming to a head so we can use it as a dividing tool, also. We're going to have it made for at least a decade or longer if we play our cards right."<br />
<br />
And, they did just that.<br />
<br />
Traditionalists believed the government to be honest and true. But, after a few years, a "Peace, Love, Dove" generation saw through their charade and began protesting. Also present were those that felt segregation needed to stay and those that saw no need to change the way things were. More violent demonstrations. Hate within the nation thrived. Sound familiar?<br />
<br />
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<i>Damn Hippies!</i></div>
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<i>Down With The Establishment!</i></div>
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<i>Get Your Hair Cut!</i></div>
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<i>We don't want them in our schools!</i></div>
<br />
Tools for big business, Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon led a money fed Congress that did as they pleased, hidden from public view by all the distractions. Big Business thrived. Kmart and Walmart got their start during this time, and gradually drove many small businesses into bankruptcy. The military machine spent billions with defense companies, including everything from basic uniforms and supplies to various fighting weapons and bombs, jet aircraft, and $250 hammers. Auto manufacturers helped the banking industry, and vice versa, with long-term payment contracts. And, let's not forget the credit card companies racing in to profit with unheard of interest rates and late penalties.<br />
<br />
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<b><i>It's all about the money!</i></b></div>
<br />
The Peace, Love, Dove Generation recognized this happening and increased protesting. Also, many saw their friends lose their lives in a war without progress. Their voices went mostly unheard as network news was, of course, run by Big Business. Black Muslim groups fought for power among themselves (Malcolm X was assassinated during this time), and Martin Luther King, Jr. took his message to the people before also being assassinated. His messages of peaceful demonstrations were always accompanied by shots of protesters scuffling with police in riot gear to contradict his words. The riots of 1968 created even a greater hate and division in the battle for civil rights. Big Business made sure to air news of those continuously and continued its industrial profit journey.<br />
<br />
So, what brought the people together?<br />
<br />
One of the greatest factors was the constant production of protest music. Both rock and soul sent out a constant message of loving one another to fight the hate. Songs, such as <i>Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" (Stating it was time for all to get together), Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's "Ohio" </i>(which expressed the sadness and shock of the shooting of four student protesters by the National Guard at Kent State), and the <i>Temptations' "Ball of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today) </i>gained popularity and helped to change viewpoints. As parents and relatives of those killed overseas joined the Peace Movement, gentle songs like<i> Jackie DeShannon's "What The World Needs Now Is Love" and "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" </i>played into their hearts. The value of the lives being lost began to eat away at political excuses for continuation. Unity of the common masses began as both whites and blacks discovered the message of love and accepted it for the civil rights cause as well as stopping the overseas carnage.<br />
<br />
Oh, extremes shouted loudly and their presence was well represented on the nightly news. The KKK and Black Panther movements were shown almost daily. Black Panther food programs for the poor in the ghettos were seldom if ever shown on newscasts as BB found displaying images of armed and uniformed blacks more effective in promoting hate and keeping the population divided.<br />
<br />
The hate messages continued daily but found messages of love and togetherness hard to compete against. Gradually, the tide shifted.<br />
<br />
<i>Power to the People</i> became an anthem to influence that change. The constant preaching "together we can make change happen" hit home. The majority of Americans saw the light and demanded Congress listen to their demands. Big Business heard the noise and backed off as politicians reconsidered their future election odds and valued their careers over owed favors. Nixon was found to be the crook he'd always been suspected of being and left office. President Ford stepped in, an obvious "lackey" to Big Business, but one acceptable enough to the public in his image, as long as he got us out of the war.<br />
<br />
Unified, people had made the difference. There was a song by the <i>Brotherhood of Mann </i>called<i> "United We Stand, Divided We Fall"</i> about a relationship, but fit the need of the time for a slogan. It's words, repeated over and over, reminded all of the strength the people shared as one. Obviously, the only BB industry that enjoyed hearing it was the recording industry.<br />
<br />
Our mistake was that we grew lazy after ending the war and Big Business didn't. We stopped paying attention. Hippies turned into Yuppies and bought new cars and homes with long-term mortgages. We'd become the "Establishment" we'd fought so strongly against.<br />
<br />
When Big Business found that opening, it jumped back in with more vigor than ever before. It wanted its profits and was determined to have them. You can see they've had their way.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>It's all about the money!</i></b></div>
<br />
I could go on and on, describing what's transpired over the twenty years or so. Clinton's signing of the foreign trade agreement which allowed factories to relocate to foreign countries without penalty (leading to the shrinking of this country's middle class), Bush's efforts to seek oil control for Big Business by using the 911 attack to go into Iraq (instead of pursuing the guilty) as well as Congress giving Haliburton a non-compete contract to supply the fighting military with services (many already having trained personnel replaced by more expensive employees), Obama's bailout of the auto and banking industries, and later, assisting the Insurance industry by mandating every American pay higher premiums for decreased coverage or be fined (providing millions of dollars in profits before unheard of)-all contributed. Of course, I'd be remiss if I failed to denounce President Trump for assisting the NRA to survive present attacks against its insistence to supply eighteen-year-olds with weapons.<br />
<br />
All proclaimed their actions to be for the benefit of the people. Some were much smoother than others in getting the population to believe and trust in them. The naive public always wants something and someone to believe in. They thirst for a better life and want to believe so badly that it's the quest of those they elect. That's why scam artists do so well with them!<br />
<br />
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<b><i>It's all about the money!</i></b></div>
<br />
We haven't had saints in office for decades, if ever. Remember, the concept of "Manifest Destiny" was no more than a phrase to say to the Native Americans, "We're going to steal your land because you don't matter." As America's "great divide" has grown, so have the balls of Big Business. Money paid to politicians for their vote was once illegal and called "graft" (check out history and the problems it raised for President Taft). However, in recent years, it's no longer "under the table money" but legalized and listed as "political campaign" or "special interest" contributions. No matter what it's called, money influences vote outcomes and takes the representation of the people out of the equation.<br />
<br />
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<b><i>It's all about the money!</i></b></div>
<br />
So, you have a choice. You can either remain a member of a herd and continue to spew your spoonfed lies and hate, or you can become an independent, thinking member of society and make decisions based on investigating the facts. If you decide the latter, here are some things I've found to help my independent thinking:<br />
<br />
1) Watch different news agencies to get both sides of a story. Not only <i>CNN </i>or <i>Fox News</i>, but the <i>BBC</i>, and other foreign offerings. You might find none of them tell the "facts" the same, as they're all after ratings (ratings = advertising profits).<br />
<br />
2) Study history to get a wider viewpoint as to what is going on currently. (History often repeats itself as money is a constant theme.) Ask yourself, "What does this network have to gain by saying this about ...?" Instead of blindly believing, question what you hear. Sometimes, if you're honest, you'll find answers your previous self wouldn't want to hear.<br />
<br />
3) Independent thinking means you're strong enough to stand on your own two feet and be able to back up your decisions and develop opinions with logical reasoning and factfinding. Don't be afraid to face the opposition as they seldom have more than emotions and political party agenda B.S. to fall back on. Work to help them understand instead of simply spewing hate.<br />
<br />
4) Learn to compromise and make it a habit (as long as you're getting as much as you're giving), and remember, the first rule of negotiating is, "Never let emotions enter the picture if you wish to win. They only cloud one's judgment."<br />
<br />
5) Before you join any group, ask yourself, "Are they spreading hate or providing a viable answer?" Any group that says violence is the answer is not one to in which membership is recommended. Remember, the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Weathermen of the Peace Movement are still looked upon as detriments to the cause. Hate and violence are never the answer.<br />
<br />
6) Look up <b>tolerate </b>in the dictionary, as many have forgotten its meaning, and learn how to practice it instead of being offended by everything around you. As <i>Joe South </i>once sang, <i>"Walk A Mile In My Shoes"</i><b>,</b> look at both sides of the issue and understand where the opposition is coming from before viciously saying things you'd hate to hear said to you. In other words, use some damn common sense for a change and learn how to become a decent human being. You have the gift of having a wonderful mind. Use it!<br />
<br />
7) Read works of the classic philosophers and hear what they say. Greed and power have always been the primary reasons for society's woes. (Well, sometimes the fight for the love of a woman, but let's be real. Plastic surgery today can do wonders.) Look for references that may forecast what you see taking place. You may be astounded.<br />
<br />
The only thing to which you are entitled in life is your opinion. The rest you have to earn. (I know your parents told you differently, but they were only placating until you were old enough to get out of the house.) Make that opinion "your" opinion, instead of one of the herd's. Arrive at that opinion using your independent thinking instead of saying what your political party or Facebook/Twitter friends push you to repeat. Lead the way in for those that want to break away, yet, find fear in being alone. Show them they're part of a group that doesn't need to have their minds spoonfed by propaganda being offered.<br />
<br />
Stop the hate and spread the love. Stop labeling yourself and being a part of the "great divide" and become part of the solution to unify the people of the country. Bring the power of the masses back where it belongs. The power that tells Congress and Big Business the people control the United States and their job is to take care of the people, not the other way around.<br />
<br />
It's a proven method to initiate change for the better.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<b><i>Big Business is betting you can't do it as we once did a half a century ago.</i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"> Want to take that bet?</span></i></b></div>
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<i>*No, I'm not a scholar. Nor do I have a degree in business or economics. I'm simply a man that's never lived life with closed eyes or wearing blinders. All I've stated is easily seen and understood if one opens their eyes and mind to their surroundings and uses common sense.</i><br />
<i><br /></i> <i>It's only an opinion ... my opinion. One developed by observation, constant efforts to educate myself, and fact. If you don't like it, I understand. It's your right. I'll sit back and watch how well hate serves you and those you associate with - you know, the other members of your herd. </i><br />
<i><br /></i> <i>If you succeed in living a happy life I'll applaud you. If not, I'll laugh at you. I'll provide you with the same understanding you provided me. You get what you give. Enjoy the ride!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-54622915272274599782018-02-17T03:40:00.000-05:002018-02-17T03:40:18.758-05:00STOP THE HATE ... IT'S KILLING OUR CHILDREN<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #660000;"><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Seventeen dead this week.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="background: #ffffff;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">Eighteen school shootings </span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">this year. </span></b></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">Blame Shifting continues,</span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">as usual.</span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">Hate messages flood social media.</span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;"><span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>People are so ignorant they can't recognize themselves in a mirror.</b></i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">STOP BEING TOOLS </span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">OF BIG BUSINESS!</span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">What if I told you that your messages of hate and actions in public were killing your children?</span></span></span></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">Would you stop?</span></b></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">I dislike all politicians. Why? Because they're all scam artists. They scam the public into thinking they're working for them, and fill the pockets of Big Business with profits, instead. </span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't be naive, they honestly don't give a damn about you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Everything they do revolves around making themselves look good to the voters so they can continue screwing them over. Special Interest Contributions, a new phrase for legalized graft, continue to add to their bank accounts while the jobs that you have barely pay for the increase in medical insurance costs over the last few years. Where else can you vote to give yourself a salary increase besides Congress? Where else can you serve one term and get paid for life besides Congress. Stop believing in a pipe dream. They really only care about themselves and the corporations they serve.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">You know, the premiums that went up hundreds of dollars a month </span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">so that your coverage would go down.</span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Oh, but you HATE Trump and feel the need to express it every chance you get.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">I'm so happy you want to be a tool of Big Business. </span></b></i></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">Don't complain about guns. You're much more dangerous!</span></b></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">What? You didn't kill anyone? No, not directly, but indirectly the hate you spew vocally, on social media, and in your actions adds to the hate others spew. It sets an example for children to emulate. I know that's a goal you want to set for the growth of your children's mental health ... to teach them how to hate! Do a good enough job and you can read about how their hate grew until it drove them to kill those they didn't like, or the bully next door.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">Won't you be proud of the example you set then?</span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">But, but, but, Trump's dividing the United States.</span></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Bullshit! You're dividing the United States. Stop blaming others for your inability to see that. Instead of sitting with your children and explaining why what he's doing is sometimes questionable or wrong, you're sitting there, cussing at the television whenever the newscasters feel the need to show him, and teaching your children to hate. Great job!</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">When people hate, they refuse to compromise. They become like the Hatfields and McCoys, feuding and fighting. People get killed. That's what's happening today. If you'd take off your blinders you could see it for yourself.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">The division in the United States started long before this current president. Roots from the Vietnam War Era, of big business continuing a war for years so young men could die so that profits could be gained. Roots from social injustices that spawned racial anger for decades. Roots from teenage gangs, comprised of members that knew no parental control or love. Roots from the Clinton years of presidency where trade agreements were signed allowing business to take many jobs overseas without penalty, destroying the middle class. Roots from the Bush administration going to war in vengeance of a violent attack on home soil, yet, instead of going after the guilty, going after oil instead, again for big business. (Oh, and lets not forget Haliburton's non-compete contract to overcharge for services that the military already had people doing.)Roots from the Obama's years making billions of dollars of profit for insurance companies by mandating all purchase coverage, creating higher rates and less coverage for all. And, now, we have the Trump years, an egoist who would rather tweet than sleep. All have been major influences on the growing hate that has worked to divide the population for their success, and that of big business. Several were just much smoother in making their charade a success!</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Divide and conquer, has been the goal of big business, with the politicians being its primary tool for decades. Create herds that spew hate for each other and the populace will lose the strength that unity brings. Use hate to distract from what is taking place in Washington, D.C. When children see nothing but hate, they will hate. When the children pick up arms against other children and life has no value, the hate has become complete. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;"><b><i>Damn it, what's so difficult about concentrating on what's important instead of </i></b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;"><b><i>the political bullshit that has been, and always will be nothing but bullshit!</i></b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>Aren't your children more important than that crap?</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Instead of continuing to be play toys that sit and watch things get worse, it is time for the hate spewing to stop and love to flow. It is time to show that humans are not animals that can be herded, but intelligent beings that unify and stand against the dirty politicians and big business, showing a strength they never expected. </span></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">It happened long ago. We stopped the war in Vietnam and made them back down by doing just that and we can do it again. It's time for the children to recognize that love is stronger than hate and violence is not the answer. It is time for adults to be adults and set a good example instead of acting like children and pouting because they didn't get their way. </span></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Stop blaming inanimate objects for the deaths of our children and innocent and do something positive to stop more from joining the ones that have suffered from the hate that's grown from you and others. Life is too precious to waste. Children deserve a chance to live. Won't you do your part in seeing that take place?</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">Whether one continues to be part of the problem</span></b></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">or part of the solution is their choice. </span></b></i></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial", "helvetica", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">Hopefully, you'll pick the right one.</span></b></i></span></span></span></div>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-50893227906249547472018-02-05T08:32:00.001-05:002018-02-05T08:38:19.377-05:00Did you watch the Superbowl?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwINZiW5Vu8kdbuJwiM_ztnpjZH4Begcn_NWLPh-Ij6-cnLagkKK0TbqTTafRS4oxt9tjPqcaoXewGnVgdDgUtVb9CRXeebNpaHSaP4oHAllNC5Tl3CpMr8HOYxZtNzCg1h_7y7qpz9Hk/s1600/logo-events-superbowlLII.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwINZiW5Vu8kdbuJwiM_ztnpjZH4Begcn_NWLPh-Ij6-cnLagkKK0TbqTTafRS4oxt9tjPqcaoXewGnVgdDgUtVb9CRXeebNpaHSaP4oHAllNC5Tl3CpMr8HOYxZtNzCg1h_7y7qpz9Hk/s400/logo-events-superbowlLII.png" width="400" /></a><span data-offset-key="fl2is-0-0"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Isn't it hypocritical for those that believe it right for NFL players to kneel during the National Anthem in protest to condemn the protests of those that boycott the NFL broadcasts? </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="fl2is-0-0"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why is it right for some to protest but not for others?</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="fl2is-0-0"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Is there a superiority in believing that one can say, "Fuck You" to the nation - and the anthem that represents all it stands for - that made the players millionaires over those that believe that everything has a time and place, and the National Anthem is neither the time or the place? </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="2sbel-0-0"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I marched for civil rights many decades ago and still believe that protest is good for the nation. No, I didn't watch the Superbowl, nor any NFL game this last season. Why? </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="2sbel-0-0"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Because years ago, when I was serving in the military, I found that the anthem was more than just a song. It brought tears to my eyes as it played. The notes brought visions of home and the people I loved that were there awaiting my return. It stood for all the opportunity that I didn't see in other countries. It said, "I am here when your time in the military is over. Thank you for helping to ensure that true for all." That feeling has never changed. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Things have never been perfect in this country, nor will they ever be. Our politicians and are as bad as they've ever been ... in both parties. The elimination of the middle class, police continue to use excessive force at times in response to becoming targets, and many expect the government to supply them with everything they want instead of working to better their own situations. We are divided, with both sides being right and both sides being wrong, a feeling of entitlement rules, and the retirement age for many continues to be raised as the politicians reap in pay for life, even if they only serve one term. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No, things will never be perfect in this country, but they're much better than they are in many others. If they weren't, why would we have the immigration problems that flood the headlines? Why would those that have lived in countries that can't compare fight to stay here? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This nation has become a nation of "bitchers" instead of "fixers." Why, with all their millions of dollars, don't the players combine efforts and create community centers to bring about awareness to the problems they feel need attention? Why, if the NFL management really wants to address problems, does each team not set up these centers in each of their respective cities to show other municipalities how to become part of the solution instead of the problem? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why? The answer is simple. Because it's easier to bitch and blame others than it is to do something positive. It's cheaper, too! Why invest in the community when you can bitch about it and look like a hero, and then drive home in your Mercedes SUV to your million dollar mansion so you can sit in your heated, indoor pool and think about how you can spend your money during the offseason?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Don't get me wrong, protest all you want when you see a wrong, I'm on your side. But remember you're free to do so because you live in a country that gives you and I that same right.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When you sit down and think about it, isn't that alone worth a little respect? </span></div>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-47756310000356577022017-12-24T12:11:00.000-05:002017-12-24T12:15:09.097-05:00Christmas Edition ... TTOT ... That's Life ... Sometimes!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9oEd8ETkQT5yTrrrATpIdlcMA8r1R3im5B0fdpJaIaYXu7Yxg7Pv_KVHzynHA2qkOwvulfkqEVPU9pTkOQ-drXtIk9bAajx_I7gge_WdYSvSIUYTKqDLRBnrd06I6bvtOQlyDPLI0Pc/s1600/Christmas+Tree+Image1+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="432" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9oEd8ETkQT5yTrrrATpIdlcMA8r1R3im5B0fdpJaIaYXu7Yxg7Pv_KVHzynHA2qkOwvulfkqEVPU9pTkOQ-drXtIk9bAajx_I7gge_WdYSvSIUYTKqDLRBnrd06I6bvtOQlyDPLI0Pc/s320/Christmas+Tree+Image1+%25281%2529.jpg" width="224" /></a>Yes, I've been procrastinating as of late. Oh, the novel writing is moving on ... slowly ... but<br />
moving forward.<br />
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What hasn't been going on has been posting in my blogs.<br />
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My apologies!<br />
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<i>Please refrain from utilizing your cat-o-nine-tails skills upon my bare backside. Tempting, I know, but please reserve your skills for those that enjoy them during those S&M sessions.</i></div>
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I dropped by Facebook and saw I'd been tagged by Clark for my misdeeds. Alas, his sharp perception did not allow my hiding to escape. He's aware of all and see's all ... a fact I must remember in the future.<br />
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Christmas is upon us!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Ho! Ho! Ho! and a bottle of rum!</span></b></div>
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<i>No, that's not right ...</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!</b></span></div>
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<i>Okay, that's better.</i></div>
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The season of sharing good cheer, joyous blessings, and the giving of gifts has arrived. Retailers are smiling the world over. Amazon.com is loving it!<br />
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Yet, somehow and some way, we have to pinch ourselves and remember what it's really all about. As everything in the world seems to be up for debate anymore, I won't say it's the birthday of the baby Jesus. To be politically correct, I will say it's the day we celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus.<br />
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<i>If you're still not happy, suck it up! That's the best you'll get from me.</i></div>
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Other religions have their own values, ways, and dates of celebration. I have no problems accepting those. It is a person's right to believe in what they believe.<br />
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However, if you don't believe at all, go to work on Monday and stop mooching off of our holiday. If you're gonna bitch about it, forget it and carry on normally. That's your right! You'll save your friends a lot of money spent on wasted gifts that you obviously don't want.<br />
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<i>'Nuff said.</i></div>
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I won't do a repeat of my Christmas story I did a few years ago.<br />
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<i>Some of you really hated it. lol Hey, it was supposed to be a satire, not fact!</i></div>
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<i>Where's your sense of humor?</i></div>
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So, instead, let's forego the story this time and get right to what this blogging group is supposed to be about ... <b><span style="color: #660000;">Ten Things Of Thankful!</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivqc6pAE4eNQUPOpLKgnYNkWeEBjLuPSNGi0Tm-N4_6pgtwdjZhFpGVIvBRnFeyaE0cmvdgq3q813yxaoLxo4_pUx_3DZS-mD7gy-tTIFVFYu_9tyWRi7LDgV8vUsRK6wbRobFeaVYcqM/s1600/TTOT.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivqc6pAE4eNQUPOpLKgnYNkWeEBjLuPSNGi0Tm-N4_6pgtwdjZhFpGVIvBRnFeyaE0cmvdgq3q813yxaoLxo4_pUx_3DZS-mD7gy-tTIFVFYu_9tyWRi7LDgV8vUsRK6wbRobFeaVYcqM/s1600/TTOT.png" /></a></div>
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<b><a href="https://tenthingsofthankful.blogspot.com/2017/12/ttot-122217.html"><span style="color: #990000;">See Other TTOT Posts Here!!!!</span></a></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">This week, I'm thankful for ...</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqE9RItWrL0ImZFrd48_Bki9FjU6u9xlKWCfXBDxAPARNH6KMGRDn7gD_RVHGMCdSUR_pLQdfi58teWTe14YSFwrXJiuTqrUhNWXtXrn8wKxSkPo1r6-ge94DflByGoF04l-y0kd39HDY/s1600/Happy+Holidays+%2521%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1362" data-original-width="988" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqE9RItWrL0ImZFrd48_Bki9FjU6u9xlKWCfXBDxAPARNH6KMGRDn7gD_RVHGMCdSUR_pLQdfi58teWTe14YSFwrXJiuTqrUhNWXtXrn8wKxSkPo1r6-ge94DflByGoF04l-y0kd39HDY/s320/Happy+Holidays+%2521%2521.jpg" width="232" /></a><b>1) A few people that are smart enough to see the hatred of the world. </b> Yep, just check out Facebook any day of the week. You'll see political posts from both sides that demonstrate nothing but hate. It's to the point of ridiculous.<br />
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I made up a sign and posted it earlier this morning in direct retaliation to their stupidity. The lack of class and respect for others this time of year needs to stop. I don't care if you love or hate the president and what's being done. There are 51 other weeks of the year to complain and show how ate up and obsessed you are with hate. Like others, I've had enough of it. How about a break?<br />
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Show some class, concern yourself with your fellow man and his well being, and do your best to spread the good cheer the holiday is meant to express.<br />
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<i>Hell, you might even find you like it!</i></div>
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<b>2) Fruitcakes.</b> I know, many of you despise fruitcakes.<br />
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<i>So what? I love 'em.</i></div>
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Fruitcakes bring back memories of Christmas dinners at my grandparent's home. All the uncles and aunts, cousins and friends, gathered around the Christmas dinner table, stomachs too full of tremendous offerings to move, and the good feeling of belonging to something bigger than yourself. The gifts would soon be given out and love shared throughout the day.<br />
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Yeah, every time I bite into a slice of fruitcake, it takes me back to those days. So, if you don't like 'em, that's fine. I'll take your slice, sit back, and remember a time when Christmas dinner consisted of good times and conversation, instead of phone checking and texting.<br />
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<b>3) Facebook Scams. </b> Yep, every once in a while, we need to be reminded that Facebook is filled with unscrupulous individuals and companies that lie to make a living. It keeps us from making too many mistakes and losing too much money.<br />
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Last Tuesday, I saw an ad for a Snoopy Coffee Cup that I thought perfect for my wife. Checking the ad, I found that if I paid an extra $4 in shipping fees, I could have the cup by Friday. So, I eagerly submitted the money through Paypal. Well, Friday came and went and the tracking showed the cup had yet to be shipped. The <b>TeeSassy Company</b> will never receive another dollar from me. I don't imagine they get much repeat business as most people won't put up with their crap. I'm just hoping to spread the word about them.<br />
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<i>Nothing like a satisfied customer.</i></div>
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<b>4) Good Cheer ... Cash.</b> My wife and I were lucky enough to receive a small inheritance from a relative of hers. We were able to pay off both of our cars and still put back some for a rainy day. It was a nice change and a good feeling.<br />
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However, my heart isn't as hard as I thought. I've had a couple of Facebook friends that are experiencing times that were taking them down. Sending them a little money to help out around the holidays meant a lot to them, but it meant even more to me. I've seen what the heads of various charitable organizations make and hate to contribute to their paychecks. Yet, when a friend is in trouble, it makes you feel good to be able to help them out.<br />
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<i>By the way, I'm tapped out now. If you'd have only let me know earlier ...</i></div>
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<b>5) My wife. </b>Yeah, after 37 years together, she finally admitted she was lucky to have me ... voluntarily. lol I've known it for years about her. Not many would put up with all I've put her through over the years. Moving around during my radio career ... my absence at home during my comedy career ... and many other things that usually tear apart households have done nothing but bring us together.<br />
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She and I are a lot like the characters in one of my books. To see us together and hear us talk to each other, you would never think we cared about each other. But, to think of life without her ... well, let's not.<br />
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<i>Don't give away my secret if you see her around!</i></div>
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<b>6) Good friends.</b> When I was young and in high school, I was a fairly popular person. Yeah, I was class president a couple of years and student body president my senior year. After graduation, I turned my back on the small town I came from and never looked back for over forty years. The web wasn't around back then and I pretty much just made new friends wherever I landed next.<br />
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I attended a class reunion during the summer and reacquainted myself with many of those I'd left behind. Since then, several have picked up where we left off as if the years didn't matter at all. I've been able to be there for a couple of them that were going through tough times and help them through it by many hours of talking in PM's on Messenger. I always try to leave them smiling and feeling better than when we started.<br />
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Several of the "friends" I've made since those days proved to not be friends, but backstabbers. It's nice to know that there still are good folks you can believe in these days, even if they come from way back when.<br />
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<b>7) Christmas Music.</b> I really don't like Christmas music. I know that sounds bad, but I spent too many years as a disc jockey in radio playing the stuff day after day during the season.<br />
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The only song I hate worse than Christmas music is "American Pie." I worked at a station that was being purchased and the word was out that the new owners wanted to change the format. With the staff reduced due to holiday vacations, I went on the air at 8 pm, and didn't get off until 12 noon the next day. All during that time, it had been decided we'd protest the change by playing "American Pie" and only "American Pie" back to back/over and over again as a tribute to our station's format and music dying. So, if by chance I'm in a store and hear "American Pie" over the speakers, at least this time of year I know I can leave and go to another store that has Christmas music playing instead.<br />
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<b>8) Gift Giving. </b> I know, the "commercial" phase of Christmas. Still, seeing the smile and the joy in my wife's eyes when she opens her presents makes fighting the crowds worth it!<br />
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For the first time ever in our marriage, I was almost done shopping for her a couple of weeks ago. I've purchased a few things online (like the damn cup by the <b>TeeSassy Company </b>that won't make it in time), but I had just about all wrapped a week and a half ago.<br />
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<i>I had to do something since Kmart had closed and there was </i></div>
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<i>no Blue Light flashing on Christmas Eve to tell me what to buy her!</i></div>
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<b>9) Family. </b>As one gets older, the family they grew up with grows smaller. Loved ones pass and are no longer there. Even though the young new additions are there, it's not the same as it once was. Roles change and families tend to be separated by great distances.<br />
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I still have my father, but his age group is all gone now. No uncles or aunts or grandparents to tease and joke with. It's different, to say the least.<br />
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Several cousins have moved away, some don't talk to each other, and there are only three of us that seem to be attempting to stay in contact with each other. We're there for each other when we need support, love, or just someone to bitch to when things go wrong.<br />
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<i>It's nice to have them around. </i></div>
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<i>Otherwise, you'd have to listen to me bitching all the time!</i></div>
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<b>10) My writing. </b> I know most of you have yet to purchase one of my books. No big deal. I haven't purchased yours either.<br />
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Yet, writing has been a Godsend to me. It has allowed me to seek sanity in the creation of worlds others have yet to visit. The characters I develop and attempt to bring to life become real people that I control the destiny of and can lead them to happiness and justice. It has been very fulfilling and enjoyable. (Editing is hell, though. lol)<br />
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Being able to early retire this year has been a blessing. I'm finally able to cast away the life I hated and pursue a life of which I'm truly thankful, and those that read my novels seem to enjoy.<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;">So, that's it! Another TTOT complete!</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;">I do wish each and every one of you Merry Christmas, </span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;">or whatever the holiday greeting is for your own belief. </span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"> And, if you're a non-believer, </span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;">"Enjoy the day at work!"</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;">Ciao!</span></i></b></div>
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<i>*Btw, since there's been a plague of spammers on Blogger, I've had to turn on the moderation portion of the blog. If you don't get an immediate response to your comment, please check back. I'll okay it and answer it as soon as possible! </i></div>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-86312220635657319272017-10-07T12:59:00.000-04:002017-10-07T13:04:52.534-04:00Sorry, No Jokes This Time ... Ten Things Of Thankful<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tenthingsofthankful.blogspot.com/2017/10/ttot-100617.html?m=1"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: small;"><b>Join Other TTOT Posts HERE!</b></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, it's been almost a year since I've written a post for <b>Ten Things Of Thankful</b>. Please don't think that I turned my back on the group. That's not the case at all. In fact, there was a constant gnawing to return, but time just wasn't available. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Busy? My gosh, "Yes!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, instead of my long intro into "Ten Things of Thankful" that I'm known for, let us begin without further ado.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This past nine months, I'm thankful for:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1) <span style="color: #990000;"> <b>Early Retirement</b></span><b> </b>- In January, I made the decision to take early retirement. I had been dissatisfied with my previous career for years and the lies that were constantly a part of it. I'd been told in the past that I didn't have enough "larceny" in me, which in all honesty, made me feel much better as a human being. As I'd seen numerous management changes within a year take place, I knew in my heart that I needed to get out and pursue what I really loved ... writing. When the opportunity presented itself, that's exactly what I did. <i>Thankfully, early retirement was an option that I could take advantage of.</i></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0711GBNX4"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: small;"><b>Available Here!</b></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2) <span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;"> Horror Across The Alley </span>- Yep, In February I began writing my first novel and completed it in May. It has been a constant seller on Amazon.com and has received great reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Horror? From a comedy writer and past performer? I know, it seems strange, but I actually love writing things that stir the emotions and will put the reader on the edge of their seat. This one achieves that. However, it seems many of its readers have been from outside the Horror Genre. People seem to love the characters that were created within it. Some have admitted to laughing at times and crying at others as they became so involved in them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I'm thankful that I'm finally able to move forward with a writing career. Life has a way of turning lemons into lemonade if one seeks it. That has indeed been the circumstance here.</i></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074C69PFQ"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: small;"><b>Available Here!</b></span></a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ZK93EekDLdmDoYSgZemdTN-PFUp-yIezGkLIPVX8tgGWUyOfRGh-3wcIswljoJeBMmyFfy8iiMz8l8S54Y5xWV3nfDLeZRTwzHTjLuNlSbG2mZp4JB7E9IE8edz9PVqS0F64LNOE478/s1600/IMG_1442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3) <span style="color: #990000;"><b> They Lurk In Summer</b></span> - You guessed it right! In late July, I released my second novel, "They Lurk In Summer." I left the Paranormal / Horror genre and decided to pursue a tale of six youngsters during a summer vacation in 1966 middle America. Of course, they face a few advisories ... an abusive husband/father, venomous reptiles, a psycho thief/kidnapper, and a pack of man-eating dogs, but what's a summer vacation without a little challenge?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This book hasn't sold quite as well as the first. Perhaps, I need to return to the paranormal/horror genre. Or, could it be because I haven't offered it at a reduced price as I did the first one? (Could two whole dollars keep people from purchasing?) It's a longer book, and I believe a much better book all the way around than the first. It still has an overabundance of suspense and shock factor, but it also concerns itself with the coming of age of a group of young people and first love. It's been described as "Cujo meets Stand By Me" by one reviewer, which should set it off. But, it's just sitting there for the most part. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Still, I'm very thankful that I was able to get it out to the public and out of my system. It proved that I wasn't going to be a one book author and then fall back into nothingness. </i>I was thankful that I proved I had it in me to move on. So, without hesitation, I started my third book!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4) <b><span style="color: #990000;">Problems Arise</span></b> - At this time, problems started to make themselves present. I was working on one book and another kept creeping into my mind. There was a sense of urgency to apply myself to the second that I just couldn't shake. So, I put aside the one I was working on and immediately went to work on the one that obsessed me. Within eight nonstop hours, I'd developed ten major characters and completed an outline of the story complete with timeline. Then, as if an afterthought, I found myself changing the names of the characters as it worked itself out perfectly to be a sequel to "They Lurk In Summer".<i> It was all falling into place too easily, but I was thankful that my decision to delay my efforts on the first was proving correct.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5) <span style="color: #990000;"><b>Murder in Alabama</b></span> - Taking a break one Monday afternoon, I perused Facebook to see what people were up to around the world. I caught an article that had tagged the name of one of my best friends (an adopted sister if you will) that lived in Alabama. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It had been years since I'd seen her ... over twenty plus. She'd left her husband for another and I'd lost all contact information. We'd only found each other on Facebook a couple of years ago, but the friendship was as if there had never been a break period. She'd been one of my advance readers of my first book. I'd sent her an autographed copy of which I've been told by many she had on display on a bookstand in her living room. We'd even talked the Friday before in a message. She'd just received my second and couldn't wait to read it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That never happened!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">According to the article, on Saturday, both her and her husband were shot and killed </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">between 12 noon and 2 pm in their own home. </span><br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(<span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwkrg.com%2F2017%2F08%2F12%2Fupdate-flomaton-police-release-identities-of-couple-found-dead%2F&h=ATMX1UVlj1EQ3reuB4E0D6T3SI4vyWuV4sa4bL3ghr6cWlRrs3A81WrwCmldj9zuvepRlpxnTNDlzaKA-D3-Av3q7KLBrMYuOoD6AN6Jj7pZMThUDDqAyDsAh7bsXusEG71PWCChPHG-0ti5XbKywaskYxxsZJbDlh7HaZfPM8AaFowebWgbElBSpG-7ZBYs77eOGDgK4_XHn_8APW4rL_sG6K3aS1_0ALLtU-mLwbYWN3-zNF8nzPUCGEtTO6N1qYr23Y4Ft8ok1nzrWxbVarnc6hgE2x2E">Read About It Here</a> </span>) </b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To say I was shocked would be an understatement. Sadness and anger joined that shock to make a type of emotion felt in such times. It is one I do not wish to ever experience again. <i>I'm thankful that I saw the article on Facebook. </i> Had I not taken the time for a break it might have passed me by and I'd be upset because she was ignoring my messages. I almost think I'd rather be dealing with that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6) <b><span style="color: #990000;">My Visit To Alabama</span></b> - Susan was a dear friend of mine. I could do nothing in Kentucky. I had to go to Alabama. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I awoke the next morning with an intensity within. Going to Alabama and finding out what happened was the only thing that filled my mind from the time I arose, through my morning shower, and to the time I sat down and discussed my thoughts with my wife. I couldn't stand by and let things just happen. I needed to be a part of it. I needed to write a book about it!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No, it wasn't going to be another "In Cold Blood" as some have suggested since that morning. I didn't know what it was going to be, but I was driven to do nothing else. I cast aside all fiction and devoted myself to finding out what happened, why it happened, and what could be done to find the one(s) that did the heinous act.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I found out from my friend's son that the funeral was going to be that Friday. So, I left my house in Kentucky at 8 pm Thursday night and began my journey. I was met with a downfall that was so bad the truckers were doing less than 25 mph on the interstate because the visibility was so bad. A deer crossed the road only yards ahead of me, forcing me to brake while knowing the semi behind me wouldn't be able to stop. Somehow, he was able to avoid a collision.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I wondered, "Is this a warning? Do I need to turn around and go back home? Is God telling me not to go?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shaking my head, I proceeded down Interstate 65. Within fifteen minutes, the skies had eased the downpour to a light drizzle. Then, another hour and all was clear. I knew it was my fate to move on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I arrived in Brewton, Alabama at approximately 7 am. I stopped by the newspaper office there wanting to talk to the editor that had covered the story. Knowing it was a longshot, I found them closed. On to option number two ... Flomaton, Alabama police station. There, I was able to talk to a police officer that covered the crime. We discussed all that he was allowed to discuss and became friends in the meantime. Hitting it off, we later became friends on Facebook. We'd both been in the military, and I'd done some time wearing the badge as a ship's Master-At-Arms on the USS Coronado. It was a good common ground to work from.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My head swimming with the information I'd learned, I returned to Brewton and the newspaper office. The editor was more than willing to talk to me and gave me some additional information that shocked me, but was needed for a partial picture of the "Why?" to form within. She was more than gracious and I appreciate all she shared.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I then traveled back through Flomaton to Atmore, where the funeral was to take place. I had a couple of hours to kill so I explored my old home. I'd arrived there in 1979 to take a job at a radio station there. It was a small town, but friendly in nature to outsiders. I'd been taken to an old house where the station had procured the upstairs apartment for me. Pulling the U-Haul truck around to the back of the house, I'd just started unloading my furniture and fighting to carry a couch up the stairs by myself when Susan had stuck her head out her bottom floor backdoor and asked me in for a cup of coffee. We'd hit it off immediately as friends. It was all I wanted at the time, and she was in a relationship anyway. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The town had changed. The Porch Band of Creek Indians had opened a gambling casino close to the interstate and had taken much of the town's business. So much so, the main street was filled with empty storefronts. Still, fast food places reigned supreme.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I drove all along the four ways into and out of Atmore, seeing the changes. Some good, some bad, but changes just the same. Returning to the funeral home, I entered an hour early. I won't describe the emotions felt or the things that took place there. Susan had talked about me to many of her friends about my comedy career and my books. It was almost as if I was a celebrity of sorts to some. After the service, I found myself going into the comedian character for a short time trying to raise spirits of those hurting. It worked! <i> I'm thankful that I still have those skills. </i> As inappropriate as I felt it was, the smiles I was able to bring made it feel as if I was doing the right thing. Many have become friends on Facebook since. Maybe, it was as God intended. Maybe, it was as Susan intended, too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6) <b><span style="color: #990000;">My Return To Kentucky</span></b> - Leaving the funeral, it was after 4 pm my time (Atmore was an hour behind as they are on Central Time). I filled up with gas and hit the interstate. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To say I was an emotional mess would be making light of my state at the time. I'd learned things I wished I hadn't but had been common knowledge there. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was no longer going to be a book of "Good vs. Evil", but one of "Things Going Wrong" in life. I can't and won't go into detail, but people change in life for one reason or another. We live in a time where the elderly are forced to pursue avenues to financially survive. Unfortunately, these paths lead to dangerous territories where escape is not often an option. It is sad that society has gone this direction, but it has happened.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I arrived home a little after 1 am Saturday morning. I'd been at it for over thirty-two hours but was so wound up that it was another couple of hours before I could make myself go to bed. My wife was thankful that I returned safe, but had worried as I'd ignored getting a room in which to sleep. <i>I was thankful that I hadn't felt the need to sleep anywhere along the way. Adrenaline and the man upstairs had done their jobs.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">7) <b><span style="color: #990000;">Since the Trip</span></b> - Since returning from Alabama, my mind has been a wasteland. I wanted to write, but couldn't. Oh, I've tried a few times, but I might as well have been playing a football game on the computer. I'm lost in what direction to go. I know I need to write about the crime, but the story isn't complete. No one has been arrested for the crime, so I can't go into the actualities as to why it occurred. I don't have the details I need from the crime scene as it's still an open case. I'm not asking the police officer to endanger his position by giving me any information beyond what he is technically allowed to state. I do know that the FBI has some sort of involvement, but I don't know what type. I'm in an area of "what direction do I go" at present time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Common sense would tell me to go back to one of my other books that need attention. I have made an attempt, but there are no creative juices flowing. Fiction just isn't there right now in my brain. Still, I'm thankful that I have the first two under my belt. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">8) <b><span style="color: #990000;">Conservatives vs. Liberals vs. Conservatives vs. Liberals </span></b> - As my creativity has temporarily taken a vacation, I've spent more and more time analyzing where the United States is going. We seem to have an overabundance of anger. Hell, let's call it as it is ... HATE!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In fact, the hate is so bad that a CBS VP announced this last week that she didn't have sympathy for the victims of the Vegas shooting because they were mostly Trump supporters.<b><i> (Since when does a person's politics make them less human than another?) </i></b>She was fired, but not for what she said, but because CBS was afraid they'd suffer ratings losses due to what she said. The trouble isn't just her as this same sentiment was echoed many times on Twitter, Facebook, and other social sites.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We've become a divided nation, much like during the Civil War. Friendships have been lost, and families separated. There are three groups in America right now: 1) Liberals, 2) Conservatives, and 3) us folks in the middle looking at the other two shaking our heads at the stupidity being exhibited. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The two extremes continue to wear blinders, neither willing to take them off. They are allowing hate to ruin their lives without seeing what's happening.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A few of us were</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> raised with a little common sense, unlike many that fill society today. There was a concept back then that if you disagreed, you discussed the differences and came to a compromise. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today, people are unwilling to talk. Oh, they love to preach it when it comes to political figures doing their jobs, but when personally faced with one that doesn't agree, there's no listening to what the other has to say. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> It's worse than the late 60's when Buffalo Springfield first came out with "For What It's Worth."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"Nobody's right, and everybody's wrong."</b></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Doesn't that mean anything to people? No one nationally recognized political group can be completely right or wrong. It's a fact of life. Both have their share of bad (I have to question if either side has any good). So, why then is it happening?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>It's a government of the rich succeeding in creating division within the masses. </i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why? People have strength when they fight as one. The government witnessed this strength in the early 70's when the two sides began to recognize that civil rights were needed and that the war was only for the profit of industry. We came together and forced laws to change and the war to be exited. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The government doesn't want to see the people have that strength again.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Division means strong government control as the peons squabble.</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We once knew "United We Stand and Divided We Fall", but today's society ignores that fact. They're too busy blindly hating each other.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>So, why am I thankful?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I'm thankful and hopeful there's time to change and perhaps enough people</i></span><br />
<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">will open their eyes to make change take place. I have faith they can, </i><br />
<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">but the question is, "Will they?"</i><br />
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Or will Hate win out?</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">9) <b><span style="color: #990000;">Indiana University Football</span></b> - <i>I'm thankful they're as sorry as always. I'd hate to get my heart excited watching them actually becoming a contender.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">10) <b><span style="color: #990000;"> So, What Next?</span></b> - If you've stayed with me this long (I know this is a novella size post), <i>I'm thankful for you. </i> I know this wasn't my typical joking style, and it brings about a side of mankind that none of us like to believe exists. But, there are times we have to honor our souls and write what's within.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can't say a lot about what I've been doing lately, besides what's already been stated. Some of it may lead to a future book and some of it may lead to other important things. Perhaps, today might be one of the most important things ... getting back to what I do best. Writing may be a form of healing for me. If so, this post is long enough to heal the dead. Maybe I'll come back to life and creativity will flow again.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>CIAO !</i></b></span></div>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-42871984298669861542017-05-11T00:13:00.000-04:002017-05-17T02:29:37.523-04:00Horror Across The Alley - An Author's Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Hear Ye, Hear Ye ... I have returned!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yes, it has been around six months since my last blog post.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Kind of forgot about me, didn't you?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No, over the last three months I've been writing and publishing a book.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Yes, miracles do take place, even in today's world.</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Seriously, I decided to get off my duff (as others have been after me to do for years), and write a book. So ... I did!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.createspace.com/7141767"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Order It Here ... Please!</span></b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, you're probably saying to yourself, </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"Rich is known for sarcasm and humor. </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>What the hell is this? Horror? Rich? </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>You've got to be kidding!"</b></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Actually, if you check out the tabs above, you'll see a couple for Gabriela, The Demon Cat. I wrote these many years ago on Hubpages and went through pure hell with their moderators. With the changes they required, the stories lost some of their substance. I got aggravated with the site and moved them all here. <i> (Check them out sometime if you get a chance, but remember they are covered by copyright laws.)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was faced with a decision when determining the type of book to write. I could 1) make it a humorous fare and do my best to make people laugh 2) make it a political satire and demonstrate that politics are nothing more than a game to keep the rich from being bored, or 3) I could combine #1 & #2 and write a Horror story!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I picked #3 ... but with no politics whatsoever.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There were things I wanted to cover in this writing:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Narcissism and Control Freaks,</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sociopathic behavior,</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Love and the time it takes to develop trust,</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>How fanatics can influence our lives and behaviors,</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>What it's like to get old and find yourself not able to achieve the things you once did.</i></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I attempted, and several of my advance readers have said I accomplished, to do this by intertwining the relationships of four couples and an outsider. It was my desire to get the reader to know the characters so they could make up their own minds on whether to love or hate them. One of my readers stated,<i> "I couldn't believe it. You actually made me cry."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>That was my intent in that part of the story.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oh, and let's not forget, along with the human characters, Horror stories need a demon or ghost or monster or something involving the Paranormal to succeed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This one has that, too!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, my next task was to make the story unlike any other so that the ending would be unpredictable. I think when you read this you'll find there are four surprises that take place, so you'll have to read it all the way through the Epilogue to find them. You may guess one of them, and those randomly shooting out possibilities may get two right, but the other two are surprises that you may find happy or sad. It's up to you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you're familiar with my writing, you know I strive to achieve what I call <i>"Common Folk Language"</i> or <i>"Simpleze"</i>, both my own terms for what I work for. I remember having to pause time and time again to look up words in my youth and then fight to get the story line back. It's not my goal to educate one's vocabulary. Instead, my goal is to present a story in words simple enough for one to enjoy without having to stop and search a word's meaning. Some of the best storytellers in the world do so around a campfire, where no dictionary is present. And, after all, isn't fiction just storytelling?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Horror Across the Alley isn't your typical horror story. Many of today's writers concentrate totally on the entity and leave the people behind, or use them as throw away characters. People aren't meant to be treated that way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, in closing, Horror Across The Alley will make you wonder what's taking place the next time you hear a door slam or see new neighbors moving in next door. Are your neighbors enjoying life as they present themselves to be, or are they hiding secrets that shouldn't be shared? Where do you find safety when there is none? And, who or what are the enemies of whom we need to be wary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Guess you're going to have to read it to find out!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I thank you in advance for doing so!</i></span></div>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-10691658934863149582016-12-12T17:49:00.000-05:002016-12-13T15:35:55.745-05:00Christmas & the Fat Man In Red ... Your Job Or His?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Let's see, in Christmas posts in my past,</i></b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i> I've pissed off just about everyone I could. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Why should this year </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>be any different?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I vow to not attack religion this year as I did a couple of years ago when I provided a new look at immaculate conception by a horny superior being. That one got a lot of people thinking that I didn't believe in God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course, I believe in God. Oh, like most individuals that have had more than their share of bad luck and struggle in their lives (unlike the "Silver Spoon" crowd that has had life provided them on a silver platter) I've questioned the existence of the upper Heaven level management deity. However, even after using logic, my upbringing tends to renew my faith.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Look at it this way ... at my age, gambling with the afterlife isn't the most intelligent thing a borderline entrant could do. If there's nothing there, it doesn't hurt anything. But, if there is, why not buy a ticket before they're sold out?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, I'm going to attack the myth of Santa Claus today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Damn, I just lost about half of my readers.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No, I'm not going to debate his role in the modern Christmas celebration, only the disadvantage parents put their children in by passing on this legend to generation after generation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>As if that many parents teach their kids anything these days.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">His role, of course, is to get the little monsters to be good, go to bed early, and learn to accept that his sleigh will only hold so many presents (so they can't get everything they want). Of course, many would argue that it also teaches their children the philosophy of supersonic speed and the ability to magically carry enough gifts to make all the children of the world happy, but these folks are so obviously full of it that even their kids realize it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Hey, Sis, think we can get mom and dad to play video games</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i> so they'd learn something?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In essence, parents are teaching their children how to be future politicians. Act good when in view of the press, keep your private life and those you screw on the side as secret as possible, and learn that you can only buy (or bribe) so many corporate votes, regardless of how much money you have to spread around.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He lives in everyone's back pocket. His spirit of giving is based on the value of return. You don't always get what you give, but, it's better to give to others so you can hold it against them later!"</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, let's discuss Santa's entry into the home. Less than 10% of homes in America have chimneys. This leaves over 90% of the children nervously wondering,<b> <i>"How in the hell is Santa going to get in the house?"</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While many youngsters grow out of this mental stress, some never do. They grow up to work at the post office and carry AK-47 assault rifles in their cars for those days that the voices inside their heads never stop talking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No, children that find themselves living in a normal house without chimneys expect their parents to stay up late and let him in to disperse the presents under the tree. Children, that live in apartments, find themselves writing their apartment number in large bold letters in their annual correspondence to the man in red in hopes that their PlayStation won't end up with the brats downstairs that broke the last one. And, children that live in mobile homes find themselves wondering how many holes the reindeer hooves will put in the tin roof and pray their father realizes that deer hunting season is over!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>"Where's my assault rifle, honey? Damn, must be ten or more deer on the roof </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>just waiting to be next Sunday's main meal!"</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately, homeless children are too busy holding on to their shoes while they sleep in fear that someone will steal them away. They learn early to tell the difference between Rudolph's red nose and the red nose of the drunk snoring in the shelter cot next to them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another problem that parents face on Christmas Eve is what type of snack do they want Santa to eat. You know, the one that Santa is supposed to munch on when he's done dropping off the goods. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>You figure at a cookie a household, Santa has spent a lot of time in Colorado with some really good smoke and has one hell of a case of munchies!</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Beware the chocolate chip cookie diarrhea syndrome!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Traditionally, milk and cookies are the expected norm. However, I always believed that a good Porterhouse steak and loaded baked potato curbed the hunger much better, especially since I was going to be up all night trying to put together toys with directions that couldn't be deciphered by the entire teaching staff of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We did have to draw the line when it came to saving him a glass of wine, though. One year, one of my girls surprised us with a late night trip to the bathroom. She looked at her mother drinking the red and said, <i><b>"You'd better save some for Santa or I'm gonna be really mad!"</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That's when I looked at my wife and added a sarcastic retort, <i><b>"Don't look at me. Obviously, she comes by it naturally. Eggnog, anyone?" </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>My wife is still mad about that one, at least when she's sober.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Instead of an obese individual breaking into home all over the world by sliding down a chimney too small for most squirrels, instead of creating a nervous tension over the youth worrying about every little lie they stated about how nice their mother looked in spandex or tights, and instead of them wondering if a strange man wandering from house to house was looking for the one bad child to take back to the North Pole and abuse for years to come, why don't we simply teach our children about the true spirit of Christmas? <b><i>(I know, it was one hell of a long run-on sentence, wasn't it?)</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let's teach them that every person has some good in their heart even though they don't show it the other 364 days of the year. Let's teach them to appreciate the smiles they can bring and the warmth they'll feel in their hearts by giving. If others give back, fantastic! If they don't, maybe they will in the future when they, too, learn what a great feeling giving can provide them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why not help them understand that at least one day a year it's better to share and bring happiness than to want and exhibit selfishness? Perhaps, by making this a part of their upbringing, they'll understand that happiness doesn't come from material objects, greed, and status, but from what you can do for others to make their lives better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Maybe they'll grow up to own their own business and share these feeling among their employees. Maybe they'll cast aside the profit line and treat the employees as important members of the business and reward them properly so they take a greater interest and work together to improve it as a true team would do. Maybe they'll even feel wanted and give more than those that don't have the benefits others do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">See, this feeling of happiness has nothing to do with popularity contests, greed, or material goods. It's a general lesson that all have to learn so that mankind can come together and appreciate what each individual has to offer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's been proven that kids join gangs, join gaming clubs, wear like outfits, and act differently because they all want to be wanted. Many don't experience that at home for one reason or another. In their minds, they're either looked at as moochers, slave labor, or inconvenient expenses only validated by the annual tax write off the parents receive. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Kids are people and people are not numbers or dollar signs. We all need to learn to treat all people as people, regardless of their age, race, religious background, or geek rating. Assuming the role of a teacher isn't just a temporary thing, it's a lifestyle and obligation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most professionals agree that children love to learn. Unfortunately, for whatever the excuse, learning is too often forgotten at home. The kids have to learn from their peers that reside in in similar environments. It's no wonder the youth of today generally fit the mold of ... <i>"rude, selfish, violent, and uninterested in anything adults have to say."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>If you never got listened to, why not return the favor?</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Christmas is an excellent time to provide them a lesson for life. Demonstrate your love and teach them how to share theirs. Don't depend on the fat man in red to do your work for you. How about doing it yourself for a change?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Unless you happen to be a fat man in red Spandex, that is. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>I don't know that I'd admit it if I was.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>You might find a red nose sniffing at your butt.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!</i></b></span></div>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-46589151671764923242016-11-22T15:52:00.002-05:002016-11-22T16:57:56.960-05:00The Battle With The Adult Protection Service Is Over, But Another Battle Is Sadly Lost<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>I'm Free!!! The APS Case Is Closed!!!</i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Like a couple of posts ago, this will be out of the norm of this blog. The sarcasm will be mostly absent, the humor will be minimal at best, and the topic is one that can actually have a bearing on your life one day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>This is about a victory my father and I had over the Indiana Adult Protection Service!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My last posting about the APS drew quite a few views. One might even say that</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> I cast aside my sarcastic trademark and provided a human interest story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Okay, so I won't make it a habit.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Still, I have to boast a little. Regardless of the efforts made to incarcerate (a more fitting word than the phrase "confine to a nursing home") my father, as they did my stepmother, they have now <b>closed the case!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In addition, the sister of my stepmother is now attempting to regain </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">guardianship of her and move her out of the nursing home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>We can only hope it's not too late.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But, let's first look at my father's case.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Attempts were made, first by the nursing home, to generate a feeling of dementia around his actions of the time. They took a statement made by a man that had been awakened in the middle of the night and twisted it to look as though he didn't know where he was at. They then took his action in walking five miles to be with his wife (when his vehicle was damaged in an accident in which was another person's fault) as the act of a person without their right senses. And, finally, they looked at him not bringing lunch with him as an act of a man that couldn't remember things, when in essence, he didn't want the food to spoil in the heat and had already eaten a healthy breakfast.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the meantime, he continued to change her bed at the nursing home, feed her when staff failed to do so, take her to the bathroom when staff wasn't available, and calm her down by talking to her, rather than using the drugs the nursing home fed her constantly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, you know why her sister is attempting to get guardianship. It's only my guess, and</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNF0JSsZPhgk6MHk9fAEHbIv2jSU2st-ToJB9UbtcNw3fLnMQask8ealXwma9w0N4j1Djdd9Ft9eHEbd494KaG3OF6v7A7jLevCF4uCtEnDfCTqXs-SmKwgjuSQh_xXY1iIADIE24qnM/s1600/Millie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNF0JSsZPhgk6MHk9fAEHbIv2jSU2st-ToJB9UbtcNw3fLnMQask8ealXwma9w0N4j1Djdd9Ft9eHEbd494KaG3OF6v7A7jLevCF4uCtEnDfCTqXs-SmKwgjuSQh_xXY1iIADIE24qnM/s320/Millie.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: medium;"><i>I Sometimes Look At My Wife And<br />Wonder, "What Would I Do If I Were<br />In My Father's Shoes?"</i></b></td></tr>
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only a layman's assumption, that knowing all that my father was doing, the nursing home looked upon him as a threat. What better witness against them than a man performing the tasks they were paid to complete? And, wouldn't it be to their benefit to discredit the witness in advance rather than attempt to do it after he had testified against them?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Legal services for my father were retained immediately this time. I wasn't playing around in hopes that they'd see for themselves that he was very competent. He had tried that with his wife and the results weren't as he'd expected. I knew better than to let the state office have their way early.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I scheduled appointments with the Veteran's Administration for mental and physical competency tests, the Department of Motor Vehicles for a driving test, and contacted the APS so they'd understand that proceeding ahead of those appointments might result in a legal suit against them. As expected, they intelligently backed off.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well, the physical examination showed that my 83-year-old father is in better shape than I am! That was no surprise as his blood pressure was 105 over 54, his heart rate was a little less than 70 bpm, and he is on no medication for any ailment at this time. He is constantly working in the yard in all types of weather, chops wood daily for the Winter and his Mother Earth News style home furnace, and eats no fast food whatsoever!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then, the mental examination was given. He got every question right but the date, and was only off by one day. Hell, I've often miscalculated the date, thinking it was the 3rd and it was the 4th, etc. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The doctor, after bragging about his state of physical and mental health, told me to cancel the driving test as he had given her no reason to proceed. She smiled, told him not to forget to set an appointment for his check-up in six months, and bid him a cheery good-bye.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Still, even with that news, I knew that we needed to be careful. So, I continued limiting his time at the nursing home to two hours a day. Although he's greeted with smiling faces there by the staff, I'm not forgetting how they attempted to have him confined. He's still a danger to them, and even more so now that he's been through all the examinations proving his competency.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oh, there have been instances I look at him and think to myself, <i><b>"He's not going to be in great health forever. I need to keep a close eye on him." </b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7VEfFWSggGyvSxx5a-GzmN3l5Eam0WrIdD-wYGrgdzcjrM0qViZUL21PPBi7AGt0QuTDSAq6ZWRMVHQjXfnLamVl-yvfItdy6YO7kWJ5jZ__l6cJdoGcByKFhlKHGT5WuRchen_JT8lk/s1600/Love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7VEfFWSggGyvSxx5a-GzmN3l5Eam0WrIdD-wYGrgdzcjrM0qViZUL21PPBi7AGt0QuTDSAq6ZWRMVHQjXfnLamVl-yvfItdy6YO7kWJ5jZ__l6cJdoGcByKFhlKHGT5WuRchen_JT8lk/s320/Love.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think, throughout all the trauma this last year has brought us, and considering that he is suffering from being alone for the most part, my father and I have finally grown close. At age 83, he respects me and my opinions now, something he never really demonstrated before. It's as though we've changed roles, with me becoming the adult telling him how to stay safe and of what to beware. The child has become the parent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although a man that cannot live without his independence, he calls me now when he needs help. He's not above admitting that society has greatly changed since "his day" and it's not easy to keep up with. Computers, electronic drafts, dealing with official agencies and legal representation may not be his cup of tea, but he knows I have no trouble with any of it. So, he now looks at me as being there to take care of him when he needs it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>You might say it's the first time since my days as a late 60's freak </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>that he's shown me respect.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>And, it's only taken me over 40 years to earn it.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Love ya, dad!</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Just do as I say!</b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>* * * * * * * * * * * </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>***I was debating on when to publish the above. I wrote it before the national election, but with all the hatred and spite in the air, I just couldn't publish it then. I had thought during the Ten Things Of Thankful blog hop, or perhaps some other time. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>However, to every victory a small amount of tragedy occurs. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Less than two hours ago I received word that my stepmother was being given a maximum of two days to live. She is unresponsive, unable to swallow, and has had a Catholic priest by her side for quite some time. The end is near.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I lost my real mother when I was thirteen. For the last thirty-six years, this woman has been my mother and the wife of my father. I know it will be a great loss for me when she passes, but his loss will be even greater.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>We all get old. It's a natural occurrence. Acceptance of growing old finally sets in when common sense overcomes ego. Acceptance of death arrives at about the same time.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The same compassion that allows us to love forces our hearts to ache when we lose a loved one. I have told many to stop thinking of themselves and rejoice in the departed's release from misery. Instead of thinking about how much we'll miss them, think about how they are now free and in a much better place.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>It is time for me to practice what I preach. It won't be easy, but one must do what one must do. Otherwise, self-pity and grief overcome our sense of logic and create a deeper hole for us to climb out of when the sun rises and the clouds clear.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I worry about my father and how he'll take this. Will he lose his sense of purpose? Will he lose his desire to live on and continue to enjoy the ...</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>... Sorry, I just answered the phone. The 48 hours just shrunk to less than two. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>My stepmother has passed.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Her suffering is over.</i></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">May God Bless You, Shirley.</span></i></b></td></tr>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-27789781863677687162016-11-09T11:26:00.000-05:002016-11-09T15:15:20.326-05:00Woe Is Me, The Sky Is Falling, The Sky Is Falling<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie859qt3k5xJV_9qAuMlTEpp2PsRJm3mAUCrTYmJMcG1F15SmafaYqDuEU358o5g-hFIYcDXTEeUMTrjuuVFx9xhapPyMQPx-T0CsE-DdeRAO77GeRGYGMGNXiTZ7nhGgJU2QTf95h9l8/s1600/Cave-man-dragging-woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie859qt3k5xJV_9qAuMlTEpp2PsRJm3mAUCrTYmJMcG1F15SmafaYqDuEU358o5g-hFIYcDXTEeUMTrjuuVFx9xhapPyMQPx-T0CsE-DdeRAO77GeRGYGMGNXiTZ7nhGgJU2QTf95h9l8/s320/Cave-man-dragging-woman.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Initially, I wanted to laugh. Then, I decided that crying might be a better option. Then, the tears turned to feelings of empathy. Finally, I just sat back, let out some gas, and shook my head.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Facebook and other social media was filled with so many prophets of doom that one would swear Nostradamus had been running sexually rampant amidst the masses within recent years.</span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trump had become "President Elect Trump" in the wee hours of the morning. Clinton had conceded and the title was now Trump's. He had given an acceptance speech, but as of six hours later, she had not given her concession speech.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Guess those items taken from the White House when the Clintons left years ago will remain missing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Probably just as well. Trump will probably redecorate anyway. I understand there's quite a bit of shiny brass and multiple velvet curtains left over from the last casino he shut down.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6UeVNwHd8CEmeo4a14UQN7Geh7MioK9JxCCj2PV9OypubsgYV9PEkoXYWTSQof9LhRAeNvcZeyRcUPt5OL1n73TaLmuAqn6JN8PtmKIk8SRg3t1u_xm3d-x42Wuij8mAQQnBXuj0q9Kw/s1600/Trump_Pence_2016.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6UeVNwHd8CEmeo4a14UQN7Geh7MioK9JxCCj2PV9OypubsgYV9PEkoXYWTSQof9LhRAeNvcZeyRcUPt5OL1n73TaLmuAqn6JN8PtmKIk8SRg3t1u_xm3d-x42Wuij8mAQQnBXuj0q9Kw/s320/Trump_Pence_2016.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm awaiting the news media to present cartoons of Trump's family marching the goose step behind him as they walk up the podium to be sworn in this coming January. They've done a great job of underestimating and poking fun at him to this point, so I imagine they'll continue.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It brings in ratings and sells newspapers ... to those that can't afford cable.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Female Clinton supporters now fear for their lives. Trump ... the male, chauvinistic pig of today, will bring forth a multitude of changes ... including allowing today's male to carry a club and "conk" the female of his choice and drag her back to his cave to have babies and clean the dirt from the rock furniture. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl_T2g3R1Lg5f4gjlOQvTrymgKJ8CpmKbcj6eYJumC8ZyPyvWRghksg-4Q1Rem3sLYqveK5I04L9MkhMgMh3xZYVBAdPte5YsZ-QRulYl4MXUiGWofUU76eYSQd_qF_ZuiPSGC1sLGHQM/s1600/Clinton_Kaine.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="101" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl_T2g3R1Lg5f4gjlOQvTrymgKJ8CpmKbcj6eYJumC8ZyPyvWRghksg-4Q1Rem3sLYqveK5I04L9MkhMgMh3xZYVBAdPte5YsZ-QRulYl4MXUiGWofUU76eYSQd_qF_ZuiPSGC1sLGHQM/s320/Clinton_Kaine.svg.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Many of my minority friends, as if labeling was necessary, feel the fear in the air. Visions of stormtroopers, smashing down doors in the middle of the night, collecting them and herding them like the Nazi's did the Jews during the years preceding WWII fill their heads. Sounds of gunshots fill the air and lead finds its mark in the bodies of the innocent members of their family and community members. The nightmare is to become a reality is to become a nightmare.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The airwaves of the Northeast and West Coast are filled with the sounds of R.E.M. ....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Oh, woe is me, ain't this fun, </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> Trump is King, we all are done!!!!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Get out the BBQ grills ... our goose is cooked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Or, is it?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First off, I didn't vote for either Trump or Clinton. I couldn't validate voting for the lesser of two evils, so I didn't vote for either evil. I, instead, chose to cast my vote for Gary Johnson. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, Clinton's supporters are saying that a vote for Johnson was a vote for Trump. Not so. I wasn't going to vote for her anyway, just as I wasn't going to vote for Trump. I had to cast my ballot for the only one I trusted ... and neither of the major candidates fit that requirement. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course, Trump supporters are saying that I took the easy road and almost put Clinton in office by not voting for Trump. Amazing how small minds all think the same, isn't it?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Folks, the world is not going to end. It didn't end when O-Bam-Bama took office, and it's not going to end when the flaring Trump-ette takes the oath. You forget, he's only the president ... not God (as some of O-Bam-Bama's supporters would like you to think).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Members of the male gender are not grabbing clubs and changing their ways just because </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">of the election results. If they're asses to you, it's because they've always been asses. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In fact, they are just as shallow as the women that voted for Clinton only because they were the same gender as her (yes, there were many). I think these two gender groups kind of balanced out the negatives of each other's votes. You know, "stupid is as stupid does."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oh, come on, please don't sit there and tell me that being a member of the female or male gender makes you an automatic vote getter for the office of P.U.S.A. I would hope you researched the candidates more than that prior to casting your ballot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We have four years in front of us to judge what influence Trump can impose upon Congress. Hopefully, he will make some changes. There are necessary reforms that must be installed to social programs to eliminate freeloaders and those that haven't earned the right to participate. There are corporations that need to be challenged about moving jobs and factories overseas and spitting on America's workforce, all the while expecting these same people to purchase the product they produce. The forecasted rate hikes for Obamacare are astronomical and changes must occur or fines will be imposed those who can't afford the premiums. And, racial tensions must be addressed in all areas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then again, he's only the president. Congress is where most of these changes must occur. Getting big business out of the pockets of these representatives and turning them around to really concern themselves with the needs of those they represent is an almost impossible challenge to take on. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Regardless of who won the election, we were going to have to wait to see how they did. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i> That takes four years to take place.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Let's hold off forecasting doom and gloom until it's over.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>Okay?</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>C'mon ... say "Okay!"</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>Okay!</b></i></span></div>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-72380445615370463022016-09-22T20:29:00.000-04:002016-09-22T20:30:49.244-04:00Aging and Indiana's Adult Protection Service Gestapo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>Couples not allowed.</i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Like blood thirsty stormtroopers, the Adult Protection Service from Monroe County, Indiana is once again on the move! Marching without fear of retaliation, its paid mercenaries again swoop into a home they've already destroyed and won't be satisfied until they have all members confined in a nursing home status. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Like most laws created, a law office, hired by the service, has found a way to gain financially. A year ago, they found their prospective cash cow, took advantage of an elderly man's naive nature, and proceeded to separate him and his wife of thirty-six years by having themselves declared her legal guardian. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>(*I've discussed the how's in a previous post.)</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, all of her property was taken to be sold, retirement annuity and burial policies cashed in, and 24 hour confinement in a nursing home was her fate. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course, all of the husband's property, income, and personal information had to be disclosed for this process to move along. Information, to which, they had full access.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Access which provided a future target for financial gain ... $10,000 per person.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So is the continuing saga concerning my stepmother and father.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tuesday, I received phone calls from a nursing home administrator, the Monroe County Prosecutor's Office, and the lawyer's office which seems to be the sole contracted receiver of funds from those they chase.</span><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's a new form of "ambulance chasing" only </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">under the guise </span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">of protecting those unable to protect themselves.</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They all presented themselves as "worried" about my father.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What a false facade! One could feel the drool and dollar signs dripping against the receiver of the phone as they expressed their supposed concern.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Allow me interrupt this oratory with a little information about their prey. </i></b> </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"I've done things my way my<br />whole life. Now, the APS wants<br />to tell me I'm crazy for doing them.</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My father is 82 years old and is in better health than I am. He's never had heart problems, spends an substantial amount of money monthly on vitamins, and eats a low fat diet which excludes all fast food. He mows four acres of lawn weekly, chops his own wood for a Mother Earth News style home furnace he built by hand, plants and cares for an annual garden, and has no problem in maintaining an impeccably clean home. He's never late on bills, has never had a complaint filed by any neighbor for any reason, and is a respected member of the community. He keeps up on community news, small town gossip, and can relate it to you without hesitation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He has devoted himself to a seven day a week, seven hour a day obligation of staying next to his wife in the nursing home to ensure she's cared for properly. He has taken on the tasks of feeding her, cutting and styling her hair, and even changing her bed when the nurses seem to be "too busy" with other patients to do it. So much for the prime nursing home care one would expect a patient to receive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although more a wish than a reality, he has had a hard time believing that his wife will never be allowed to return to their home. Yet, even though the experience has been an exceptional physical and mental strain on him, he never stopped his daily visits and care. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>That has been his mistake.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Being exhausted at times, he has dozed by in a chair beside her bed. One evening, he fell into a deep sleep and when awakened at 2 a.m. from a nightmare, he asked, <i>"What funeral home am I in?" </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After a moment, he recognized where he was at and left the facility to go home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was noted and written in a record that someone obviously started on him without permission. Of course, the nightmare was ignored as being such and instead the incident was listed as a state of dementia. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>The person making this claim was not a licensed physician!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>If you would like to tell me that you've never awakened in a strange surrounding and wondered where the hell you are, I would be very close to telling you that lying is a sin. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>If you've never awakened from a nightmare, whether it be one where you're being </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>chased or are falling, and not taken a few seconds to gather yourself, I would have</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> to repeat my statement from a sentence ago. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>And, if you've never jumped out of bed thinking you were late to work, only to find </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>that it was the weekend, I'd say you have a habitual lying problem.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Mind you, never once did I accuse you of exhibiting Dementia!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>What I want to know is why it took the staff until 2 a.m. in the morning</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i> to wake a visitor that was in a locked door facility? </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Sounds like nursing home security need be investigated instead of my father.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They also say that he feels he is "at home" there. <i>My father is at home wherever his wife is. </i> His whole purpose in being with her is to share the love he has with the one who has been taken away. He knows he's not like the patients there, is shocked by the way the nursing home has terminated personnel due to budget cuts, and, again, only spends so much time there because he felt he was "helping" with the care of his wife.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Little did he know it would be used against him in a quest to incarcerate him.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last week, my father was driving his pick-up truck. As he crested a rise, he found himself facing a lawn care trailer that had been backed out into his lane of the road. The driver had exited the vehicle and left it there as he did something else.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My father hit his brakes and skidded to a stop, but not before hitting the trailer. It damaged his truck just beyond "driving" ability, but there were no personal injuries. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"I used to love to laugh. <br />Now, I'm just waiting to die."</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unable to have transportation to get him to the nursing home, my father decided he would walk. This was a distance of about five miles. He had walked this distance to and from school during his youth, and felt himself still physically capable. <i> </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>(I had to do it during my youth, too, usually in the dark of night after basketball practice. Icy rain, an armload of heavy books, and cars speeding along the highway are my memories as my father worked night shift and couldn't pick me up like the other kids fathers did.) </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, he did this for several days (proving he was physically capable to all of us) before I became aware of the situation Monday evening. His response to my shock was simply,<i> "I walk that much around the yard every day. Walking is good for you. Besides, most of the time a neighbor will stop and give me a ride."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I said, his physical health has been excellent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was told Tuesday morning (in a call from the nursing home administrator) that he didn't bring anything to eat for the day, They felt he was forgetting to do so, displaying early Alzheimer's memory loss characteristics. I was surprised as he always prepared a sandwich for himself and a bowl of fruit or vegetables for his wife. When I asked him about this, he stated,<i> "It would have spoiled in the heat during the walk. I eat before I go and when I get home. It's no big deal."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Sounds like a man that isn't thinking sanely, doesn't it? </i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>I don't eat breakfast. I guess that makes me a target, too!</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Call me "naive" also as I thanked the nursing home administrator for telling me she'd arranged a ride home for him Tuesday with a nurse that traveled that direction and would provide him lunch that afternoon. Yes, I thought it was being done out of human kindness as it was being portrayed. I didn't know she was going to use it as another black mark against him in an effort to have him confined.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I had planned on going up to see him on Thursday, my day off. I wanted to check on the progress of his truck repair and probably purchase a car for him to drive. I was worried more about his safety than his ability to walk the distance as the elderly are targets for many wrong doers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That was before the Tuesday morning blitzkrieg!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was barraged by calls from the nursing home, the prosecutors office, and the law firm representing them. I was informed of the file the nursing home had obviously been keeping, their reporting of that file to the prosecutor's office, and the somewhat "threatening" warning of the open case file that now existed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>The gestapo had been activated.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What has to now be done?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Since a person<b><i> is guilty until proven innocent </i></b>in this situation, my father now has to undergo an examination to determine his cognizant ability, an examination to determine his physical ability, and a driving examination to determine his driving ability.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Welcome to Indiana!</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After discussing these new developments with him Tuesday evening, I found myself having to take two days off of work to travel the 250 miles to him to get the ball rolling. Since 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, I've set up appointments with the Veteran's Administration Hospital and for a driving test, I have a car for him to drive in the meantime<i> (after riding with him and finding nothing wrong with his driving at all)</i>, and am on my fourth pack of cigarettes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>But, the Gestapo is breathing down his neck.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm supposed to keep them updated as to all results. I find it hard to do so without major malice coming through in my responses to them. The term "witch hunters" comes to mind and the days of Salem haunt me and my willingness to supply them with any response.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Guilty until proven innocent is not part of our culture! </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Why has the state of Indiana accepted it as theirs? </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>I'm sure that the state didn't intend for innocent individuals to be </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>wrongly charged, so why is it occurring and </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>what can be done to stop this atrocity?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My stepmother is a victim of Alzheimer's Disease and does have bouts of Dementia. I saw this and knew it was only a matter of time before it got to the point of my father having to do something with her. However, the state determined they needed to do something immediately and within a very short period of time took control.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, my father <b>does not</b> have Alzheimer's Disease. He remembers what he wants to, takes notes on appointments and important matters (as most of us do), and casts away what he could care less about, such as general non-important conversations with which he feels no need to remember.<i> <b> </b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>I do the same with my wife's conversations, as most spouses do. If you live in Indiana and are over eighteen years of age, be careful as you may find yourself confined to a nursing home for doing so.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He exhibits no signs of Dementia. He's the same stubborn old man any time of the day without change. In his life, being engulfed in his obligations to his home and wife, it doesn't matter what day of the week it is as long as the bills are paid and there's milk in the house. Since every day is has the same routine, knowing the date holds no importance to him. Some people just can't understand that not everyone finds the same things important as they do. Ask me what the date is and I'll look at my cell phone to see. Do you do the same?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>So, who's being hurt?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First, my stepmother. Why? Because the nursing home is definitely understaffed. There's simply not enough staff to handle the individual feeding demands of the patients. Why will she suffer? Because, with my father now under the spotlight of <b><i>"evil eyes"</i></b> watching his every move, I've limited him to a maximum of two hours a day with her. We simply can't take the chance of them reporting another normal activity as some sort of mental illness. Without his assisting her, she will become another that has to be fed a cold meal by the time the staff gets around to feeding her, one that lies in a wet bed until they get around to changing it, and one that sit's listlessly awaiting death to take her while individual attention is impossible to share.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Also hurt, my father. With his visiting time being cut short, he worries about her and the situation of which we're forced to allow her to remain. Also, being accused of what's been stated is agonizing to him and his self worth, not to mention being required to take exams to prove his innocence and sanity. He considered his efforts at the nursing home admirable. He was relieving others of taking care of his wife so they could assist others. He considered them his friends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He now realizes they've stabbed him in the back. All the joking and conversations were simply a ploy. It finally hit him square between the eyes when I took him there Wednesday morning and he saw they'd removed the chair in her room that he normally sits in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>One can only surmise it was their way of saying, </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>"You're not welcome here."</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>So much for "Thank you for helping."</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Kind of shows the attitude they have, doesn't it?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Kind of makes you wonder what the state of Indiana really had in mind.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Then again, lawyers always help lawyers make money, don't they?</i></b></span></div>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-8177273125704357002016-07-29T21:23:00.000-04:002016-07-29T22:52:45.180-04:00I'm Back!!! Thumpin Trumpin, Hillary Humpin' and Ten Things Of Thankful<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0HXsYqDOLO3KJpchDdscllCZQ8v9hxMzYuF9AEZ6Ykgj7R6i97bHU7YWveW3rq8WWs-LZ-1X8QPL1n6px68RUp4KCmaeY2MqIFXd0kCA-92r_N0HsGH6tiHiMBKwvf3VJOavrpT1pkAA/s1600/lion+hug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0HXsYqDOLO3KJpchDdscllCZQ8v9hxMzYuF9AEZ6Ykgj7R6i97bHU7YWveW3rq8WWs-LZ-1X8QPL1n6px68RUp4KCmaeY2MqIFXd0kCA-92r_N0HsGH6tiHiMBKwvf3VJOavrpT1pkAA/s320/lion+hug.jpg" width="304" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Well, did you miss me?</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That's a very dangerous question to ask, especially when you're unsure of the answers that will be forthcoming.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's like being seventeen years old and asking your sixteen year old girlfriend if she's pregnant?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are some answers that you want to hear and some that can put you in jail ... at least in some states. <b><i> (Yes, Indiana was one of those that could ... but no, she wasn't ... almost sixteen but not quite, that is.)</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>No, she wasn't pregnant.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>I was.</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just kidding.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you followed this blog, you know what I've been going through. If not, scroll down and read the previous posting from April 30th (it's right below this one so you don't have to worry about all the extra work involved) and you'll be able to catch up quickly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'll probably fill you in with an update in a moment, but first things first.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We have two presidential candidates in the running. If you include the Green Party and the Libertarian Party, we have four.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Actually, the last two are the real candidates. Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton are the jokes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Oh My God ... did I just say that?!?!?</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I know, all the Republicans and Democrats have just placed a curse on me. I'll never be able to have sex again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My wife already made that promise to me so you're too late.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Let's just pray that if one doesn't use it that it doesn't fall off.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>I think Hillary's already did ... and Trump got mad because it was longer than his.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sorry, I'll stop because there are children present.</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I tend to look to Cher for a song that describes the major party candidates this year. Ever hear of "<b>Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves</b>"?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FsFaVxcUMhQ/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FsFaVxcUMhQ?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>(**Video doesn't appear on cell phones. Now, don't you wish you were on your PC?")</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Okay, so I've already lost half of my audience. What else is new?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Seriously, I think we need Morgan Freeman in the running for PUSA. He does a great job playing the president in the movies, which is more than Trump or Hillary have done in their campaigns, so why not give him a shot? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Okay, who's the ass that's holding his criminal past </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>in "The Shawshank Redemption" against him?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Besides, presidents always have television movies made about them sooner or later. Kathy Bates isn't old or wrinkled enough to play Hillary yet, nor is Neil Patrick Harris obnoxious enough yet to take on Trump's role. It's a losing battle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>See, Morgan Freeman is looking better and better, isn't he?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have to shake my head in wonderment of the common philosophy that <i>"Trump isn't part of the political system"</i>. Let's step back and look at that. The system depends on big business filling the pockets of politicians. Trump has always been a part of this system. Tell me one gambling casino that hasn't added to the annual "undeclared" income of a politician. He's just been on the other side of the picture, kind of like the Playboy joke section is on the back of the centerfold. <i><b> (Or, used to be ... it's been years since I've looked at one ... as porn is so easy to find on the web.)</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And, my head continues to shake when people tell me that "<i>Hillary is a part of the system that works for the common man</i>". I've been looking for years for that part and still haven't found it. And, to look at the email fiasco, her achievements (?) in the State Department, and her consistent changing of sides dependent upon what group she happens to be addressing ... well, the common man definitely serves her purposes ... and serves her at lunch and dinner with drinks, too. <b><i>(Some have stated she's a lousy tipper.)</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yes, I'll vote this election, but it won't be for the "lesser of two evils" as has been described by many way too often this year. No, I'll probably vote Libertarian, if for no other reason than to say I voted and have a right to bitch about the winner. <b> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>May the best "Gypsy, Tramp, or Thief" win!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And, without further ado, let us get to what this is all about ... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Ten Things Of Thankful!</span></b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDATB1U6hwkCnJ3BlwbsQfQfDZ26LXKl1VJLMsGeT4mfc6hab5ZM39UYCUsiAsu87BWzPLEOumcYNa3jac0C4DVuzGbiN4QzwRp-SdJHDpdgBJga0bMGtYQMbyhwnZuq8CJAJSKW52dN0/s400/TenThingsBanner.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="374" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Cdiv%20%20%20align=%22center%22%3E%20%20%3Ca%20href=%22%20https://summat2thinkon.wordpress.com/ten-things-of-thankful/%22%20%20rel=%E2%80%9Dnofollow%E2%80%9D%20%20%20title=%22Ten%20Things%20of%20Thankful%22%20target=%22_blank%22%3E%3Cimg%20%20%20src=%22https://summat2thinkon.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/10thankful-banner.jpg?w=700?w=700%22%20%20%20alt=%22Ten%20Things%20of%20Thankful%22%20style=%22border:none;%22%20/%3E%3C/a%3E%3C/div%3E">See ALL TTOT Posts HERE !!!!!!</a></i></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>OKAY! OKAY!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I <b>promise </b>to stay away from any more political comments in the <b>Ten Things of Thankful.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Previously, I found myself entering a rut and not being able to escape. As a large portion of my audience has been from outside of the United States, I'm not going to bore you any longer with our political woes. <i>(You'll probably experience them for yourselves in the near future after the election.) </i> No, I need to address some other thankfuls from now on ... to things that the "common man" can relate. <b><i> (No, I'm not talking about toenail fungus, crotch rot, or YouTube's exploding cysts.)</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, here is this week's <b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Ten Things of Thankful!</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>This week, I'm thankful for:</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-n9cXtgijQSc0IBrsLLNjrgFs1PwclzgaiWqBjab4EBgpWd5Xrgkr069lu2GYvbPc6e9E8I_tYHzfWU7SuJFkFtIquVjWhZTvxrGdEIcGJkqfkIfWt0uAOKzrrVSRPRp4HpgdsdRMna4/s1600/black+widow+spider.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-n9cXtgijQSc0IBrsLLNjrgFs1PwclzgaiWqBjab4EBgpWd5Xrgkr069lu2GYvbPc6e9E8I_tYHzfWU7SuJFkFtIquVjWhZTvxrGdEIcGJkqfkIfWt0uAOKzrrVSRPRp4HpgdsdRMna4/s200/black+widow+spider.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1) <b><span style="font-size: large;">... Black Widow Spiders. </span> </b>Yes, how would I ever know that Black Widow venom would only cause a minor welt upon my legs had I not been recently bitten by them on three different occasions. They do take a long time to heal as it has been a month since the first bite and it's just now scabbing over. I'd been bitten by a variety of spider from India about eight years ago and still show the mark of the bite on my index finger, but these wounds should be gone in a month or two. <b> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>One of these days I'll stop trying to train them to dance like Ellen.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2) <b><span style="font-size: large;">... Lawyer Handling Skills. </span></b> Years of experience on stage, in front of training classes, and dealing with all types of customers have given me skills. Every once in a while, I need a good chance to demonstrate the power of the spoken word. This week, in dealing with an attorney that was supposedly handling continuing legal matters and monetary requirements between my father and the guardians of my stepmother, I let it loose. When told he was going to be required to pay for nine and a half months of her nursing home care and that the guardians decided he needed to accept her rental property in Indianapolis back and pay all past due insurance and bills since they took it over, I couldn't hold back any longer. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijLVD2-xsSE0j2iqIio4ZLBLkhuBO7yvlVRADlQQIJWegArCyCIukUjGbcdI3oLHYwZU5izkZGv8XSHZdT2At5VlWfbeooVSwA4iZCDV0ae1JeNHumhLtBXjMyQnFlj22IjuWNtbuZ-70/s1600/giant+balls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijLVD2-xsSE0j2iqIio4ZLBLkhuBO7yvlVRADlQQIJWegArCyCIukUjGbcdI3oLHYwZU5izkZGv8XSHZdT2At5VlWfbeooVSwA4iZCDV0ae1JeNHumhLtBXjMyQnFlj22IjuWNtbuZ-70/s200/giant+balls.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Are we paying you to act like a dog and rollover with your legs in the air so they'll scratch your tummy, or are we paying you to be a fighting dog? First off, they've wasted over a hundred thousand dollars of her money on $10,000 a letter outside lawyer fees and other non essentials. If you're not willing to bring this to their attention and require a dollar by dollar account of her estate that they took control of, then we'll find someone who will. And, since her rental property hasn't panned out to be the cash cow they thought it would be, they now want to give it back? Forget it! They're bound by the same court order we are ... it's not a pick and choose option package. They need to accept what they've gone after and pay up. We wash our hands of it. Now, tell me, what kind of dog are you so we'll know what to expect from you in the future?"</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And then I exhaled.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>My father looked at me ... and then at my crotch ... </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>like he was expecting to see the appearance of some gigantic balls.</i> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>We got our way in the end, which saved him over $60,000 </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>and past due rental property bills totaling over $5,000.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>I walked out of there like a bow-legged cowboy.</b></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZHyYnjpjDh_WAs3ioD88Kvc-FPPwzexsmvrEBBuFAiJIsoKBQaJG7vm-_GDdgeFxTHyZ-q5vLPwFzN1G3ymm0Ye5qdjBnyArimHG6YUSFvehSuKZuYexfKrNKvIsni9LZBf74FtZqlk/s1600/EKG+Heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZHyYnjpjDh_WAs3ioD88Kvc-FPPwzexsmvrEBBuFAiJIsoKBQaJG7vm-_GDdgeFxTHyZ-q5vLPwFzN1G3ymm0Ye5qdjBnyArimHG6YUSFvehSuKZuYexfKrNKvIsni9LZBf74FtZqlk/s200/EKG+Heart.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3) <b><span style="font-size: large;">... EKG's. </span></b> This week, I had another episode with my heart. After a chest pain filled weekend, Monday found me in St. Joseph's Hospital hooked up to monitoring equipment and having blood drawn from several places of my body. <b><i> </i></b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>First, why do nurses always look for the hairiest places on one's body to attach EKG patches?</i></b> I'm not really a hairy guy. In fact, I often look forward to the moment I reach puberty and can grow sideburns. Yet, nurses always find the few patches I have. It's like they're saying,</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> "When we pull these off later, you're not going to have any hair left anywhere on your body!"</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Thank God they don't attach them to one's pubic area.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And, why do they hunt for different areas from which to draw blood. Isn't it all the same as it circulates? It's not like they're going to find a different flavor in a different body area. Hell, if you want selection, go to Baskin-Robbins!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>32 flavors I'm not!</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4) <b><span style="font-size: large;">... Early Retirement? </span></b> A little over a month ago, I hit the minimum retirement age for Social Security. It was time for a major decision.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Take a reduced amount and make the wife work her butt off to pay the bills</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Or</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Wait four more years, get the full amount, </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>and still make the wife work her butt off to pay the bills.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My wife asked me if I still enjoyed downloading music, eating out, and having money to waste upon occasion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Four years is really not that long a time.</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0wkJw_hi-9VAX-J0PKWJCBTCSv-eBP_C3WIxoq5xoC_Pb2bpVm6nPo4R08sgcScZWTWrIjk9_TuJ3PE_8ppuvJXfcyf1EEL59YURkE47R9WX2hLGyXIB1E5zjB3HNtNw8qk0Nyfl3DGc/s1600/strawberry+banana+smoothie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0wkJw_hi-9VAX-J0PKWJCBTCSv-eBP_C3WIxoq5xoC_Pb2bpVm6nPo4R08sgcScZWTWrIjk9_TuJ3PE_8ppuvJXfcyf1EEL59YURkE47R9WX2hLGyXIB1E5zjB3HNtNw8qk0Nyfl3DGc/s200/strawberry+banana+smoothie.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5) <span style="font-size: large;"><b>... McDonald's Strawberry Banana Smoothie. </b></span> I have become addicted to this drink. Actually, I've only had one, but am experiencing fantasies of indulging in another. I'm fooling myself thinking that this drink is healthy for me, but then again, I have to remember it is made at McDonald's. These are the folks that manufacture pieces of chicken that nobody has ever found in a chicken. No, as I've turned over a new leaf and am only indulging in healthy habits, I have to reconsider returning to have another. <b><i>Maybe I'll just light up a cigarette and think about it for a while.</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZGBbMiG2PLM4ZBliMr9GqTWFkNDLlQ4Mpea6vyjaQddV1uuw4bzmetvFqwEi-Zr0owlXDapNAmdt8tNnQ8wcTZ23UjvzyfBDp1bIN3M2CLNHL1IVAVh26s9Sg6K0lRzkVeAS2RpfVh0/s1600/steak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZGBbMiG2PLM4ZBliMr9GqTWFkNDLlQ4Mpea6vyjaQddV1uuw4bzmetvFqwEi-Zr0owlXDapNAmdt8tNnQ8wcTZ23UjvzyfBDp1bIN3M2CLNHL1IVAVh26s9Sg6K0lRzkVeAS2RpfVh0/s200/steak.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6) <b><span style="font-size: large;">... Steak Prices Rising. </span></b>I was shocked the other night when I went shopping for steaks. This is a food that I save for when my wife goes on vacation with our daughter's family and leaves me at home to enjoy the finer things in life ... fantasy films, loud music, and exotic foods (to her) like beets, cabbage, various types of greens, and steak all included. Now, steak prices rose like a rocket when gas prices escalated. However, since the media had reported an overabundance of beef in recent months, and since the price of a gallon of gas has gone way down, I logically reasoned that beef prices must have gone down, too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wrong!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I finally found a couple that I could afford in the grocery store's <b>"I'm Not Too Green To Eat But Don't Come Back And Bitch If You Get Sick" </b>section, I hesitated only long enough to pick up another. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>I saved it for my wife's return home. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>She ate it tonight. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>I wonder if since she ate it voluntarily if I can be </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>charged for murder if she dies from it?</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhahjY73PSwUHChqqjEhP_eaPXPbffkL0Pj_UZP7PN72sWNC3lvyG78RzzWaoYsMR0KzhrUe1svT91ElqhMwu2oAl0cvS5DohJsEtNV3UuzuDRP7UrxznhNJZBBe9xG2Kp9zJYFJvHL-Fg/s1600/RAY+HARRYHAUSEN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhahjY73PSwUHChqqjEhP_eaPXPbffkL0Pj_UZP7PN72sWNC3lvyG78RzzWaoYsMR0KzhrUe1svT91ElqhMwu2oAl0cvS5DohJsEtNV3UuzuDRP7UrxznhNJZBBe9xG2Kp9zJYFJvHL-Fg/s320/RAY+HARRYHAUSEN.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">7) <span style="font-size: large;"><b> ... Old Monster Movies. </b></span> There's nothing like turning on your television and finding an old monster movie, especially those with special effects by Ray Harryhausen. "<b>Jason and the Argonauts</b>", "<b>Jack the Giant Killer</b>", and "<b>The Valley Of Gwangi</b>" were several that utilized his claymation talents and patience and became masterpieces in their own right. Not a lot of blood, gore, guts, or veins filling the screen like during the <b>RNC </b>and <b>DNC</b>, just good old fun and fantasy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'd like to see another claymation program, "<b>Celebrity Deathmatch</b>" be brought back on the air. True, they were always gross to view, but imagine the fun involved with settling civil disobedience in this manner. In other words, let's have "<b>Gladiators of the World</b>" make its debut show with a real Death Match! Start by bringing in a ISIS member with a sword and the president of the National Rifle Association with a Springfield Armory 9 mm pistol and enjoy the show!<i> <b> (And, don't forget the popcorn!)</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">8) <b><span style="font-size: large;">... People That Text While Driving.</span></b> I had the most devoted texting taking place this week as I drove home from Indiana. So, I'm stuck in Louisville rush hour traffic around the construction area of the new bridge. I watch a wrecker driver, with car in tow, holding up his phone at eye level as he was texting. He was so intent on what he was texting that he didn't realize that traffic had stopped in front of him. Suddenly, he was reminded of this as the front of his wrecker crumpled against the back of an eighteen wheeler flatbed. So, the wrecker needed a wrecker. And we wonder why car insurance rates are so high. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrSxqL92660Wl8HHOo8FTk8NbtOdfeglehocs5uSfQVw2lvzGJFiFcRQJNYsnIv9gRJ0EcT54LEp_-YdwhXjkBjwoZf-EnHDQGlDxb4zb9ULhUGMQozkax-2bbg1AF_WCsY216V-yNtjw/s1600/DOCTOR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrSxqL92660Wl8HHOo8FTk8NbtOdfeglehocs5uSfQVw2lvzGJFiFcRQJNYsnIv9gRJ0EcT54LEp_-YdwhXjkBjwoZf-EnHDQGlDxb4zb9ULhUGMQozkax-2bbg1AF_WCsY216V-yNtjw/s320/DOCTOR.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">9) <b><span style="font-size: large;">... Doctors Becoming Like Car Dealerships. </span></b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Okay, another </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">episode experienced this week made me cringe. While at the doctor's office Monday, I found myself in front of a brand new doctor as my old one had taken a teaching job at a local university. After trying to freak me out to the point of wanting me to ride to the hospital in an ambulance (when I had just driven 20 miles to get to his office), he starts talking about oxygen levels and the need for sleep studies. He hadn't properly diagnosed my first episode and he's trying to sell me add-on's!!! Only if he offered me an extended warranty would my attention be diverted his direction. </span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Good thing my tennis shoes were new or he might have tried to sell me tire and wheel protection!</i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">10) <span style="font-size: large;"><b> ... Venetian Blind Destroying Cats. </b></span> Yes, I love my cats. <i>(They told me to say that.) </i> But, my two felines frustrate finances forever. A couple of months ago, I purchased new blinds for the living room. Well, fat butt Gabriella has found that if she waddles to the top of the couch, lays on her side and sticks her front legs through them, the blades will bend down and she can view everything that's going on in the neighborhood. However, in doing so day after day, she has already broken two of the blades. So, I went to Lowe's and attempted to find some stronger ones. I can't tell you how ridiculous it sounded when I told the store clerk that I wanted some blinds that cats couldn't destroy. <b><i> I think he actually believed me when I told him I ran a zoo and wanted something that the cowardly lion and Dorothy could use to have some privacy. (Lowe's and Walmart are known to draw employees from the same pool!) </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And that's going to do it for my return to <b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Ten Things of Thankful!!</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>P.S.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The last three months I've been away have been filled with a craziness in the world I don't think we've ever seen before. Black Lives Matter protesters hypocritically stopping ambulances from getting to hospitals, a police officer shooting an unarmed social worker whose hands were raised to show they poised no threat, ISIS going wild in several countries using everything from knives to bombs to machine guns to a truck to kill innocent people, Social Security checks not being mailed out because the United States government stole the funds to use on other B.S. items, and police officers being assassinated in several cities by idiots believing in some ridiculous martyr vs. vengeance philosophy. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The government wants to: </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>1) take away the guns of the innocents when average police reaction times exceed 20 minutes, <b>(Population Control)</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>2) lower grade averages to ensure more kids pass and feel good about being stupid, <b>(Create the Ignorant "Herd" Mentality") </b>and </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>3) raise taxes on those that can't pay the taxes they owe already. <b>(Total Elimination of Middle Class)</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Yet, both parties tell us they can cure the problems.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I think an annual killing purge, held only in Washington D.C. while Congress is in session, would be the best cure. However, since "The Purge" has already been used in the movie, let's call it "<b>The Fresh Start Program</b>". It worked in the movies.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Maybe then you'd see the benefit of having Morgan Freeman as President.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Ciao!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>P.S.S. Please leave comments. I've missed y'all!</i></span></div>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-58561447605701312142016-04-30T09:17:00.000-04:002016-04-30T09:20:29.625-04:00Alzheimer's Disease, Nursing Homes, and the Last Ten Things Of Thankful<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>What a happy couple they were twelve years ago.<br />How things can change.</i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Normally, I attempt sarcasm laced with humor.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Notice I say, <i>"Attempt."</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This post is not going to follow the norm.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For the past few months, my humor has, for the most part, left me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No, Gabriella and Faletamie are fine, although her posts seemed to draw less and less views overall. So, she's now sliding into a fit of depression and Faletamie is suffering her wrath and fury it seems to bring. Don't worry, though, he'll be alright.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No, I've been dealing with some major personal problems. Some have to do with finances, others much more important.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What? There's nothing that will drag you down faster than money problems is there?</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yes, there is. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Alzheimer's Disease is a terrible malady that affects much of our elderly population. My stepmother is suffering from this. Since it initiated after a stroke eight years ago, it has done nothing but get worse and worse. In fact, unlike some instances, this is showing no signs of stabilizing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Almost every day I've had off work, I'd drive 200+ miles to Indiana to assist my 82-year-old father and the situation he's found himself ensnared in the middle. It's a place he never saw himself entering. It's been a battle with the state of Indiana over the guardianship of the woman he's loved for decades ... his wife ... my stepmother.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Because in her mental state, she has wandered. In remembering her younger years, she started sneaking out of the house when my father was busy in the basement or out in the garage and wandering the neighborhood wanting only to talk and visit with her old friends. She would arrive at a neighbor's home, knock on the door, be admitted inside, and start conversations. Unfortunately, the neighbors recognized she was somewhat "spacey" in her thoughts, and instead of calling my father, called the police.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One time of this happening is too much for the law to accept in the state of Indiana. As my father thought it only her wanting to be a "friendly neighbor", he allowed his guard to drop. The police were called to bring her home a total of three times because of this. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a result, the state agency of Adult Protective Services came into the picture. Since my father had not controlled her "wanderings", they declared him incompetent in properly protecting her and have now used the court system to become her legal guardian.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There were several things that could have been done to have prevented this. Had my father installed different "inside" locks on the doors, eliminating her chances of "wandering", the police would never have been called multiple times. Of course, this would have made her a prisoner in her own home, but she wouldn't now be in the care of the state. He could also have notified me upon the first occurrence. We could have discussed the law, his responsibilities, and the way people no longer accept being exposed to an "inferior" being. Times and tolerance have definitely changed. Also, had one of her children stepped up and accepted Power of Attorney for her (as instant guardianship takes place in the state of Indiana). They could have created a buffer and allowed for alternatives to be initiated. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately, they're happy with not having to deal with her in her current state. Only one of three has visited her in a nursing home in the last three months. I had to make the decision to eliminate myself from her possible guardianship as I could foresee lawsuits forthcoming from her children over every financial move I would have to make.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last year, after the death of an uncle, I saw the problems my cousin had with the legal system. I immediately had my father take his home out of his and her name and put it in his and mine. That way, it can't be counted as her asset and used to boot my father out in the cold to pay for her healthcare. In addition, we've also had Power of Attorney assigned to me for my father. So, before the state starts playing games concerning his mental state they have to get through me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm not as naive nor as easy a prey as my father. If they try, they will learn this.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Monday, my stepmother was moved from her first nursing home to another at the order of the court and recommendation of her newly assigned guardian. As she had gotten close to many at the first nursing home, it was sad to see her finally understand she wouldn't go back to them after court. We took her to the new nursing home, instead, and watched the shock set in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shock? Yes, as this new place is the place that she will never leave. As you walk in, you see those that have no sense of awareness roaming the halls and the gathering rooms. Wheelchairs abound holding those that stare into space in hopes of seeing a light to provide them escape from their inescapable "care" prison. Sadness prevails as many sit, wringing their hands, humming some tune from their past that gave them pleasure at one time, but now only builds a swinging bridge between life and death.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Even the air is heavy with the smell of medicine, messed adult diapers, and antiseptic cleaner that attempts to wash away the despair and hopelessness of those forced to remain against their wills. Oh, the staff does their best to be upbeat and friendly while visitors are present, but it almost seems hypocritical to the setting they provide.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My father spent eight hours every day with her at the previous nursing home, and is doing the same at the present. I see him starting to drift somewhat as his exposure to the morbid surroundings and the entire lack of hope being emitted by the occupants creep into his psyche. I believe he looks into the near future, sees himself also being confined (losing all he's worked his whole life for) and is beginning to accept death as a welcome alternative.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As if all of the above wasn't enough, my uncle has now been diagnosed with cancer in several areas of his body. He now resides in my stepmother's previous nursing home awaiting word to either start treatment or allow fate to take its due course. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, today's <b>Ten Things of Thankful</b> will not be based on the oddities of the news, as is usually the case. Nor, will it be based on Prince's death, the political forefront, or how much Beyonce's overpriced new album stinks. <i> (Sorry, there's one or two good songs, but I'm really tired of middle finger songs and her attempts to rap like her husband.)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No, today's TTOT will be somewhat useful to anyone that has to drive extended distances often, as I have found myself doing. That will be a relief for some, and a disappointment for others that tend to enjoy the madness I usually present. <i> (Believe it or not, there is an audience that likes it, lol.)</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>So, without further ado, this week, </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>I'm Thankful For:</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4YUhQMN_rb-qr1tZHDMzoPd3ymdZ1LS378di3Kn6vUYof2GBqXyqBoL1Og21YQRguyV3Vr2K3sj-6ZMaBykhNT-DzQ3nfvFaLqz5mSVfyN7ax3JfgeERRVrYOe6ns4r_cGzvplmdpow/s1600/flash+drive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4YUhQMN_rb-qr1tZHDMzoPd3ymdZ1LS378di3Kn6vUYof2GBqXyqBoL1Og21YQRguyV3Vr2K3sj-6ZMaBykhNT-DzQ3nfvFaLqz5mSVfyN7ax3JfgeERRVrYOe6ns4r_cGzvplmdpow/s200/flash+drive.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1) <span style="font-size: large;"> <b>Flash Drives</b>. </span> USB stereo connections in new cars are a life saver on long drives. I've most of my 9,000+ CD music collection transferred to them now, and there's nothing nicer than being able to put one in that provides you with a choice of over 250 albums. Whether you're in the mood for Classics, New Music, Country, Jazz, Rock, Blues, Showtunes, or Old Time Radio Programs, it's simply a matter of finding which flash drive contains what you want, plugging it in, and concentrating on the drive instead of changing CD's every 35-50 minutes. All you need is a bowl of popcorn and a beer to really enjoy the drive!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2) <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Navigation Units</b>. </span>Driving one way 200+ miles can become boring, especially when you have to do it often. So, why not be somewhat experimental? Drive an extra 30 miles past your exit and set your navigation to configure a new route home! I've seen some great Amish farmlands that I would have never have seen otherwise by doing this, and one way actually proved faster than the initial route! Give it a shot, be adventurous, and see what else the world has to offer. Just be careful of little redneck places called "The Dew Drop Inn".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-U9pA0CUralWyRkAtquQ02-TDumiSGHluH_S5gZAJWJ5zEcIq6yRTaO7NkIw-KqWMIxqOJzzPGhDYGAkTX14kr_0SCM5leV-60bqQQzfyhbbk3clB4_PcrITxgxFKVJnXH9ifsi0363I/s1600/dollar-tree-store-image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-U9pA0CUralWyRkAtquQ02-TDumiSGHluH_S5gZAJWJ5zEcIq6yRTaO7NkIw-KqWMIxqOJzzPGhDYGAkTX14kr_0SCM5leV-60bqQQzfyhbbk3clB4_PcrITxgxFKVJnXH9ifsi0363I/s320/dollar-tree-store-image.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3) <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Dollar Tree Stores</b>. </span> Going back and forth has given me an opportunity to visit my real mother's grave site more often. Noticing that her grave, the grave of my grandparents, and that of my aunt's had gone somewhat ignored, I stopped and purchased flowers for the side urns. Upon my next visit, I found the urns had either been robbed, or a storm had blown the flowers away. Dollar Tree sells a nice grouping of flowers for a buck. So, for four dollars a grave, I've been able to keep them supplied and looking somewhat better than I originally found them. And, if a storm or thief happens to take them away, replacement is fairly inexpensive. Oh, and Dollar Tree Stores have the old snack food "Bugles" for only a dollar a bag. Just don't tip over the jar of salsa between your legs while you're driving.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4) <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Arby's Market Fresh Turkey/Bacon/Ranch Sandwiches.</b> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span>This has become a staple for my return trips home. It's fairly easy to eat while traveling two-lane backroads that are light on traffic, very filling, and you don't have the weary feeling you get from the greaseburgers and fries other fast food joints offer, although the red onion may make you burp a few times (or fart, if you so desire and are alone in the car). Add a large Diet Mountain Dew and you're good for 200 miles or more! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5) <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Local College Magnets</b>. </span>If you're going to be traveling out of state often, stop and purchase a set of local college magnets to put on the back of your car. That way, the police (that are looking for out of state drivers to give speeding tickets to) will give you a break thinking you live in-state most of the time! Just make sure you take them off of your car before entering your own state, especially if there's a major basketball or football rivalry between the populace! Oh, and if in either Indiana or Kentucky, remember, Duke magnets are not allowed as substitutes!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6) <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Speedway Gas Stations</b>. </span> Normally, I'm a Shell Station man. However, I've found that Speedway has the best restrooms of any of the quickie gas stops. Generally, they achieve almost a "clean" rating, which is rare for a gas station. <i> (Most will gag you with the smell as you open the door.) </i> In addition, gas is usually cheaper than at other hometown stations, and the drinks are priced properly. Stay away from their five hour old pizza, though, as it will not mix well with the Market Fresh Sandwich and you'll be forced to drive with your windows open even in a rainstorm.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">7) <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Relatives</b>. </span> Some are good and some are bad. I have a few that are worth everything to me, and others that, like myself, left the hometown and don't have much to do with those that stayed. Since the problems started at home, I've found that those that remained are more apt to come to your assistance than the others. They maintained the "family" philosophy, instead of allowing society to taint their mentality with thoughts of only "what's in it for me." I treasure those that have been there for me and my father and only wish the others could appreciate what we once had can still be there. It only takes a little effort. Oh well, the longer they stay away the fewer Christmas present obligations there are!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7_fIcYepL-ISBEqBElLCL6eRHzSP8rs90YIhx8M4pEDfmTuBwpYFZfZzC6AvhjfnAah9XsO_WWUV0f3WsLokHp6Un20fkOXLtqJqYSx-LoQywK25VBsExtt3wqx1yKonXJWs1GW5Jb0/s1600/indiana-spencer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7_fIcYepL-ISBEqBElLCL6eRHzSP8rs90YIhx8M4pEDfmTuBwpYFZfZzC6AvhjfnAah9XsO_WWUV0f3WsLokHp6Un20fkOXLtqJqYSx-LoQywK25VBsExtt3wqx1yKonXJWs1GW5Jb0/s320/indiana-spencer.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">8) <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Hometowns</b></span>. I grew up in Spencer and moved to Bloomington for college (before and after the military). I knew most of the streets, the locations of all the businesses, and many of the people. That was over thirty years ago. Things change. Still, the basics of these two municipalities have remained almost the same. It's like a trip into my youth to walk the streets on which I roamed. No, my old grocery store employer has been torn down, and the drive-in restaurants have been replaced with McDonald's and a real estate office, but the memories are stronger with each visit. And, thank God the judge that swore he'd throw me in jail if I was ever caught with any drug is dead and gone! Whatta dumbass!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">9) <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Passing Lanes</b>. </span> Two lane highways are a relaxing way to travel, but can be frustrating as well. There's nothing like getting behind a car or old pick-up truck doing 35 in a 55 zone. Luckily, passing lanes save one's sanity when all the passing zones have proved fruitless due to oncoming traffic. Unfortunately, there are just not enough of them. However, I've learned that attempting to make your own in the side grass off the road is dangerous and may contain cement drainage ditches, so be patient.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">10) <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Home</b></span>. As Dorothy repeated over and over in <b>"The Wizard Of Oz"</b>, <i>"There's no place like home, there's no place like home ...</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Toto! Quit humping my leg!"</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although financial woes, a tired wife, and two bitchy cats await me, there's nothing like pulling into my driveway, shutting off the road weary Mazda CX-3, and walking into my own home. I just wish I could spend more time there, as everyone does. Perhaps, one day ... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">* * * * * * * * * * *</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQPZxIY_2HQ7g31LV0bNGI2nuHSW6r_OBucwjaDTOf-8HLrlmTSR_T8deHq5reGUYTiHLpEQFcDA64EKFoGywh2n5911VhIdIJU8Esjd_GZJxlTDT1di6psBMeMl7SolaxprD-SSgd_mY/s1600/emoticon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQPZxIY_2HQ7g31LV0bNGI2nuHSW6r_OBucwjaDTOf-8HLrlmTSR_T8deHq5reGUYTiHLpEQFcDA64EKFoGywh2n5911VhIdIJU8Esjd_GZJxlTDT1di6psBMeMl7SolaxprD-SSgd_mY/s320/emoticon.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That's going to do it for <b>Ten Things Of Thankful. </b> I honestly don't know when I'll be returning as there are other things that are more of a priority at this time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> I do wish to thank all that have visited here over the past few years, and especially each and every one of you that have commented. I've cherished each and every word you've shared with me.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This isn't the end, but only a long break. However, if the writing bug hits me and the humor finally returns, I'll let you know. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Until then,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Ciao!</i></b></span></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-62959335888110308612016-03-25T20:46:00.002-04:002016-04-24T23:16:23.847-04:00Gabriela, No Trump, and back to Sarcasm with a shorter TTOT!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Hn8Nwkd973ZXaBOv4ybSa5WQ6XRqKPl22zjMnUhK6w1AAUXT2sbQ3ORRgZQQzA-b4eBggCNvlFWDVXZzTi9KnBQ9hUebfRmleK1kaGBtWhlBE4hfxMCFyf1rIsb695xvTDWDOmHjNaI/s1600/Gabriela+Fat+Cat+Sleeping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Hn8Nwkd973ZXaBOv4ybSa5WQ6XRqKPl22zjMnUhK6w1AAUXT2sbQ3ORRgZQQzA-b4eBggCNvlFWDVXZzTi9KnBQ9hUebfRmleK1kaGBtWhlBE4hfxMCFyf1rIsb695xvTDWDOmHjNaI/s320/Gabriela+Fat+Cat+Sleeping.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once again, my Demon Cat, Gabriela, wakes up from her fitful sleep, clears the acrid Satan smoke from around her ears and makes herself known.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"Can I tell another story</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b> this week?"</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"No!"</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"Why not?"</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Because my views were down 50% by putting you in my blog."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"It's because your blog is too long for most to enjoy."</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"And your story didn't make it </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>any shorter!"</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"It's because you've become too preachy </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>about all the social problems in the world."</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"I agree, but I can stop that just like I can stop you!"</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"But, I'm really good looking. People like good looking cats. </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>They don't like fat, old men that do nothing but bitch, bitch, bitch!"</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Have you looked in a mirror lately? If your whiskers are supposed to tell you how wide of an opening you can get through yours need to grow another three inches on each side."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"But, I don't bitch."</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"No, you ARE a bitch."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"I can't argue with that."</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Didn't think you could."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"But, don't you love me anymore?"</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Stop looking like you're gonna cry. Of course I love you. You still get your Little Friskies every night and your Cat Chow every morning don't you?"</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"You're making me fat so no one will ever love me."</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"You don't have to eat it."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"Right. How do you expect me not to eat when you stick it right</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b> in front of me. Plus, I see you eating all the time. </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>What an example you set!"</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"So, if I stop eating and stop putting out the Cat Chow, you'll stop complaining?"</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"Let's not go to extremes, now. I do like my Cat Chow."</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Prefer me do away with the Little Friskies?"</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"Prefer me to use my claws on your crotch?"</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"See, you leave me no choice. I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"Should've known that when you named me a "Demon Cat."</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Do you mind if I get to what the people came to read ... the <b>Ten Things Of Thankful</b>?"</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"You should be thankful for me."</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"I am."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"Awwww, you do love me."</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Of course I do."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"So, can I tell a story?"</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"You just did! Now it's time for this week's </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>TEN THINGS OF THANKFUL !!!"</i></b></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDjCIkpbgReXZeepNhS45xrV0kwO3BHyYjL1_8SN07rbyhv3z1M-Md238HESVGkF2cx1hQ9nrOBpaP1KLUhjmnQNg1qe4dyrfImb-DBx1CjeQVF31GR_B4L90KwoCDWBFLusULgDV8moo/s1600/TenThingsBanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDjCIkpbgReXZeepNhS45xrV0kwO3BHyYjL1_8SN07rbyhv3z1M-Md238HESVGkF2cx1hQ9nrOBpaP1KLUhjmnQNg1qe4dyrfImb-DBx1CjeQVF31GR_B4L90KwoCDWBFLusULgDV8moo/s400/TenThingsBanner.jpg" width="374" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://summat2thinkon.wordpress.com/2016/03/05/ten-things-of-thankful-142-sick-note-10thankful/"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: small;"><b><i>SEE ALL TTOT POSTS HERE !!!!!</i></b></span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"Don't get too preachy! It turns people off."</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Leave Gabriella."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"You'll miss me when I'm gone."</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Let's try it and see. I love to experiment."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"But, you love me."</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Yes, I love you ... now go."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"Can I say goodbye to everybody?"</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"You just did. Later, Gator."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"That reminds me of a story."</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>"GABRIELA!!!"</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"I'm gone, I'm gone. Bye all!"</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>This week, besides the fact that she's left the room, I'm thankful for ...</b></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzrRCwRq4rio4lj02xILBj-Pjv2MAeu9By90-brKj_3YbSZc5ZOgldrJ_kEGDtm6p0V-zvJhWIdYAwqnNcAqLFvweJftWl27xNJJlK3ELYvtwSYfF4P09QIdfLxs6yi57KumuBmvXG7a0/s1600/Brussel%2527s+bombs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzrRCwRq4rio4lj02xILBj-Pjv2MAeu9By90-brKj_3YbSZc5ZOgldrJ_kEGDtm6p0V-zvJhWIdYAwqnNcAqLFvweJftWl27xNJJlK3ELYvtwSYfF4P09QIdfLxs6yi57KumuBmvXG7a0/s400/Brussel%2527s+bombs.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Bomb #1 (right top) at Airport and Bomb #2<br />(bottom left) at Metro Station.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1) ... European survival. </b></span> This past Tuesday, well over thirty people were killed by ISIS in cowardly bombings that took place in Brussels, Belgium. Civilians, dealing with shock, still maintained their dignity and integrity during the interviews by a blood thirsty press in the aftermath. You didn't see any whining about it, only stoic attitudes and inner strength.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>This is not the first, nor the last bombing that Europe will survive. As examples set by survivors of the Axis Powers during World War II, Europeans tend to exhibit the intestinal fortitude of their ancestry. Not to slight the U.S., many here also exhibited this after the Boston Marathon bombings a few years back.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>And, I damn every member of ISIS for their cowardly acts of violence. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>However, I would like to initiate a training school for ISIS suicide bombers. I could show them how to properly attach the explosives, gather themselves together in a freshly dug ditch, and push the "Explode" buttons in their hands. Then, they could all go to Bomber Nirvana and meet their virgins ... all of whom are blonde ... and resemble Miss Piggy!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">2) ... Lush Massage Bar causes plants to grow in bathtubs and showers! </span></b> Okay, so the first round of Lush caused people to turn pink. Now, because of a bean they use in their massage bar, people are finding plants growing in their bathtubs, showers and drains!</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoTJTxRCIV_9eIrU2c4DPr-niKLijIUBPNjqmMc_6zN179izXmfeessiVFJOU64u_g5twe29Z7cgmMfnCaHPpjFcKx0DJ5LeJej-t7q7BlafgWlQN7xSIiknMELFyFmjoKHyQP8dY8W8I/s1600/lush-bar-sprouts-in-shower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoTJTxRCIV_9eIrU2c4DPr-niKLijIUBPNjqmMc_6zN179izXmfeessiVFJOU64u_g5twe29Z7cgmMfnCaHPpjFcKx0DJ5LeJej-t7q7BlafgWlQN7xSIiknMELFyFmjoKHyQP8dY8W8I/s320/lush-bar-sprouts-in-shower.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I'm not sure why Lush does this sort of stuff, but I'm thankful they do. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I get my exercise because of their strange but true additives. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Now, if you'll excuse me for a moment, I've got to go get the lawn mower out </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>and mow my wife's back!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>3) ... Obama visits Cuba! </b></span> Yes, President Obama is the first President to visit Cuba in over half a century. While there, he made accusations that Cuba wasn't up to par in the realm of human rights. This, of course, upset Cuban President Castro who later brought up America's own problems with racism, violence, and the prison America keeps at Guantanamo Beach, Cuba which holds and tortures war prisoners without official charges or legal trial.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Too often, we forget that our house is not the cleanest. Oh, you can sweep most things under the rug for a while, but that doesn't mean the neighbors don't see the dust bunnies under the end table.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Politicians, who are caught in the political El Toro defecation they spout so freely, need a reminder and an awakening that their job is not as a leader, but as a representative of the people they supposedly represent. Castro basically threw Obama under the bus and said, "When you get your house clean, then you can come back and bitch about mine." </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I would loved to have seen Obama's face when confronted with this.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>People who live in glass (or White) houses </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>shouldn't throw stones ...</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>especially if they want a discount on Cuban cigars!</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>4) ... Dancing With The Stars started a new season Monday Night!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Yep, thankful I didn't watch it!</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCh5f_QEDzy3iC44Vfn9KWvW88z2slJ6mZKhzE1TV1adj35qLV8Rw_rqG0b740UkxyNXhmH0aLyowg25XogsDQdZtcJZC7OwFBMRs9RU1Gk-mvgnJlb966uSP3J9QJaw7mQml7FT1C4bM/s1600/Robin_shoots_with_sir_Guy_by_Louis_Rhead_1912.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCh5f_QEDzy3iC44Vfn9KWvW88z2slJ6mZKhzE1TV1adj35qLV8Rw_rqG0b740UkxyNXhmH0aLyowg25XogsDQdZtcJZC7OwFBMRs9RU1Gk-mvgnJlb966uSP3J9QJaw7mQml7FT1C4bM/s320/Robin_shoots_with_sir_Guy_by_Louis_Rhead_1912.png" width="217" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>5) ... a fifteen-year-old West Virginia boy was killed this week playing a dangerous game called "Dodging Arrows".</b></span> Sad, but true. Grief counselors are talking to friends and classmates. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Old adage say, </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"If you ain't fast, </i></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">you ain't gonna last!"</i></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Shot in the head, one dead, </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>game over!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Cruel, but thankful there's one less person to </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>teach the game</i></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to other would be victims.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">6) ... Movies that turn ten years old this week. </span></b> Here's a list of possibly some of your favorites: Cars, Happy Feet, Little Miss Sunshine, The Departed, Dreamgirls, The DaVinci Code and Borat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>So, your kids loved Cars and Happy Feet, you loved the DaVinci Code and The Departed, Dreamgirls reminded you of a time when Beyonce still had her head on straight, and Borat was banned from viewing unless the kids were in bed. So, shoot me if you must, but I'd be a fool to ignore how well Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail Breslin has matured! </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">WOW!!!!</span></b></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLoMpXI9uV4M2Xv-weZSZb45w-TdnwYA2fbhHCQuindNxBD2zu9km7TRtjzhrtcocUf8OPMvRHjiUrxBHwCcHCn874nAHiPyfqy-_HuBEZ58ipVwj4DVULqj4d_DDRfnakcF2l7mBwpRg/s1600/Abigail+Then+and+Now.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLoMpXI9uV4M2Xv-weZSZb45w-TdnwYA2fbhHCQuindNxBD2zu9km7TRtjzhrtcocUf8OPMvRHjiUrxBHwCcHCn874nAHiPyfqy-_HuBEZ58ipVwj4DVULqj4d_DDRfnakcF2l7mBwpRg/s400/Abigail+Then+and+Now.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AocHLD8gTI0/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AocHLD8gTI0?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>*I know she wasn't in this film, </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>but the song fits oh so well!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>7) ... Taco Bell meal breeds violence in Crestview, Florida!</b></span> A 51 year old woman threw a Burrito Supreme at her 66 year old husband's face after getting fed up with his drinking. In retaliation, the husband stabbed his wife in the hand with a fork with which he was using to eat his Mexican Pizza. Police were called and both ended up in jail for domestic violence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>This all goes to show you, </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Taco Bell doesn't get better with age, but can indeed lead you to Taco Hell!!!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Next week ...</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The Walking Dead actor that almost died when zombies</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> fed him a Double Decker Taco Supreme!!!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>and</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Did the Son of Sam killer go crazy trying to correctly spell "Quesadilla"???</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">8) ... Jet Blue flight attendant leaves 60 pounds of cocaine in L.A. airport! </span></b> A flight attendant was picked by the TSA for a random security check. On the way to the inspection point, she makes a call, takes off her shoes, and runs for the exit ... leaving her baggage. With recent bombings the primary concern, security lets her go and turns its attention to checking out the luggage, only to find 60 pounds of cocaine with a street value of over $3 million.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yep, the attendant was later caught. Thought she was just doing her part</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> to help the airline change its name to </span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>JET BLOW!!!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Before you reach the airport, </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>have a line, have a snort,</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>and you thought free miles were all that mattered!</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZoL5I3tyYqQ40bUQGMp7pozXyROvGDqFp3SBM-RUZyDTNcZ9wqdXYvrRwVm6EoHXi6A1u1SI4YDJFg0Ic0ZAbcJOM_Xg1ji3xcBDe-YleTaygNBRvzGJVWc-_vyKgaenlWld91PqQ57U/s1600/Indiana+University.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZoL5I3tyYqQ40bUQGMp7pozXyROvGDqFp3SBM-RUZyDTNcZ9wqdXYvrRwVm6EoHXi6A1u1SI4YDJFg0Ic0ZAbcJOM_Xg1ji3xcBDe-YleTaygNBRvzGJVWc-_vyKgaenlWld91PqQ57U/s400/Indiana+University.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>9) ... the Indiana University men's basketball team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament!!! </b></span><i> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Having grown up in Indiana's basketball country, and attended IU many decades ago, my love for basketball has never faded. Although many find my love of the game ridiculous, to me the sound of the ball bouncing on the hardwood, the screams of the fans supporting their team, and the swish of the ball going through the net provide me a rush unlike any other. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>When this post is published, Indiana will be on the court facing the number one seeded University of North Carolina. The Hoosiers will be taking on the Tar Heels in a game that UNC is highly favored to win. All I, and all Indiana fans can do, is hope for fair officiating (for a change) and a repeat of the last time these two teams met and Michael Jordan lost his last college ball game to the Cream and Crimson of Indiana.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>May the best team win ... and UNC lose!</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><strike>10) ... Paul Ryan silently campaigns...</strike></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"Hey, Hey, Hey, what about me?"</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Hello, Faletame. Let me finish this and I'll pet you a while ... okay, boy?"</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"Well, actually, I'm feeling kind of down. I was king of the house before you brought that bitch, Gabriela here. Now, I'm constantly watching out for her claws and temper tantrums. You've already made me a victim of the vet's planned parenthood program, so I don't have to worry like you do, but still, she could slice off my tail!"</b></i></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58VkgNJTJv3jAYTtDKtPfgcTbBnStrAOrLhWC0s4zQq3yc-edoK34PeGg_UrwE1aP99EEC_s19c6L-FVDeBPv84_NvhzzEDds0QIC2i85g-x4gcaqFFEKZnGZeoz_-Ha8bZRZYQrXPl4/s1600/Faletame++Sleeping+Cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58VkgNJTJv3jAYTtDKtPfgcTbBnStrAOrLhWC0s4zQq3yc-edoK34PeGg_UrwE1aP99EEC_s19c6L-FVDeBPv84_NvhzzEDds0QIC2i85g-x4gcaqFFEKZnGZeoz_-Ha8bZRZYQrXPl4/s320/Faletame++Sleeping+Cat.jpg" width="236" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>"Feelin' kinda down, Rich,<br />kinda down."</i></b></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbWJhrxeLFB3_k4NAJcTSRkoXDQrj6rW6EbuMWFFZfy51osF5KkozQjj3Yl_czcpPrfla5gDTCwkwXxxqugJKCCz1tL2hx1zCtvigiNhT7KmTullaaXuE9jVDQSjOXv1bnQ5_Yjyqmo4/s1600/Copy+of+Faletame+2012++4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"So, why the sensitivity talk now?"</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"Rich, I used to be your favorite. But, since she got her stories </b></i></span><i style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>posted on the web, she's the one that gets all the cat treats in the mail, </b></i><i style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>and all of your attention, too!"</b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Okay, sit back and let me take care of that."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>10) ... for Faletame, my male cat. </b></span> He's outside my door every morning, comes into my room and gives me his love and attention while I get dressed (as well as white hair all over my black socks and slacks), and only asks for a little love and food in return. He's my best friend, my buddy, and my one and only King of the House. May he keep his personality, loving attitude, and playfulness forever ... along with his tail. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"How's that, boy?"</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"Pretty cool, Rich, pretty cool."</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>"NOW WHATCHA GONNA WRITE ABOUT ME?????"</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"Oh Shit!"</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Till next week,</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Ciao ...</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>And Friggin' MEOW!</i></b></span></div>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-297524851336025242016-03-04T23:29:00.001-05:002016-03-05T19:44:56.874-05:00A New Demon Cat Story ... Hillary, KFC, McDonald's & TTOT!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUfmBPXDLACONyiIa5eKL7n_5w1S5-WCLnA6s1Vd1FS3wVcPV45FfUcebTj_WrIznDEWammdEZnAsinA5J8aRbkeXovy0kfl5LyBhAvddOGnXz-DB_cCwAoFLtRjluF17xuEDXGbSv2bg/s1600/Gab++4++01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUfmBPXDLACONyiIa5eKL7n_5w1S5-WCLnA6s1Vd1FS3wVcPV45FfUcebTj_WrIznDEWammdEZnAsinA5J8aRbkeXovy0kfl5LyBhAvddOGnXz-DB_cCwAoFLtRjluF17xuEDXGbSv2bg/s400/Gab++4++01.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"So, are you gonna do it?"</i></span><br />
<i><br /></i>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Do what, Gabriela?"</span></i></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <i><span style="color: #990000;">"You said last week if enough readers wanted me to be in another story that you'd consider it. So, are you gonna do it or not?"</span></i></span><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
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<i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Sorry, do it can mean different things to different people. It might mean jumping off a diving board, telling off a boss, starting a diet, or even making love for some people. That's why I need for you to be a little more specific when you ask your questions. I'm not a mind reader."</span></i></i></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <i><span style="color: #990000;">"I know that. Obviously, you'd have to have a mind to be able to read one. Okay, let me try this again. Are you going to sit your big butt down in front of the computer, listen to what I've got to say, type it out in a known format, and post it for all two or three of your readers to read? Or, are you going to sit on the damn couch all night, feeding your face with Hershey's Nuggets and Kettle Potato Chips, burping Diet Coke and farting last night's taco pie and smoking your cigarettes until the air in the room smells like an overflowing outhouse on a scorching Summer day, and blame me for your inactivity? Is that specific enough for you?"</span></i></span><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
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<i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"You like the taco pie, too!"</span></i></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <i><span style="color: #990000;">"Don't change the topic! Are you!"</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>(Welcome to my Home Sweet Home! Ever since I wrote about my solid black feline, Gabriela, the week has been Hell. No, not just a degree of Hell, but one spent in the main office of Hell. She's seen to that!</b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, at the advice and wishes of all those that cast the affirmative vote in her direction last week, I'll now try to appease her desires and your wishes, although I really think there are better things to write about.)</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"So, how do you want me to start it?"</span></i></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <i><span style="color: #990000;">"I was hoping you'd ask. Why, just two nights ago while I was peeing on your pillow ... oops, change that to while I was watching Faletame pee on your pillow ... I remembered a part of my third life that I'd hoped to never think of again."</span></i></span><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
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<i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Was that your day of birth?"</span></i></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <i><span style="color: #990000;">"No, you ass, it wasn't my day of birth! In fact, it was a couple of years after that. Why when I was born for a third life, the angels sang, the birds chirped, and Preparation H actually shrunk hemorrhoids. It was a glorious time for all, and especially hemorrhoid sufferers.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">I had been born on a small farm. Seemed as though the farmer always wanted a bunch of the superior race, cats, around to take care of his rodent problems. The eating was good, the food was plenty, and none of us ever had room for desert. Life was good!</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">Then, one day, two young human brats showed up. I overheard the farmer telling his wife that they would only be there until the county found someone to adopt them. Seems they had come from a tragic past where a fire had burned up their prior home and their parents along with it. The children had been found by neighbors just staring at their burning home as screams from the burning parents inside rang out from the crackling and popping of hardwood floors and crashing ceiling beams.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">Now, I don't like fire. The things that a hot match will do to my fur is something no shampoo or conditioner can handle. And, the smell of smoke, even those cancer filled cigarettes you smoke, Rich, stays in my fur forever!</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">One afternoon, after having just fed on a litter of baby mice (lordy, lordy, they're like caviar to me) I was stretched out, letting the sun carry me away to dreamland with my full tummy, when I hear the laughter of children close by, followed all of a sudden by a match striking.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">I opened my eyes just in time to see the young boy throw a match at his sister, who was standing right in front of me! Of course, she jumped out of the way. But, by the time I saw the match coming, even my fleetness of four feet couldn't get me out of the way! Damn thing landed right on my nose and burned like Hell! See, I still have a scar, today!</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">Well, the boy and girl both just laughed and laughed about it. </span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">The little monsters were fire bugs! They played with matches, set little fires behind the barn, throw in different kinds of bugs that they'd catch, and giggle uncontrollably as the fire made them sizzle and pop. What really got me was hearing them talk about the fire they'd set that killed their parents! There wasn't an ounce of remorse in their hearts at all. </span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">From that day on my life was filled with lit matches and burn spots on my fur coat. Knowing I couldn't go on that way, I had to work out a plan.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">As Summer became Fall became Winter, I noticed that it only took a light breeze to blow shut the barn door. There was a cut two by four that was hinged on one end, and would easily swing down into a metal u-bolt which would lock the door when the door banged against the barn. In fact, the farmer got caught in there one day and it was after dark before his wife came out to see what the problem was. Poor guy nearly froze.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i><i><span style="color: #990000;">You may call me "just a cat", but I have a brain more intelligent than most humans. I know this from watching some of your reality shows on television. For days, I thought about the monster kids, and the farmer getting locked in the barn and finally put a plan together. </span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">I knew what I must do.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">That afternoon, while the farmer went to town. I guess his wife was supposed to be watching the children, who were busy hunting something new to burn. Meandering up to the house, I was amazed at my fortune of good luck upon looking in a living room window and seeing her napping on the couch. </span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">Then, I heard a match being lit. I jumped without even looking and just cleared the flame as it settled into some dried leaves packed along the window ledge. I didn't notice that the leaves caught fire almost immediately.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">I ran, trying to save myself, through the open barn door, slowing only to let the children see me enter. Within seconds they followed me. Standing on the dried hay bales that was more like straw, I jumped back and forth and side to side avoiding their thrown matches. </span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">As the boy reached into his pocket after another box of the wooden fire sticks, I saw that the others had started a small flame in the corner. Recognizing my chance, I rushed passed the children, used all my weight to slam shut the barn door, and let a smile come to my face as the two by four swung down, locking the children within the tinderbox.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">Between the house burning and the barn burning, it's difficult to figure out which one burned the fastest. I guess the farmer's wife had been overcome with smoke and passed out for good as I never heard anything from her.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">I do remember the screams of the children as they burned. Remembering how their parents had died, I simply figured that everything had come full circle. </span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">I laid down, stretched out, and watched the barn burn to the ground. No regrets, no sorrow, no tears. Sometimes, I'm a real bitch.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">Oh, I had roasted mice and rats for weeks! In fact, I ate so much that I never wanted another rodent again in that life. </span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i><i><span style="color: #990000;">And, that's my story. So, you gonna write about that?"</span></i></span><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I just did."</span></i></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i> <i><span style="color: #990000;">"Did you make me out to be the heroine?"</span></i></span><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Oh, you're a real hero in every one's eyes. In fact, I think many have now seen a side to you that others saw as their last vision on Earth. You may even get some fan mail from ISIS supporters."</span></i></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <i><span style="color: #990000;">"If you made me look bad I'm going to pee on your pillow, again."</span></i></span><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Want a roasted mouse for din-din, Gabriela?"</span></i></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <i><span style="color: #990000;">"Want me to claw your balls off while you sleep?"</span></i></span><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Go find Faletame and play, girl. I've got to finish this up."</span></i></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <i><span style="color: #990000;">"Okay, I think I'll grab a couple of golf balls and practice for tonight. See you later!"</span></i></span><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></b></i>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And now, why many of you are here </span></span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">in the first place, </span></span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">it's time for this week's </span></span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>TEN THINGS OF THANKFUL!!!!</b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%E2%80%9D%20https://summat2thinkon.wordpress.com/ten-things-of-thankful/%20%E2%80%9D%20target=%E2%80%9D_blank%E2%80%9D%3E%3Cimg%20src=%E2%80%9D%20https://summat2thinkon.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/10thankful-banner.jpg?w=700?w=700&#8243; alt=”Ten Things of Thankful” style=”border:none;” /></a>">SEE ALL TTOT POSTS HERE!!!</a></i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>This Week, I'm Thankful For:</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">1) ... Black couple gets IHOP Black waiter fired for typing "Black PPL" on takeout order receipt! </span><span style="font-size: medium;">A couple ordered takeout at an IHOP restaurant in Austin, Texas. When they received their order, they found "Black PPL" had been typed onto the receipt. Outraged at being labeled, they complained to the manager, who fired the waiter, received apologies from corporate IHOP, and still made statement that they'd never return there.<span style="color: red;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">(<a href="http://www.aol.com/article/2016/03/02/couple-finds-black-ppl-on-receipt-for-ihop-takeout-order/21321883/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl17%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D-818724391">*See Story Here)</a></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>This is too screwy to be anything but true. </i></b></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>Damn, Those are good questions!</i></b></span></td></tr>
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<b><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I'd love to see Al Sharpton tackle this one. Would he say the waiter</span></span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></i></b></b><b><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">was wrongly fired or would he say that any type of description that mentions ANY color is racist labeling is not acceptable even within the same race? And, if that is the case, every time he mentions "whites", is he, too, acting as would a racist?</span></span></i></b></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>I'm betting he goes into hiding at Denny's </i></b></span></span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>and thinks about it over a Grand Slam Breakfast with "Yellow" runny eggs sunny side up, "Orange" Juice, "Black" Coffee, and </i></b><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>"White" Sausage Gravy over biscuits.</i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>2) ... a new video that shows a Baltimore police officer hitting a student while another officer stands by. </b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Once again, people are appalled at this type of behavior from law enforcement. The two police officers were suspended pending investigation. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Let's all blame the police again. Isn't it easy?</i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>However, me ask one question, "If parents are doing their jobs and properly disciplining their children at home, why is it necessary for 43% of the public schools in the United States to have police officers present?"</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Think about it!</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>43% of the schools in the United States are so dangerous, have children that are so uncontrollable, and have eliminated the rights of school officials to discipline the major offenders that they've had to resort to police officers on the premises.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Isn't it time parents look into the mirror and see who's to blame. No, don't try to shift it to someone else. Your permissiveness, your ignorance, and your blurring of the lines between right and wrong have allowed this to happen. Your inability to understand that you need to discipline your children, spend quality time with them, and curb their behavior when it borders on unacceptable IS the reason we're in the mess we're in. </i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>But, you can't accept that, can you?</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>You want to blame others, don't you?</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>And there, my friends, lies the problem.</i></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>3) ... Barnes & Noble's sales continue to drop. </b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Once again, the proof that people are reading fewer and fewer books continues as Barnes & Noble's sustained a 1.8% drop in book sales last quarter. This makes seven straight quarters that they've had a drop in total sales.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Technology is taking over! People no longer have the durability to sit for hours and waste time reading. Knowledge is no longer a quest to be experienced. The dumbing of society is proving to be effective! </i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>All I can say is that if you're an author working hard to finish a book, do so quickly. Otherwise, you may be the only one reading it!</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Damn, I'm just filled with good news this week, aren't I?</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>See what the Demon Cat does to me?</i></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">4) ... KFC and McDonald's ban teenagers in English </span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxz30F726fUYrGf5LWK8y7AztFCFmxvy-uQQAFpYl9uFBWbaSbxkcQTVWj0_Xcurgcs_DQFoli4ljOV1BoMzQHS7djjc5al2R38y995DLP45EpMidBwS00mOUCm72yhHb9x_rwkq-A-Zo/s1600/kfc-vs-mcdonalds-1-638.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxz30F726fUYrGf5LWK8y7AztFCFmxvy-uQQAFpYl9uFBWbaSbxkcQTVWj0_Xcurgcs_DQFoli4ljOV1BoMzQHS7djjc5al2R38y995DLP45EpMidBwS00mOUCm72yhHb9x_rwkq-A-Zo/s400/kfc-vs-mcdonalds-1-638.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">town. </span></b><span style="font-size: medium;"> After a fight broke out at a KFC in Stoke-on-Trent, both fast food restaurants have banned teenagers unless they're escorted by an adult. They will serve them food to take with them, but will no longer allow teens to act as though the restaurants are "their personal playground." The fight discussed included over 20 teenagers and only ended when gunshots were heard.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Seems like the U.S. isn't the only place where parents have screwed up raising their kids, is it? Only thing missing is physical abuse of the teenagers by the bobbies.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Oh, and aren't handguns banned in England? Hmmm ... says a lot about gun control stopping those that break the law, doesn't it?</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Personally, I think it's just a ploy by the restaurant chains to get the kids to bring in their parents so sales will increase. Let's keep an eye on the profits of these two stores and see what happens!</i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>"Money makes the world go-around,</i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><i>the world go-around, the world go-around..."</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>5) ... Best and Worst jobs announced. </b></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Careerbliss has released their listing of the Happiest jobs and the the worst jobs to have. Included in the Happiest are: School Principal, Loan Officer, Executive Chief, Automation Engineer, Research Assistant and Website Administrator. Included in the Worst Jobs are: Security Officer, Merchandiser, Sales, Dispatcher, Retail Clerk, and Legal Assistant. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Damn, whatever happened to Rollercoaster tester, Movie Reviewer,</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i> or Food Critic? Don't you remember when you wanted to be</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i> a Bubble Gum Bubble Blower Tester?</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>How times have changed!</i></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>6) ... Hillary Clinton ... "She should be buried under a jail." </b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> ESPN Baseball Analyst, Curt Schilling, doesn't hold back when it comes to voicing his opinion. ESPN took him off the air after he Tweeted a meme about Muslims, and is keeping him off the air after his latest comments were voiced. Against both Trump and Clinton, Schilling referred to the Clinton email fiasco and stated that she should be in jail before the election is held, and that <i>"She should be buried under a jail."</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>I haven't said much about Hillary. I've constantly knocked Trump, but I've left Hillary alone. Why? Because she's changed her stance on issues so often Dancing With The Stars considers her a professional dancer. Her security ignorance with the emails makes her a questionable one to trust our national security with, as is her inability to answer questions in a "to the point" manner. And, the primary reason she wants to get back to the White House is to put an electric shock collar on Bill so she can shock the hell out of him when he starts messing around on her again. </i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Vindictive, wouldn't you say?</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Schilling may have gone a little too far </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><i>suggesting that she be buried alive. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><i>May have.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><i>And, then again ...</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">7) ... President Obama and Senate Majority Leader continue to play tug of war. </span></b><span style="font-size: medium;"> Obama says he will appoint a new judge to the SCOTUS soon. Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, states that it should be the new president that fills the position. CNN viewers, predominantly Liberal, have a 58 to 41% lead in going along with the President.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Does it really matter? A judge is on the court for life. If a judge's job is to interpret the law, why is it so important to each party to choose one they want? Isn't the law the law? Shouldn't the judges view the cases in front of them in accordance of the law instead of in accordance with the views of the party that put them in office?</i></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Guess not! That's why the battle continues.</i></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Says a lot about our justice system, doesn't it?</i></b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>8) ... Spain is now the world's most popular winemaker! </b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Spain sold more wine last year than any other country. That's the good news. Bad news is that it sold it for a very low price.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Remember decades ago when the U.S. had cheap Boone's Farm and MD 20/20? Ripple this and Strawberry that </i></b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>... those were the days. </i></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>I wonder, how do you say, </i></b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>"Cheap High" in Spanish?</i></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>9) ... funerals are now going Green. </b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Thanks to a North Carolina company, funerals are now all about recycling the human body back into nature. No embalming or vaults will be allowed. Only a pine box that will break down over time allowing the body to recycle itself into the Earth.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Besides, with the zombie apocalypse coming soon, it will be much easier for them to escape their graves this way!</i></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b><i>AND NOW, MY RANT FOR THE WEEK!!!!</i></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="text-align: center;"><i>Not being a fan of any candidate in this years campaigns, I thought I'd be able to keep from getting upset when one side bashed the other. However, there are some things that are simply not right and must be addressed.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></b></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="text-align: center;"><i>This is a clip from the Louisville campaign stop for Trump that shows the different groups that attended ... supporters and protesters alike. More than twenty different groups were there. I present this to show the difference in opinions present there. All present were not Trump supporters, racists, and dumb Kentucky rednecks, as labeled by some who stereotype and judge without common sense. </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></b></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="text-align: center;"><i>I wonder, could it be possible that his supporters became upset at the constant interruptions that were made by these "anti-Trump" groups and grew fed up with the inability to listen without hearing jeers and such? </i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="text-align: center;"><i>Remember, when you read #10, there are two sides to every story.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">10) ... film clips on the Internet that are strategically cut to sway opinions.</span> </b> In an effort to continue to prove that people are really stupid, cutting film clips on the web to sway public opinions is becoming a way of life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This week, a film clip that was displayed on Facebook more than any other showed a black college student being hounded, pushed and shoved as she was forced to leave a Donald Trump campaign appearance. This was followed up by article after article stereotyping the citizens of Kentucky, condemning the Trump Campaign, and played to the emotions of anyone concerned with civil rights, working hard in stirring up racists feelings within the citizens of the United States.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>This is an extended clip showing that individuals </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>of ALL COLORS were being ejected. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Now, let's get real. This wasn't a racist occurrence. Protesters of all colors were being ejected from the event!!!! The clip had been cut to sensationalize racism, instead of giving a true picture of what was taking place!</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Both Trump's and Clinton's personal appearances have been filled with individuals being forcibly ejected. Security personnel have even been accused of throwing down a member of the press and putting him in a choke hold. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>We are not in the middle of a political campaign. </i></b></span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>We are in the middle of a battle to gain control of an office that is becoming more and more like an "electorial dictatorship". (I know it's an oxymoron but it applies.) The sad thing is that the two leaders of this campaign are both known for lying to the American public consistently, stirring up the public and avoiding issues continuously, and forever blaming others for their shortcomings instead of taking personal accountability. Sounds like some parents I know!</i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>There are NO viable candidates in this campaign that care about the working man. Unfortunately, most will not shed their Hillary / Donald fairy dust and awaken to recognize this until the election is over.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>For those assholes that would like to put all citizens of Kentucky in a </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>stereotypical grouping, I can only say, </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>"You're so damn stupid your tongue has slapped </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>your brains to mush while you were trying to wipe your butt!"</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>("Yes, Virginia, I am accusing the guilty of having their head up their ass.")</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>There are assholes all over the United States (and the world). Be they liberal or conservative, they haven't the intelligence (regardless of their educations level) to understand the viewpoints of others. And, regardless of their egotistic opinions, geography of residence doesn't make one person superior to another. There will always be the ignorant in all areas of the country that make great press and aid in our news agencies promoting sensationalism. It is hoped that at least some of the people that attempt to consider themselves to be intelligent would cast aside the El Toro Defecation and see what is really happening. That doesn't seem to be the case.</i></b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> </i></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>We cannot look beyond the darkness that surrounds this campaign. </i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></b> <b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Trump will not be the choice of the Republican Party. </i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>He doesn't fit their mold in any way. </i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>He is only a temporary distraction to steal air time away from Hillary.</i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></b> <b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Yet, he seems to appeal to those who are tired of having jobs shipped overseas, food taken out of their mouths, and standards of living being lowered. They seem to be fed up with trying to make ends meet while preference seems to be given to lifelong welfare recipients, illegal aliens, and the criminal element. They are afraid of more of the same, including the cattle herding politically correct groups ruling the country, the police not properly acting in accordance with the oaths they take, and the criminal element getting away on technicalities in our failing justice system. </i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></b> <b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>For these folks, the race has become emotional, void of intelligent analysis. Sad thing is that it's happening on both sides of the coin.</i></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>They have forgotten that politicians are just that ... politicians. They lie to get elected, and then cast aside all promises only as necessary rhetoric for their cause, validating their actions. Once in office, they will continue to take care of big business, cater to clients that assisted them achieve their political office, and smile while they spit on the voters that put them in office.</i></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>God, people really are stupid, aren't they?</i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></b> <b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></b> <b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">That's going to do it for this week!</span></i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></b> <b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Ciao!</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-22339768970844154252016-02-27T01:06:00.001-05:002016-02-27T01:10:24.902-05:00The Demon Cat, Donald Trump, Erin Andrews and TTOT!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuEH1dvhss0a_P7K00DitPp12YbGS15vsMFKDNyXdX1xFtm1s6WQwZATmCjp5AcCluvHDmZYqTffViafQWGmv8ZUo1O0aPeJzPqnU_VyiVWJUxWQXFkW4ZoW26I-0UJh7aMZfUPw6f6D0/s1600/gabriela+part+3++102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuEH1dvhss0a_P7K00DitPp12YbGS15vsMFKDNyXdX1xFtm1s6WQwZATmCjp5AcCluvHDmZYqTffViafQWGmv8ZUo1O0aPeJzPqnU_VyiVWJUxWQXFkW4ZoW26I-0UJh7aMZfUPw6f6D0/s400/gabriela+part+3++102.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For those of you that have followed me for years, you'll remember I once did a series of horror/comedy posts following the lives of <b><i>"Gabriela: The Demon Cat."</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They were a break from the humor posts I was writing at the time. (*You can still find many of these either on Hubpages.com, or in my other pages here entitled "Previously Published on Hubpages.") The scrutiny I incurred on Hubpages with these posts, and the restrictions there against creative writers versus encyclopedia copiers, led to my decision to never again publish any of my material there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, I miss the ability to make a person smile in one moment, and shirk back in horror the next. I've considered going back and completely rewriting the "Gabriella" series, expanding each storyline and providing descriptions that Hubpages limited me from doing, and putting it out in book form.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gabriela loves the idea! In fact, she's gotten fatter, more loving, and much wiser over the years she's spent with me. Her once thin and muscular body has grown into a smaller version of my wife ... hourglass figure that allowed the sands of time to gather around the bottom. Her wit has sharpened, as have her claws. Combining the two, she has become very dangerous with which to argue.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why, just the other day, her and I were talking ...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="color: #990000;"><i>"When you gonna write another story about me?"</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">"When are you going to give me something worthy to write about?"</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<i style="color: #990000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>"What do you mean? I gave you the complete stories before. </b></i></div>
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<i style="color: #990000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Don't you think you could use that head of yours </b></i></div>
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<i style="color: #990000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>for something besides eating?"</b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">"From the looks of your waistline, you've been doing more </i></div>
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<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">of your share of that than I!"</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"Keep that crap up and I'll remind you who has the claws in this family. </i></b></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>You'll wake up one morning and see me down at your crotch </i></b></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>asking you if you're gonna enjoy being a eunuch!"</i></b></div>
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<i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Who brought out the bitch in you today?"</span></i></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"I just think it's time you wrote another story about me. My fan mail </i></b></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>has slowed down, the samples of kitty snacks have almost stopped </i></b></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>coming in, and all I see you doing is writing bullshit articles about </i></b></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>politicians and the end of the good times in America. You're like </i></b></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The Big Bang Theory without the "Big" or the "Bang"</i></b></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> ... and that's my theory!"</i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">"Babe, it just seems like horror stories are a dime a dozen these days. </i></div>
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<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">It's all been done before. You may have been the original, but there's</i></div>
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<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> been twenty-five thousand pass that way since."</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"I can do porn."</i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">"Absolutely not!"</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"Make it a love story?"</i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">"Bestiality is not my thing."</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"Not that, how about a "Lady and the Tramp" type story only with cats?"</i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Why not just do another James Bond story and title it the name of </span></i></i></div>
<i> </i><br />
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<i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the Bond Girl in <b>Goldfinger </b>... "Pussy(cat) Galore? With the size </span></i></i></div>
<i> </i><br />
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<i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">of your tummy, it would fit perfectly!"</span></i></i></div>
<i> </i><br />
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<br /></div>
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<b><b><i><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Your pillow is about to become my litter box ... again!"</span></span></i></b></b></div>
<b> </b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">"Let me think about things and we'll see. </i></div>
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<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">In fact, I may ask my readers in my next post what they think."</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>And that is just what I'm doing now. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you'd like to see another Gabriela story, please state so in the comments below. It will please her, and probably keep my pillow from being used as a litter box ... again! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oh, and just in case you've never read one of her stories, look at the top of the page and you'll see the tabs for parts one and two of her series. Give one a shot (remembering they were edited and shortened for Hubpages) and then make your mind up. You just may find yourself enjoying them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>And, without further ado, let's go on to this week's </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>TEN THINGS OF THANKFUL!!!</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>This Week I'm Thankful For ...</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixYdWy7HdSEKJMto3wON1TNTbMYLZLETj_PGnPfzFSf2IDlbIeAWBwW2jaarTxNjryrlAlNzgMvBYa51zX8kge4kc7TKhSiVTPICc4gGfUPgnBj1MiTKYJpfggdzMuGU9vSdUff2mDpT8/s1600/Donald_Trump_August_19%252C_2015_%2528cropped%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixYdWy7HdSEKJMto3wON1TNTbMYLZLETj_PGnPfzFSf2IDlbIeAWBwW2jaarTxNjryrlAlNzgMvBYa51zX8kge4kc7TKhSiVTPICc4gGfUPgnBj1MiTKYJpfggdzMuGU9vSdUff2mDpT8/s400/Donald_Trump_August_19%252C_2015_%2528cropped%2529.jpg" width="293" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1) ... our favorite politician wannabe, Donald Trump. </b></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well, this week Donald made statement of what he wanted in a running mate for his Vice President. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"I want someone who could help me with government. So, most likely that would be a political person."</i></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Damn, isn't that what we need for president?</i></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In addition, former Mexican President Vincente Fox as stated that <i>"... he was not going to pay for the f**kin' wall" </i>Trump wants to build along the U.S. / Mexico border. Of course, Trump took offense to that and demanded an apology. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>It's not clear what the ex president's reply actually was, </i></b></span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>but it's imagined to have began with an "F", also.</i></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>2) ... Republican Party stupidity. </b></span>Okay, here's how the story goes ...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A Supreme Court judge dies. The Republicans say they won't act on any candidate for the job, wanting to ensure one of their own get selected after Obama leaves office. Obama, holding a strong hand, decides to nominate a Republican Governor, Brian Sandoval, for the job just to call their bluff. The Republicans, whose stand means more than the idea of getting one of their own on the court, get with Sandoval and he rejects the nomination. So, even though they were going to achieve their long term goal, they couldn't get over the fact that they had made a statement that was going to make them all look stupid. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Obama is laughing his ass off right now.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>When the Republicans figure out what they did, they'll be crying.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>And, these, my friends, are the people you elected to handle your affairs.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>I think we should all be crying.</b></i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbmsV68pJ4ITa4UbVFLioTBob1E9xaPcF4wlsEPf_ynSezylRZkkKGjR1ssEhNCKA4lipy5qr2XbGSjbWcn5JXOoGrpufOIOqXuFzZ8kcggiUP0BKOOJZnhK_SwfhasjN8r6Q17NBxT0/s1600/No+Oscars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbmsV68pJ4ITa4UbVFLioTBob1E9xaPcF4wlsEPf_ynSezylRZkkKGjR1ssEhNCKA4lipy5qr2XbGSjbWcn5JXOoGrpufOIOqXuFzZ8kcggiUP0BKOOJZnhK_SwfhasjN8r6Q17NBxT0/s320/No+Oscars.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">3) ... Academy Awards Protests. </span></b> The Rev. Al Sharpton, called a <i>"civil</i></span><i>rights activist"</i> by some and a<i> "race card player and spotlight chaser" </i>by others, will lead protests in Hollywood preceding the Academy Awards. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The co-sponsor of this protest is MSNBC. The protests will concern the lack of black actors nominated for awards this year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Wait a minute, what's going on here. Since when did affirmative action come to Hollywood? I've nothing against members of any race being nominated, but let's be real, these awards are not to be given to just anyone because they're of a certain race. Hell, if that's the case, why not make one award for Blacks, one for Native Americans, one for immigrants of European descent, one for Hispanics, one for Eskimos, and if there's anything left over, give the scraps to a white. </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>The 1970's were filled with employers having to fill positions with unqualified employees simply to meet the demands of government percentages. This did nothing but confirm racist feelings that some races could handle the jobs and others couldn't. It didn't matter that some groups had been provided training for the positions and others hadn't. Employers felt forced to hire the unqualified because of the demands of government. </b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>The animosity it created widened the race gap instead of erasing it. </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>When we marched for equality in the 1960's and early '70's, it was to provide equal opportunity in life to all. This didn't mean you automatically got anything because you were one color or the other. It meant you did the work and excelled at what you did because you put in the time and effort to do so.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Even the Hollywood branch of the NAACP is against these protests. They, instead, want to work with the academy to ensure all are given an equal chance that is based on their performances, not color.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Al Sharpton is not a favorite person of mine. He tends to magnify and instigate in order to promote himself, and then leaves everyone else holding the bag. MSNBC is in it strictly for the ratings, there is no doubt. Perhaps they should rename themselves the "Al Sharpton News Network" and be done with it.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>I am.</b></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>4) ... Halliburton to cut 5,000 jobs.</b></span> Blaming crude oil prices, Dick Cheney's retirement funder, Halliburton, will be cutting about 8% of its workforce.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Okay, let's be real. Americans losing jobs is not good. However, </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Halliburton has a history of doing things that make its shareholders </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>millions and screwing everyone else.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Remember, Halliburton was Dick Cheney's baby before he left(?) </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>to become Bush's Vice President. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Remember, Halliburton was the company that had a non-compete </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>contract with the government to be the only supply source corporation</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i> for the servicemen and women during the war in the Middle East. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Remember, Halliburton cost the American taxpayers billions of dollars </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>as they took over jobs held by servicemen, who were experts at them,</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i> and triple charged for the replacements. This included radiomen, </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>cooks, supply specialists, and other ratings. In addition, Halliburton </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>was known for sending $70,000 Escalades to the auto graveyard and</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i> buying new ones instead of simply repairing the others for simple </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>problems such as belts, hoses, and minor engine repairs. And,</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>they even overcharged our servicemen there. (i.e. 6-pack of </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Coca Cola for $6.00).</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>"Halliburton, raping the taxpayers of America one way or another."</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>I'd like to see the whole damn company go under.</i></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGe7-voQQGwhc50ocdl4iX90UoRtfQj_FaQAmjUF__888TZHKKruWpn5C19cBezM-t9fEGj_YSFN9XyeDPoIoSB1yI3hUbTHH1-r6gD_7TO61jqjvGEnkOndNilE_Zrk466FNyaGdqaNk/s1600/11084620_1030165650345656_2101698946_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGe7-voQQGwhc50ocdl4iX90UoRtfQj_FaQAmjUF__888TZHKKruWpn5C19cBezM-t9fEGj_YSFN9XyeDPoIoSB1yI3hUbTHH1-r6gD_7TO61jqjvGEnkOndNilE_Zrk466FNyaGdqaNk/s320/11084620_1030165650345656_2101698946_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">5) ... the Most Interesting Man In The World has legal problems. </span></b> The talent agency for the well known beer spokesman are suing him for over $2 million that they say he still owes them for his 2014-2016 earnings. Jonathan Goldsmith, the Dos Equis character, has filed a countersuit, claiming his manager opened his mouth and ruined his contract. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>So, we have another boring court battle. That should just about do it for the "Most Interesting Man In The World" commercials. </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>I'm awaiting the </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>"Most Interesting Woman In The World" series, </i></b></span><br />
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>which could be a whole lot juicier!</i></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>6) ... McDonald's makes customers mad. </b></span> The promotional "2 for $2" menu has ended at McDonalds. Now, they've taken a lesson from Arby's and have raised the stakes. It's now "2 for $5" menu time! This means customers will have to fork over $3 more at every visit. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Okay, so, who in their right mind worries about McDonalds? You know the food's not good for you. If you eat there more than once a month, you're an addict that needs rehab. So, why worry about it?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Why? Because first McDonald's had their "Dollar" menu, then they changed it to their "Dollar and More" menu, then to the promotions mentioned above. There's no consistency in their pricing and act like they can do whatever they want whenever they want.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Solution: Don't eat at McDonalds. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Sooner or later, they'll get the hint. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Or, didn't you ever see "Supersize Me?"</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">7) ... Virginia votes to keep police officers names secret. </span></b> Senate Bill 552 classifies the names of police officers as personal information. It's goal is to protect police officers and their families from the criminal element when the officers are off duty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>This is a smart move by the Senate, but has already drawn the wrath and </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>fury of the American Civil Liberties Union. They feel as though keeping </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>the officer's name secret is just another step closer </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>to becoming a police state.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>They may be right. I'm wishy washy on this topic. I've been a badge </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>wearer when in the military and recognize what life and death </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>situations can take place. Yet, I've been a victim of bad police </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>practices back in the early '70's, and feel like you must have </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>some way of controlling the bad police officers that get </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>through the system and make it to the streets.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Police have one of the toughest jobs in the world. Split second </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>decisions, violence when you least expect it, and public </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>criticism on every phone video. No career choice has such </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>pressure, such a history of substance abuse, </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>and such a background of suicides. </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Criminals in the United States have forced the hands of law </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>enforcement. A consistent lack of respect demonstrated by </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>today's youth coupled with today's lack of value of human life, </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>make enforcing the law tougher than ever before. </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>So, with all of this under consideration, should the names </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>of police officers be kept secret?</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Let's look at one example. You're a police officer confronting a </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>known violent offender. He puts down his gun, all the time stating </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>that he knows your name and will have his "boys" take care of your</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b> family because you're arresting him. He has a history of </b></i></span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>vengeance </b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>on the street and you know your family will be in danger. No one </b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>else is around. Do you shoot him dead and keep your family safe </b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>or do you arrest him and put your family in jeopardy?</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>If he didn't know your name, your family would be safe and </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>there'd be no question, would there?</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>See what I mean?</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7iXC1_ZCuW_SXheKXWcmFR8U42vzna-zNsabs8ZOzsPWtJkeZwGqVklbxOfViMDF5cqOdfAA1g0KoC2eFXqSzu60mfY6BZaYBU55BIXldRLqrf2xaspbRTUN-Ru7iUPkEYJLlO7Yf1iY/s1600/rs_560x415-140318082230-1024.erin-andrews-dwts.ls.31814_copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7iXC1_ZCuW_SXheKXWcmFR8U42vzna-zNsabs8ZOzsPWtJkeZwGqVklbxOfViMDF5cqOdfAA1g0KoC2eFXqSzu60mfY6BZaYBU55BIXldRLqrf2xaspbRTUN-Ru7iUPkEYJLlO7Yf1iY/s320/rs_560x415-140318082230-1024.erin-andrews-dwts.ls.31814_copy.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">8) ... Erin Andrews sues Nashville Marriott for $75 Million. </span></b> Erin says she suffered severe emotional stress and strain and has to find her smile again. So, she's suing the Nashville Marriott because one of their employees told a photographer (who just happened to take a nude photo of her through her peephole and post it on the Internet when he couldn't find any buyers for the photo) in which room she was staying several years ago.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Folks, $75 Million for a nude photo is $74 Million more than Penthouse</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b> Magazine offered Jessica Hahn and dozens of others over the years. </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>I have no doubt she suffered a severe degree of stress over it, </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>but not $75 Million dollars worth.</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Erin is playing the game and hoping to come out a winner. She switched</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b> from ESPN to FOX Sports for a higher salary, became part of the </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>announcing team on Dancing With The Stars, got the photographer </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>put in jail for a couple of years, and now wants more cash ... </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>all since the photo hit the web!</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Oh, well, I guess she sees that her supposed beauty is dwindling </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>at age 37 and needs to cash in on it while she can.</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>I just need to make a room reservation in Nashville and find a willing </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>photographer to go to jail for a couple of years. When he gets out, </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>we'd split the $75 Million and both live like kings</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b> the rest of our lives. </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Thanks for the idea, Erin!</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>I just found my smile, too!</b></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">9) ... the St Louis Archdiocese has urged Catholics not to support the Girl Scouts. </span></b> Supposedly, the Girl Scouts are now associated with homosexuality, abortion, support of contraceptives, and transgenders. So, the St. Louis archdiocese has urged its members to avoid any type of support ... including the purchase of Girl Scout Cookies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Okay, before you think I'm going after Catholics two weeks in a row, </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>let me clear the air. I am not doing that at all. In fact, I'm going to </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>side with the archdiocese this time.</i></b></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Oh, I understand homosexuality, abortion and support of contraceptives. </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i> I have no fear of any of those ideas or concepts.</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>However, I will admit a fault in my being as far as accepting </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>the idea of a transgender.</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>I apologize for that to any transgender.</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Perhaps it is my upbringing ... my environmental conditioning ... </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>my conditioned response that has been challenged over the years </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>to accept this somewhat extreme state of being. No matter how much </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>I know people are different and I should accept them for what they are, </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>I admit, transgender behavior tends to be very difficult for me to grasp.</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Obviously, the archdiocese feels the same.</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>The idea of a transgender Girl Scout scares the hell out of me. </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>I envision this 6'8", 300 pound, unshaven ex football player coming </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>to my door wearing a Girl Scout outfit and asking how many </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>boxes of cookies I want to order ... 100 or 200.</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>I might feel somewhat threatened. I might wonder, </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>"Has anyone ever purchased $9000 worth of Girl Scout Cookies before?"</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>And, I don't even like chocolate mints.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-uEsM8wFgcDsT-AgPodMQiPIY_t9gFbUGeqtLXYSEwNypak1NJcEMg6iSNb5alAblgPmUkUCboTW5V6pX_C3Hf7uxtORDY6ng50rYcxqegju-DONcUofwEN_bKCblfc5UeEwJ3noGOvM/s1600/13923166-420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-uEsM8wFgcDsT-AgPodMQiPIY_t9gFbUGeqtLXYSEwNypak1NJcEMg6iSNb5alAblgPmUkUCboTW5V6pX_C3Hf7uxtORDY6ng50rYcxqegju-DONcUofwEN_bKCblfc5UeEwJ3noGOvM/s200/13923166-420.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>10) ... over 50,000 child safety seats recalled. </b></span> Makers of the Evenflo Transitions 3-In-1 Combination Booster Seat have announced a major recall as it has been found that children can loosen up the harness holding them in if they are used in the forward facing mode. A simple remedy kit has been offered by the company to avoid this from occurring.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>However, the wearing of child sized </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>strait jackets has been questioned</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i> by some parents.</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>And, that's it for this week's </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Ten Things Of Thankful!!!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Hope you enjoyed!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Ciao!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-78340689412652329242016-02-19T21:03:00.000-05:002016-02-19T21:03:28.717-05:00Mountain Man Cave, the Pope, Donald Trump, Kanye & TTOT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEE-pPfwEVQ9AC_NrtAsuQtlGC_aIIX-KJpobDJjE948NG6RKcJQYQ_5L7o8ZWdgVE_wmm3nEKIPCjFMKu30InLob1M5INV-jM3IvEHnyDVOPWJPdI91skcRgj5wBaCSZ3FMGbwhPS4G4/s1600/800px-Kuys_varvara2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEE-pPfwEVQ9AC_NrtAsuQtlGC_aIIX-KJpobDJjE948NG6RKcJQYQ_5L7o8ZWdgVE_wmm3nEKIPCjFMKu30InLob1M5INV-jM3IvEHnyDVOPWJPdI91skcRgj5wBaCSZ3FMGbwhPS4G4/s400/800px-Kuys_varvara2.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I want to buy a mountain that has an elaborate cave system.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This isn't something that I've thought a lot about. In fact, the idea just came to me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Envision entering a cave in this mountain and discovering a sizable combination of underground passages that open up into chamber areas, each of which, could be used as different rooms. Preferably, a fresh water spring would be found flowing throughout the system, taking care of life's necessities (drinking, cooking, washing, sewage, etc.) Of course, arranging these properly in the right order would be a must. <b><i>(Bathrooms would definitely be the closest to the door and the cave's drainage system!)</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This could become my <i>Fortress of Mental Solitude</i>. I'd spend my days reading and writing, exploring the tunnel system, and creating a map of the world inside of the mountain.<b><i> (Okay, so that's just an excuse to get away from my wife every now and then! You try staying in a cave with her 24/7 if you think it's so damn easy!)</i></b> With the underground temperature always being constant, it would be simple to create a "warm" area with a solar heating system piped in from outside. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Heating system? </b></i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course! One would just have to be careful not to dry out the dirt holding all the stone in place. Too dry and the whole thing could tumbling down! <b><i> (Think of what that would do to property values!)</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've lived too long with the luxuries of civilization to become some old hermit scrounging through the dirt and living like a caveman. What better area to have a constant breeze than atop a mountain pass? <b><i>(Especially since the Senate Chamber only has stagnant hot air!) </i></b>This could easily power an electricity generation windmill. Using storage batteries and generators, standard power could be utilized to provide all the comforts found in more conventional styles of homes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bring in the appliances and wide screen televisions ... satellite dishes are always available for the asking. <b><i>(The wife has to have her porn, you know!)</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An area could have a pool table, video game area, and bar <b><i>(just in case I ever decided to take up drinking.) </i></b> Another area could be for music enjoyment and mixing. (Imagine the acoustics!) Still another could house a swimming pool, hot tub and fireplace. <b><i> And, if I can locate it in the right state, let's not forget about the marijuana grow room! (The hell with drinking! Bring on the smoke and a fifty pound bag of Oreo cookies!)</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course, security would be a must. Since I'd probably be too high to make valid decisions, a six inch thick steel door would allow those invited <b><i>(hookers, mostly)</i></b> entry while keeping those unwanted pests outside. This could also come in very handy for eliminating frustrating conversations with salespersons, religious fanatics, and political campaigners. <b><i>Perhaps a slot for a machine gun turret would be a viable feature to assist this, especially with the politicians.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Damn, I think I just purchased the Playboy Mansion, </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>complete with the grotto and Hugh Hefner!</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Naw, I hear it's still haunted by the ghost of Joe DiMaggio!</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course, affording a purchase of this nature is going to take funding. So, I'm announcing a non profit organization entitled, "<b>Let's Put Rich In The Ground.</b>" Contributions can be sent to the address below. And, if you've a solitary heart in your body, how could you refuse to put Rich in the ground? It just seems like the Christian thing to do! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, while I'm awaiting your contributions to start flowing in, let's take a look at why you're really here and go to this week's edition of</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>TEN THINGS OF THANKFUL</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>This week, I'm Thankful For ...</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1) ... Kanye West. </span></b> Let's see, he ranted at Saturday Night Live after his special floor couldn't be used because of lighting issues, has recently renewed his attack and made several negative and profane statements about Taylor Swift, and he's also stated that he's broke and needs to borrow a million or so dollars from Mark Zuckerberg.</span><br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>You gotta give it to him, he sure knows how to prove that America's </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>education system is creating the land of the dumb and the home </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>of the ridiculous. But, then again, when you have an internal need to </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>prove you're as big as ass as your wife's, you live up to all expectations!</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDN5Al5-N6Bqrla4N95oyKEQsmVaFVWVLYjrq4D9VhRiL47fFwcjnulp4ZUgc75HOvgIbFx_byrBuZ20PVrpOaxf1K6pJHuzNJUdww_tGpW6RLtj5OEkAO0e52pUWQjGdSB16PgHbHIr4/s1600/Pope_Francis_in_March_2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDN5Al5-N6Bqrla4N95oyKEQsmVaFVWVLYjrq4D9VhRiL47fFwcjnulp4ZUgc75HOvgIbFx_byrBuZ20PVrpOaxf1K6pJHuzNJUdww_tGpW6RLtj5OEkAO0e52pUWQjGdSB16PgHbHIr4/s320/Pope_Francis_in_March_2013.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: large;">2) ... Pope Francis in announcing that using condoms is "okay" in countries where the Zika virus is spreading. </span></b><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold;"> </span>In looking at abortions as the other alternative, the Pope figured that it would be easier to pass out condoms in Catholic schools than to have the school's buses seen parked outside of abortion clinics. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Okay, so I was born Catholic, saved by the Baptists, and fine tuned</i></b></span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> by the Pentecostal Holiness. It meant I could go out and get totally</i></b><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> drunk without feeling guilty about it until the next day when </i></b><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I could repent in a tongue that no one could understand!</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Whatever happened to abstinence? </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Didn't the church once preach that? </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i> Oh, that's right ... that's one of those forgotten concepts like eating </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>fish on Friday, speaking only in Latin, and letting Michael Corleone</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i> be your sister's godfather. </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>My bad!</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>3) ... Pope Francis calls out Donald Trump's views on immigration as not Christian! </b></span> In retaliation, Donald Trump calls the Pope's comments "disgraceful" as far as judging his faith. In addition, Trump made comments about the Vatican falling to ISIS and then the pope would wish he'd have seen things differently.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Damn, I don't know much about the fighters here, but I do know that </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>the pope has a great corner and cut man. Donald, pretend you're</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i> not Kanye and shut up and go sit in a corner!</i></b></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Besides, Donald, if past popes had pushed condom usage decades ago, </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>you might not be around! Hell, neither would Kanye! </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>I'm beginning to like this guy!</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">4) ... The Grammy Awards were held this week. </span></b>Mostly, they were ignored by those that still held onto a thread of intelligence. However, Natalie Cole's family were shocked and are making a public complaint over the fact that Natalie didn't have the tribute given her career that other "passed away" artists did. <b><i> </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Natalie, being dead, couldn't be reached for comment.</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Maybe they should contact Pope Francis to see if she's sent them a message.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">5) ... French could become the most commonly spoken language in the world by 2050. </span></b> Right now, this is the order of most spoken languages:</span><br />
<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Arabic</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Hindu</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Spanish</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>English</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mandarin Chinese</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>French</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, due to a boom in African nations speaking French, it may only be a matter of thirty years or so before it becomes the most common language in the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tell me that's not going to piss off Donald Trump!</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By the way, Kanye, can you rap in French?</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think I see the pope laughing right about now.</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpAMj2fwlvfob1Fj3WN7-ND-soWvqXnwFdUIMsFPJh6Zy_QUc2J59TSOvZOEkc1TazKQ0LFLRfjvitG-lBAznUKYhhn-CUVU0ZjyLjEOlT1ys0TwP459ibkaTllNBUHJCt6d7BTTcqXDw/s1600/Bernie_Sanders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpAMj2fwlvfob1Fj3WN7-ND-soWvqXnwFdUIMsFPJh6Zy_QUc2J59TSOvZOEkc1TazKQ0LFLRfjvitG-lBAznUKYhhn-CUVU0ZjyLjEOlT1ys0TwP459ibkaTllNBUHJCt6d7BTTcqXDw/s320/Bernie_Sanders.jpg" width="252" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">6) ... film showing Presidential </span></b></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">hopeful, Senator Bernie Sanders, being arrested. </span></b>You can always depend on film makers to help out when it's needed. Fifty-three years ago, Bernie was arrested protesting for civil rights. A film of this arrest is making its way around the Internet in hopes of destroying his chances for the campaigned position.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, if you're an adult, I'd like to ask you one question.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>"Did you ever see something so wrong that</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i> you'd put yourself </i></b></span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>in a position of being </i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>arrested to attempt to change it?"</i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There were many of us that protested and marched in hopes of righting the wrong of civil rights. We put ourselves on the front lines to bring about an awareness that things needed to change. Being arrested was not the worst thing that could happen. Being murdered by those that opposed civil rights was much worse.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm not a "Bernie" fan, nor do I support any politician in office today. Our system doesn't allow for the "best" to reach public office, only those who find, or are born with silver spoons. Where it's common knowledge that our last President was somewhat "wild" during his youth, I don't see any disgrace in the "arrest" film of Bernie. In fact, I think more of the man than I did before knowing that before he was a part of the American political machine, there might actually been a shred of common decency in the man.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>And that, for any politician, is one hell of a rare thing!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>7) ... Texas approves concealed carry laws for public college campuses. </b></span> As of August 1, 2016, anyone enrolled in a public university that is over 21 years of age and has passed all qualifications for a concealed carry permit will be allowed to carry weapons anywhere on campus. This act is in hopes of stopping acts of violence by providing a known barrier of resistance to anyone considering a heinous act. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Since parents have constantly failed in their responsibilities to teach, </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>or allow their children to be taught right from wrong, we are now reaching the crossroads where laws like this one are beginning to sound like good ideas. </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>The premise that criminals always seek the easy target takes public </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>universities</i></b></span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> out of the sights of those wanting to maximize their killing </i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>efforts and minimize their chances of being blown away by gun toting </i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>students. Of course, as colleges lead the way, it won't be long before </i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>grade schools follow their lead. And, let us not forget those in </i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>pre-school institutions. Why, even day care centers will have </i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>three-year-olds armed before you know it!</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>We live in a violent society. We've made our bed with parental </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>permissiveness, political nurturing of pre-teen childbirth, and a removal </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>of any type of spiritual guidance or rules to follow. We have youths </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>attacking a military vet at McDonald's this week in the name of </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>"Black Lives Matter", ISIS feeding as much propaganda to our </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>youth as our government does, and leaders of the land ignore </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>the violence and bark like dogs on television.</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Perhaps, this is the answer. Just remind me to stay away from any </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>college frat keg parties from now on in the state of Texas. </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>It will be a shame when "Remember the Alamo" becomes "Remember Tom, </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>or Judy, or Shemika, or ...", or any other college kid that is killed </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>by bullets </i></b></span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>that never should have been fired.</i></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Society needs to seriously take a strong look in the mirror.</i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">8) ... Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center computers taken over by hackers!</span></b> No fear, the hospital paid a $17,000 ransom and all was fine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Let's see, you hack into a hospital computer system, encrypt all records, </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>and only ask for $17,000 ransom to make things right again. Sounds like </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>a teenager who needs a car for college to me!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">9) ... Len Goodman will be returning as a judge to Dancing With The Stars. </span></b> That means Julianne Hough hits the road and says "Bye-Bye" to her position there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Sorry, but all I can say is, </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"B.F.D." </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>and </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"I wonder how the Pope feels about this?"</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>
10) ... 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. </b></span> The Rolling Stone magazine has put out their latest listing of great guitarists. Many will debate it, I'm sure, but the top three are as good a picks as any.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkqgPu3Rfoo1eX7Kxk0MD82FjNKPM2Z1JMtWdRW8NfXkoFd0hNM8Oe6ZgB7ZpAkHLANpOkksxFL_EXPnbCYT-YytZn1kdfryRNcucwcKI8XxAmpzJAGcPdHLOP2AHpsX7vJQgsTwPxYs/s1600/JIMI+HENDRIX+A03.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkqgPu3Rfoo1eX7Kxk0MD82FjNKPM2Z1JMtWdRW8NfXkoFd0hNM8Oe6ZgB7ZpAkHLANpOkksxFL_EXPnbCYT-YytZn1kdfryRNcucwcKI8XxAmpzJAGcPdHLOP2AHpsX7vJQgsTwPxYs/s320/JIMI+HENDRIX+A03.jpeg" width="244" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>#3 - Jimmy Page </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">#2 - Eric Clapton </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">#1 - Jimi Hendrix</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><i>So, until next week, </i></span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><i>Keep On Rocking!!!!!</i></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><i>Ciao!</i></span></b></span></div>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-51917389769163982332016-01-29T18:39:00.002-05:002016-01-29T19:13:13.177-05:00Depressed? Then Stop By And Cry With Ten Things Of Thankful!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRbQW0BThwaNvNx12ejAK-uoMi-654nRZMW1q_RRVmIvMzL7X7m1CN1xqm6igL48diac9VbNVb_TSCYEDQVjWUJOcEkQ-tLd7JFvhsWlIJFxOvZIgopjj9XeCi35vdlMYXfScDPEyIBWU/s1600/-Mujer_De_Pueblo-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRbQW0BThwaNvNx12ejAK-uoMi-654nRZMW1q_RRVmIvMzL7X7m1CN1xqm6igL48diac9VbNVb_TSCYEDQVjWUJOcEkQ-tLd7JFvhsWlIJFxOvZIgopjj9XeCi35vdlMYXfScDPEyIBWU/s400/-Mujer_De_Pueblo-.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Did you ever get so pissed off at the world that you didn't care if you lived or died?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have you ever felt like God's whipping boy ... continuously taking lashes for every bad thing that ever happened?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Remember the time that no matter how hard you tried to be positive, everything turned out to be a negative that was thrown in your face?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Did you ever find yourself in a losing situation with nowhere to go but deeper and deeper into the mire?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Was there ever a time in your life where the good times out weighed the bad and you thought they'd never end?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When was the last time you were able to take a few minutes to appreciate what you had instead of being pressured for more of what you didn't?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Did you ever gaze into a mirror wondering why some people had all the luck and you had none?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have you ever wondered how some people constantly hit the winning numbers on scratch off tickets and daily Pick Three lotteries?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What new excuse did you come up with to tell the bill collectors when your car payment was due and your money wasn't enough?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you remember what it was to have been a big fish at one time, only to find yourself ashore suffocating without water now?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Did you ever want to spend time with the kids you didn't have time to spend with when they were young ... and still don't?</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Sound like the opening to a </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>depression medicine commercial?</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Sound like an elderly person looking at their life </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>and living in regret?</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Sound like a television news psychologist making excuses</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i> for someone going ballistic and using a toy gun </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>to fake out police officers in hopes of committing suicide?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Sound like your life?</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Let's see if this can take your mind off of things for a while.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Forget your troubles, grab a cup of tea, and read on to this week's edition of </span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>TEN THINGS OF THANKFUL!!!</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%E2%80%9D%20https://summat2thinkon.wordpress.com/ten-things-of-thankful/%20%E2%80%9D%20target=%E2%80%9D_blank%E2%80%9D%3E%3Cimg%20src=%E2%80%9D%20https://summat2thinkon.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/10thankful-banner.jpg?w=700?w=700&#8243; alt=”Ten Things of Thankful” style=”border:none;” /></a> Your hosts A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Consi">See ALL TTOT Posts HERE!!!!</a></b></span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>This Week, I'm Thankful For ...</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1) ... a Masonic Temple massacre has been averted.</span></b> Samy Mohamed Hamzeh was arrested by the FBI this week on illegal weapons charges as a plan to use machine guns to kill at least thirty people in a Milwaukee Masonic Temple was thwarted. In his report, he stated that his group was Muslim and that it would be an act that if the hit had been executed, it would have been known all over the world. It was to be in defense of Islam.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I've had many Muslim friends over the years, especially during my time in the </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Middle East. This is obviously an extremist that is not indicative of those</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> I knew, or the millions like them. However, the ideas expressed by</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> this individual included that he, and those like him, </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>were fighting on the front lines of a war. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>People, the war has come to America. Stop being naive and think otherwise. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>For decades, we have watched bombings and daily terrorist activities take</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> place overseas. True, we had our own experience on 9/11 and a few more </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>since then. If you don't believe in a religion or God, you are as much a target</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> as the Christians that do. You are the "devil" in the eyes of an extremist. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>So, if a person comes up to you on the street and asks you where to purchase </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>machine guns and bombs, please use discretion in giving them directions.</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10NPxoTYOjL3rrxr-T1gnmED3YnXnPw2d9zEvFZu9OYZU5LAfuGR6c8jSDEalQX6ACaX4CsY7jf6f5UVkb3GLbHHHRpd041dod-HsvwdzHzzIoLFfrCX1px0SoWa_jDt-i7BcBvjmFxw/s1600/chocolate-dipped-grasshopper-by-Titanas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10NPxoTYOjL3rrxr-T1gnmED3YnXnPw2d9zEvFZu9OYZU5LAfuGR6c8jSDEalQX6ACaX4CsY7jf6f5UVkb3GLbHHHRpd041dod-HsvwdzHzzIoLFfrCX1px0SoWa_jDt-i7BcBvjmFxw/s320/chocolate-dipped-grasshopper-by-Titanas.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">2) ... Argentina is facing the worst plague of locusts in fifty years.</span></b> Over 1.7 million acres in northern Argentina is covered by the insects. In hopes of stopping the plague, officials are fumigating the young insects.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I guess age does have its benefits!</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>In a special ad campaign, chocolate covered grasshoppers are now on sale </i></span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">at your favorite specialty store. However, remember, though the insects</i><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> can be tasty, chocolate may add inches to your waistline!</i></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">3) ... those that forget the past are doomed to repeat it. </span></b> A San Diego Televangelist, Morris Cerullo, wants to build a Christian themed resort in Mission Valley. Designs for this include over 120 timeshare suites, a biblical museum, a 20 feet high version of the Wailing Wall, a dome theater, and some catacombs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>It's a shame Jim Bakker's Heritage USA has been sold and developed. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Maybe Cerullo could perform the park's first exorcism on the remaining</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>property by getting rid of the ghost of Tammy!</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">4) ... a new study on coffee, tea and chocolate that proves it safe! </span></b> The University of California San Francisco states that heart palpitations, heart fluttering, or other heart maladies. Researchers say it's time for doctors to "lighten up" on their stand against these drinks.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>In a related story, several energy drink companies have fired their </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>public relations firms for not foreseeing the coffee findings. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Damn" said one CEO, </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Just as we were replacing java as the morning drink of choice!"</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKIGWjspPN0Wp__rTI01Z-1n91rNyCKvGX-dkb1bv8OlDgebJUuTdK0Uo9aw07OT69lqjq-wNJN8F8w0svp1_EHiEVNP12lwLTgcdV1Z6GOv-zzMyheaP0QbOKZ6yNmAphXe-fKoVKW2I/s1600/choose-baby-sex.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKIGWjspPN0Wp__rTI01Z-1n91rNyCKvGX-dkb1bv8OlDgebJUuTdK0Uo9aw07OT69lqjq-wNJN8F8w0svp1_EHiEVNP12lwLTgcdV1Z6GOv-zzMyheaP0QbOKZ6yNmAphXe-fKoVKW2I/s1600/choose-baby-sex.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">5) ... Zika Virus may be transmitted by sex! </span></b> Yep, here's another virus for you. The Zika Virus, which can cause brain defects and paralysis in babies, has been shown to have possibly been transmitted by sex. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Okay, here's the typical joke, </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"Damn, what are babies doing having sex?"</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Done laughing, yet?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Okay, so, if it is transmitted that way, I'm safe. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>So is my wife.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>That's what 36 years of marriage does for you</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Anyone want to add the element of danger to their life?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Please?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>6) ... Puerto Rico confirms eighteen new cases of the Zika Virus.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Someone's having sex.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>San Juan, here I come!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">7) ... President Obama will be proposing plans to aid (?) Americans in saving for retirement. </span></b> These plans include automatically enrolling all workers in I.R.A.'s and making it easier to keep their savings when changing jobs, regardless of their income level. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Okay, for those of you that love the President, this will make you mad, as</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> I simply consider him another politician like all the rest (regardless of party)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> making money for big business. Think about this ... how much money </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>has insurance companies gained in new premiums paid now that </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>health insurance is mandatory in the United States. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>So, after filling the pockets of the insurance companies, </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>why not do the same for the banks? </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> Automatic means "mandatory" in Washington. So, regardless of how little </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>you're being paid, a chunk of your paycheck will go to the banks, of which </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>will be more than happy to take out their maintenance fees. You may</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> not have a home to live in, nor be able to pay either the premiums for</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> the health insurance you're required to have (or the fines for not having it), </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>but you'll be forced to put money into an I.R.A.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>So, if you want something special, you'd better do it now</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>while you can still afford to do so.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I'm going to San Juan! </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>8) .. the snowstorm that covered the Midwest and Eastern United States this last weekend. </b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Snowfall was between 5 to 40 inches in various places, and is basically mostly gone by now. Ho-hum. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> Nothing like a little snow to bring families together to drink milk and eat bread.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(If you don't get this you didn't read last week's TTOT post. Your fault!)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkmpAbRFKx6t3d1msFsff4CEsvgVQbzWWqCXqfgVwiouK8QoEqZ9ArDjvtz507f7mCnGi2O8HsWqu4RuLeIom4XtRO1OxTQFMrh3iLh0-eiNLCSx5wzDlH0KLvgwb0J0EwUFC7HcJFpo/s1600/ranking-the-best-frozen-pizzas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkmpAbRFKx6t3d1msFsff4CEsvgVQbzWWqCXqfgVwiouK8QoEqZ9ArDjvtz507f7mCnGi2O8HsWqu4RuLeIom4XtRO1OxTQFMrh3iLh0-eiNLCSx5wzDlH0KLvgwb0J0EwUFC7HcJFpo/s200/ranking-the-best-frozen-pizzas.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">9) ... Whole Foods has recalled 74,000 pounds of store brand frozen pizza.</span></b> No, there's no illness to fear. However, the "uncured beef pepperoni" on the label is really "pork". Whole foods blamed the mistake on a change of suppliers <i>(that couldn't friggin' read English and tell the difference between "Uncured Beef Pepperoni" and "Pork").</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>So, if you're a Muslim, or any other group that doesn't eat pork </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(the other white meat), then you'll probably be ticked off. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Just beware of a man named Samy that is looking to purchase </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>machine guns and bombs in front of your local "Whole Foods" grocery.</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">10) ... Oregon has been chosen for the third year in a row to be the most popular state in the United States to move to.</span></b> South Carolina came in second. In contrast, New Jersey has had more people move out of the state, followed by New York. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Okay, since this has happened in Oregon, housing prices have increased</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> 11% from the same time last year. Otherwise, I can only guess that the moves </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>are an effort to negate the strong conservative vote in South Carolina, and </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>other areas of the Deep South by saturating them with the liberals </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>from the Northeast. After all, it is an election year.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>But ... I'm still going to San Juan!</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>See ya next week!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Ciao!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>And SMILE!!!!</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>**Btw, your comments are always appreciated!</b></span></i></div>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-84111161130365312942016-01-22T21:12:00.000-05:002016-01-22T21:12:06.208-05:00Blizzard Panic, Pimento Loaf and Ten Things of Thankful!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvdmP0RMrbMQCD4ook55cpP8tu9MKJkIdBl3322VM7qNHTqIuUggFUkJHDJ8qCmEJHPdL3awuSDSC2bSCJq0klIWATWNF5JcH7ORU3gslC8SI_J9k28fT8Xw6VufAnVlWkW72JZBydeVk/s1600/Snowstorm_Cleveland_Ohio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvdmP0RMrbMQCD4ook55cpP8tu9MKJkIdBl3322VM7qNHTqIuUggFUkJHDJ8qCmEJHPdL3awuSDSC2bSCJq0klIWATWNF5JcH7ORU3gslC8SI_J9k28fT8Xw6VufAnVlWkW72JZBydeVk/s400/Snowstorm_Cleveland_Ohio.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The warnings are being blared from every local television and radio. We are in for it! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>(Ever wonder what "it" actually is? Patience. I'll tell you in a second or so.) </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">People are freaking out! They run around like crazed animals, grasping every possible container and package they can wrap their sweaty palms around. The frenzy presents itself regardless of the words of caution being broadcast over the store's speakers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The panic is there, whether you want to admit it or not. You attempt to stay far away from the madness but it's contagious. Slowly it sinks into your psyche, as painlessly as a tick sinking its jaws into your flesh. And, as statistics rise, it proves that you, too, can be infected by the malady that appears too many times in too many cities in too many countries this time of the year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>A snowstorm has been forecast!!!!!</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is it that makes a person lose their sanity whenever the threat of snow comes around? You'd think that the <b>Walking Dead</b> television series had come to life and we were all looking at the last supplies that would ever be manufactured. A family that normally eats a loaf of bread a week purchases 4 loaves as the terror of being without takes over. The same occurs with milk, bottled water, lunch meats ... even potato chips! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have they forgotten last year ... the year before ... and the year before that? Most had passages cleared within a matter of a couple of days. Electrical power stayed on, gas lines still supplied heating fuel, and Pay Per View ordering exceeded all expectations!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And, when all was said and done, two loaves of bread sported a green fungus, a gallon of milk (partially solid with age), and three packages of Pimento Loaf (proving no one would eat it even in case of an emergency) were tossed in the trash as a Large Pepperoni Pizza was delivered by Pizza Hut.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Are weathermen paid by grocery stores to create this type of panic so the stores can minimize their losses by cleaning their shelves out once a year? If so, why has the public been so dense in catching on to the ploy? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think it is actually the sole purpose of the Boy Scouts Of America. As a Boy Scout, one is taught to always<b> "Be Prepared." </b> This puts a subconscious order in our brains for future use. The order is later triggered by a weatherman saying, <i>"There's a threat of snow."</i> <b><i>KaBANG!!! </i></b> The order explodes in our brains, our eyes develop a silver glaze, and off to the grocery store we go.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What? Not everyone is a Boy Scout?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course not! I know that. However, with today's politically correct society and its "herd" mentality, all it takes is a few upstanding citizens (of course, former Boy Scouts) to lead the charge. Before you know it a stampede is taking place and the cash registers are chinging and changing and buzzing at full speed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>And that, boys and girls, is how first quarter profits are made. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Now, how about a glass of milk and a Pimento Loaf sandwich?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And now, tighten up your pajamas and put on your spec's as it's time for this week's </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>TEN THINGS OF THANKFUL!!!!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>This Week I'm Thankful For ...</i></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaKBe7nXQy4K7UBY-4Xzb4Lx6Sye77QnArpJkiXU3Mo_fdQlqNlhrgB82BgdmpOVDxpM25yIzan14GudQwJefPyFNNfp1HSM8ltYHFBcCFxyNoP42ZD3oQ7F_quM2ifd8y0keRvTmkDgc/s1600/trump+palin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaKBe7nXQy4K7UBY-4Xzb4Lx6Sye77QnArpJkiXU3Mo_fdQlqNlhrgB82BgdmpOVDxpM25yIzan14GudQwJefPyFNNfp1HSM8ltYHFBcCFxyNoP42ZD3oQ7F_quM2ifd8y0keRvTmkDgc/s400/trump+palin.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1) ... Sarah Palin</span></b> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">for dooming Donald Trump's run for the office of President of the United States by becoming a supporter of his. Sometimes, the most simple of things can have the greatest importance.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(All she needs to do now is go home to Alaska, </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>try to see Russia from her bedroom window, </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>and dream of Pimento Loaf sandwiches.)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">2) ... a teenage boy being taken by the police from high school after substituting "ISIS" for "The United States Of America" during the Pledge of Allegiance. </span></b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, this isn't as simple as it just sounded.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The youth was witnessed doing this in October of last year. It went before the school board before being handed over to the police. Then, the police handed it over to the Department of Homeland Security. Now, it seems as though the police are involved again as they just picked up the boy this week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nothing like speed and diligence during the holiday season.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, where is the boy now? Back at school! The Ansonia, Ct. police have decided that the youth poses no threat at this time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Why do I see a headline in the future over this? </i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">3) ... TSA for confiscating 2,653 guns</span></b> last year in airport luggage. Of that number, over 80% were loaded. Needless to say it was a record year.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8WRgWxCJuvBdwU8MmqyPcLICZM7IQe1p8BpXEr15rh_8wUQcCDzLneb3JN656Hdl2-ojxpUcllm0rt4FKjzpjQrGM6ok-_wpT3g-7KdK8hTFciRMcga-1yZWC4AwQ57uDM5iKJDkBwDs/s1600/2015.was_.another.record.high_.year_.for_.TSA_.gun_.discoveries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8WRgWxCJuvBdwU8MmqyPcLICZM7IQe1p8BpXEr15rh_8wUQcCDzLneb3JN656Hdl2-ojxpUcllm0rt4FKjzpjQrGM6ok-_wpT3g-7KdK8hTFciRMcga-1yZWC4AwQ57uDM5iKJDkBwDs/s400/2015.was_.another.record.high_.year_.for_.TSA_.gun_.discoveries.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A record year? Yep, for dumb asses!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">People, TSA has been checking bags for over a decade. It's there jobs to find anything that even remotely resembles a gun, bomb, or flammable liquid. Even an idiot, which many of the TSA employees may be, can get good at their jobs if they do it long enough. A decade is definitely long enough! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>So, why in the hell are you still trying to carry guns onboard the plane? </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>You don't really think you'll get away with it, do you?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Or, do you?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Dumb ass!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">4) ...United States Marines for not letting a young man join the Corps because of a "Southern Pride" tattoo he had on is waist.</span></b> Supposedly, it's offensive to sport a Confederate Flag tattoo now in the USMC. The young man said it was to show that he wasn't a racist and didn't know what to do now as he'd planned only on the military for his future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Okay, before this blows out of proportion and I'm accused of not supporting the military, let me say I was in the military and gave them four years of my life in return for an honorable discharge. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, the good stuff. Marines are known to be America's "Toughest Fighting Force", if by no one else but Marines. (Navy Seals will debate that any time of the day.) Their primary job is to kill before being killed. Of course, there are purposes and stuff that validate what they do, but in essence, they're known in our world as those that kill.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, if you're going to kill, be it by knife, grenade, rifle, pistol, bazooka, rocket launcher, or other elements of destruction, why is a tattoo, which will be hidden beneath the uniform, reason enough to keep a person out of the Marines?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is kind of an Alice's Restaurant type of thing where Arlo Guthrie was asked if he'd rehabilitated himself after being fined for littering and creating a nuisance. Watch the video and you'll see what I mean.</span><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant"</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">5) ... Ronda Rousey has guaranteed a rematch with Holly Holm in 2016. </span></b> No date has been set, but we're are assured that it will be after her date as host on Saturday Night Live.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Got her butt kicked once, gonna happen again. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>As Forrest says, "Stupid Is As Stupid Does."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>6) ,,, Glenn Frey of the Eagles passed on this week. </b></span> He will be soundly missed by anyone that enjoyed growing up with him, Don Henley, Don Felder, Randy Meisner, Timothy B. Schmidt, Joe Walsh and others during the '70's.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Gonna be one hell of a rock concert in Heaven real soon.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">7) ... St. Georges School in Middletown, R.I. for successfully hiding four decades of reported campus rapes and other sexual molestations. </span></b> The campus of the Bushes, Vanderbilts, Astors, and other higher echelon members of the elite society has finally lost control of the situation and the floodgates are bursting open with stories of illicit activity. These acts were carried out by students, members of the faculty, and other boarding school employees. When asked why it took so long to get this out to the public, school officials felt it had been swept under the rug so long that a bevy of lawsuits would bankrupt the school.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Here come the lawyers.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>See their smiles.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>See their lawsuits.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>See the school's reputation go down the sink.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>See a new piece of real estate go on the market.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Anyone looking for a new place to locate another shopping mall?</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-fXk8a7S7k_A8Ju1Ton7_sFxLwFNP8AdAMkp0YGmJ_BGJeIkmOy6yOd03duxMBKijewlJehSR85ya0WbVHL99xWzFARxCKV8zJavt1ijriWYGVuCnVRkcUneqakZv_rezRAsvW5IbbE/s1600/Chipotle_Restaurant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-fXk8a7S7k_A8Ju1Ton7_sFxLwFNP8AdAMkp0YGmJ_BGJeIkmOy6yOd03duxMBKijewlJehSR85ya0WbVHL99xWzFARxCKV8zJavt1ijriWYGVuCnVRkcUneqakZv_rezRAsvW5IbbE/s320/Chipotle_Restaurant.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">8) .. Chipotle Restaurant chain has been hit with a lawsuit </span></b>concerning the norovirus incident that took place last year. Between the norovirus and other illnesses sustained by the public in the last few years, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">officials felt it had been swept under the rug so long that a bevy of lawsuits would bankrupt the chain.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Damn, I guess we know where the members of the Board of Directors</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> went to boarding school at, don't we!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">9) ... a teenager that was huffing gasoline in his garage. </span></b>The Missouri youth was caught doing it by his mother, walked away from the gas can, lit a cigarette (which ignited the gas fumes), and ended up with burns over 90% of his body.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Did I say something above about, "Stupid is as stupid does"?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>10) ... Oscars, Oscars, let's boycott the Oscars! </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6yyDpUZRRf8e-JFZT2MlcxQXd-VE0ncKOdaQM5-DdUmsKbr79Y04JE_z-hIaSupa9KF6nVEsZrKnnaCf8drKdgbq7k1irJjn3dvEAz5hApjosx0kJtNU5eeY6xGTKDP5Gejw8-TnRkY/s1600/Preparing_for_the_84th_Annual_Academy_Awards_-_giant_Oscar_statue_%25286787512754%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6yyDpUZRRf8e-JFZT2MlcxQXd-VE0ncKOdaQM5-DdUmsKbr79Y04JE_z-hIaSupa9KF6nVEsZrKnnaCf8drKdgbq7k1irJjn3dvEAz5hApjosx0kJtNU5eeY6xGTKDP5Gejw8-TnRkY/s320/Preparing_for_the_84th_Annual_Academy_Awards_-_giant_Oscar_statue_%25286787512754%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>It's real simple, if you don't wanna go, don't go! Not every great actor gets nominated for an Academy Award. Sometimes, I think the winners truly suck. But, you're not gonna get nominated for playing a thug, just like Clint Eastwood never got nominated for playing a cop. I don't know who should have been nominated as I don't go to the movies. I wait until they come out on Blu-Ray and then watch them at home ... and don't have to worry about assholes like you complaining about everything, including the smoke from my cigarette! But, please, will someone stop this crap about everything in the world being about racism. Hell, I used to get pissed because it seemed that all the English actors were coming to the states to take home Oscar. Get over it, grow up, and quit being racist about racism. Damn, I'm Italian. How would you like to hear, "Oh, I make you a deal you can't refuse" every time you tell somebody that? Like I said, "Get over it!"</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Until next time ...</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Ciao!</i></b></span></div>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-20069161099472546492016-01-15T20:51:00.000-05:002016-01-16T21:55:09.493-05:00Fruit Cake or Fruitcake, That Is The Question! Oh, and TTOT, Too!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>Okay, so I'll admit, these were last <br />years fruitcakes sent to me by Ivy.<br />I'd already cut into this year's<br />before thinking about taking a<br />picture. But, they were just as<br />big and just as good, if not<br />better! Thanks, Ivy!!</i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If anyone has noticed, I've been absent since around Christmas. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could blame it on Ivy and the delicious Fruit Cakes she made from scratch and sent me for the second year in a row, but I won't. <i> (By the way, if you've never had scratch, you don't know what you're missing!)</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No, besides satisfying my taste buds and increasing the size of my stomach, Ivy's tremendous pastries<i> (for which I thank her with all the gratitude my heart can generate) </i>cannot be blamed for my lack of appearances. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could blame it on some of the family illnesses going on to those close to me. Illnesses that cost me many hours on the road during times I should be resting and preparing to be the best at my new day job, but I won't. My love and obligated devotion take precedent and cannot be blamed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The pain between my shoulder blade and neck that charges down my left arm and fills my left forearm and hand with electric shock vibrations could also be the culprit. Many chiropractor visits later, I've almost got it to the point that it doesn't wake me four or five times a night ... or, every time my body moves during time that should be allotted for sleep. Pinched nerves and injured forearm muscles can be hell, but cannot be blamed for one's inability to move forward.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, if I had won the billion dollar lottery the other night, I couldn't even blame that. I will stop all rumors right now that winning it was not the case. I am strictly a contributor to the wealth of others, it seems. C'est le Vie!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>No, it's simply because I allowed all of the above to provide excuses for my laziness. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Don't tell my wife I admitted being lazy, please. I'll never hear the end of it!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See, justifications are excuses. Root problems can't rely on justifications, or excuses. To dismiss an act due to excuses is to deny truths. Continue to deny truths and before you know it, there are none left.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I refuse to act like a television "shrink" or a ghetto dweller. These, and many other groups, have blurred the lines between right and wrong by continually making excuses for behavior that is detrimental to society as a whole. Nor will I live in the narcissistic realm of the politically correct where the "I" is always right and everyone else is always wrong. I believe in the glory of individualism and the benefits it provides to anyone with a little common sense. Keep your uniforms and acceptable word tracks as I refuse to accept your excuses for practicing them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, no excuses. Laziness was my downfall. All else only factors by the importance I gave it to validate my temporary logic to avoid sitting down at a typewriter and producing something worth perusing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, if we could get everyone else in the world to live by such a rigid set of values, we might just survive the next century ... without killing ourselves or the Earth!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>And, Ivy, those Fruit Cakes are absolutely the best I've tasted in decades!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With that behind us, let us move on to why we're really here! It's time for </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>TEN THINGS OF THANKFUL!!!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My last offering here gave many of you the idea that I'm a softy at heart. I think "human" might be a better description. I attempt to bring about a sarcastic look at what is happening in today's world by scraping away the sensationalism and political rhetoric and simply stating the reality of the situation. I might come across as "icy" or "cynical" at times, but what I'm really attempting to do is to get the reader to think. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are told so much these days that many have stopped thinking about what is being said. As long as we accept everything as stated, we allow ourselves to become a herd of cows lining up for the slaughter. We need to listen to what is being said, use our powerful sense of reasoning to question it, and arrive at our own decisions. It will keep us from copying the acts of the German citizens before World War II and being caught up in the emotions and propaganda for which their government was known for. As long as one of you ignites the tender that creates a blaze there will be hope for individual thought and ideas. Hopefully, government will never gain total control because of your inspirations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, this week ...</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I'm Thankful For:</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfgCzLFxkPnWnnEF1vGgeyUE73PTerbo1GH19w8Bvlj1ug1RGaWQD11Q-lbRy9jp52i9k8Jc6S9BTApz-kYZEw9C0pXaEeNk-KYmXtaCho0m6fohrd7IA1jupCXv4CK3s58XcMHXf37oQ/s1600/Barack_Obama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfgCzLFxkPnWnnEF1vGgeyUE73PTerbo1GH19w8Bvlj1ug1RGaWQD11Q-lbRy9jp52i9k8Jc6S9BTApz-kYZEw9C0pXaEeNk-KYmXtaCho0m6fohrd7IA1jupCXv4CK3s58XcMHXf37oQ/s320/Barack_Obama.jpg" width="236" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1) ... the POTUS's final State of the Union Address. </b></span> It's nice to see that the President visits Facebook. Two days before the speech, Princeton University releases a post about how a bill is really created. Of course, it showed that the common citizen's opinion didn't matter to Congress. Instead, Big Business and its funding of politicians wrote the bills that they wanted. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The President ended his speech by talking about how the nation's faith in government had dwindled. He challenged all in attendance and viewing to ensure that necessary changes would take place. It was a good ending that touched Facebook viewers deeply.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Of course, politicians and Big Business were laughing underneath as they are the ones that could change things, but won't for obvious reasons. Neither political party wants to be the one to piss off Big Business, just as you wouldn't want to piss off your meal ticket either. So, it's been addressed, discussed and passed into the past. Just as Obamacare is getting thousands of premium payers never seen by insurance companies before, Big Business is busy planning its next scam on the American public. I think it's entitled, "Mein Kampf."</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>2) ... the passing of David Bowie and Alan Rickman. </b></span> It's nice to see people go out on top, instead of hearing about how decrepit, sad and lonely fading stars are in their later years. We'll miss them both.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i> "Major Tom meets Snape on the Road to Purgatory"</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i> ... now that's a movie I'd pay to see, </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>and I'd damn sure buy the soundtrack, too!</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ljsf93cSHEvRAdXJbk0wqOJXiX-mO-fA1vYw7RKySIW-3XH8Wh-PCYODoIjnLwD_UHWD7-qon_Ay8g5PeyONlqrtbgFEPwaccCURg__vS_-aMe8hr7Uib1snbXu-GjvVWTbFIgKj7a0/s1600/CapturedSailors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ljsf93cSHEvRAdXJbk0wqOJXiX-mO-fA1vYw7RKySIW-3XH8Wh-PCYODoIjnLwD_UHWD7-qon_Ay8g5PeyONlqrtbgFEPwaccCURg__vS_-aMe8hr7Uib1snbXu-GjvVWTbFIgKj7a0/s400/CapturedSailors.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>3) ... the pictures of American Navy personnel on their knees after being detained by Iran. </b></span> Why? Because they're alive, not dead! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remember, the U.S. and Iran are not the best of friends. Now, one of our boats ventures into Iranian waters. They get caught. Once upon a time, Iran would have shot first and asked questions later. Instead, they take the prisoners, ensure our people aren't armed and ready to blow up their captors, feed them, and then release them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Stop bitching, people! That's what I call "Progress!"</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsLLO42CyrcefoijGNbV8WIGavD89eFmyXRymSuJAo-KihvcqinWNteZdXZgkkIzdcsl-7sRF6AVmhW1r193IeNKXsps2guQaJJq5fLv1kVKOPO5Yr0KjmbxdT852YZlx7PSYdB18xB9M/s1600/pu1936-3-420x240-alabama_vs_clemson_college_football_playoff_national_championship.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsLLO42CyrcefoijGNbV8WIGavD89eFmyXRymSuJAo-KihvcqinWNteZdXZgkkIzdcsl-7sRF6AVmhW1r193IeNKXsps2guQaJJq5fLv1kVKOPO5Yr0KjmbxdT852YZlx7PSYdB18xB9M/s400/pu1936-3-420x240-alabama_vs_clemson_college_football_playoff_national_championship.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>4) ... Alabama barely defeating Clemson in the quest to win the college football playoffs! </b></span> Yes, I'm sick of Alabama always winning! Yes, Alabama has a fine coach and a team that's a well oiled machine. Yes, my wife is from Alabama and thus a strong Alabama football fan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>However, to see Clemson come as close as they did gave me hope that the underdog still has a chance in this world, regardless of the strength of the machine they face or the money that supports it. Kind of sounds like the common man vs. Big Business and tainted government employees, doesn't it?</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikmQyuWyQ_SqSg9B7f0HHZ_8VFQtgukOJAFC9sW9PkiIspVEQnq4dwywISSbnhjmr5IbStPO7Tvy5GPY8NHud51Jc-dvi9yvRV4CtyyjPT8zWbc8lCYJpxNLbrERkzQLkk59hW0z5T38U/s1600/ebola_virus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikmQyuWyQ_SqSg9B7f0HHZ_8VFQtgukOJAFC9sW9PkiIspVEQnq4dwywISSbnhjmr5IbStPO7Tvy5GPY8NHud51Jc-dvi9yvRV4CtyyjPT8zWbc8lCYJpxNLbrERkzQLkk59hW0z5T38U/s400/ebola_virus.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>5) ... the Ebola epidemic is gone! </b></span> After years of battle, the World Health Organization has given the "all clear" to the three countries in West Africa.that suffered over 11,000 deaths by the virus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Any guesses what's up next on the "Deadly Disease" agenda? </i></b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> Betcha it has to do with ingrown toenails.</i></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>6) ... John and Mary have been found in a study by MooseRoots.com to be the most common names of geniuses. </b></span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>That's El Toro Defecation if I've ever heard it! </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Everyone knows Richard is the number one name. (cough, cough) </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>And what in the hell is MooseRoots.com? </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">7) ... the Druid Hills Academy in Charlotte, N.C. for banning their teachers from using the word "Please" </b>when dealing with students. Officials of the school say it's to make the "bratty" kids behave.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>I guess schools have figured out that if the kids aren't taught the basics </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>of manners at home, it's not their job to teach it at school.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Next week, the school board is to vote on installing "Waterboarding" as a viable </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>form of punishment for shooting spitballs at the ceiling over the teacher's desk.</i></b></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUEMjeoGHuqZanjGxK0cv5bxpuyLxgifl_0JGUXYIPpi9FBrKbAToseH8CQvaeUXuKusYTA76Y2aIVgnZffDSWim3EPHRShTYTGWdyLuwbR0zEN7y3Z6HrWmUBzJAKZ_5qnOrCSXnEPQ/s1600/glass-of-water.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUEMjeoGHuqZanjGxK0cv5bxpuyLxgifl_0JGUXYIPpi9FBrKbAToseH8CQvaeUXuKusYTA76Y2aIVgnZffDSWim3EPHRShTYTGWdyLuwbR0zEN7y3Z6HrWmUBzJAKZ_5qnOrCSXnEPQ/s320/glass-of-water.jpg" width="281" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>8) ... the 8 glasses of water a day rule controversy. </b></span> Doctors seem to be at odds over saying how much water it takes for a person to stay hydrated. Some say 8 glasses a day may be too much, where others stand by the rule.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I say, </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>"Have a beer and don't worry about it. </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>And, if you're still thirsty afterwards, </b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>have another!"</b></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">9) ... water for being found on the Rosetta Comet! </span></b> First, it was oxygen. Now, water has been discovered on the Rosetta Comet! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>What Next?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>How about instructions on how to speak Spanish?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>10) </b></span><b><span style="font-size: large;">... Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky for flipping off the media</span></b>. After not being allowed into the latest presidential debate, Rand's followers have called in masses with not so nice comments for Fox News. Simply explained by Rand, he raised his middle finger in expression of his supporters to the media.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>A man of few words, yet, one that gets his point across precisely. Hmmm, I may have to look into this candidate a little deeper!</b></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwypEpoNberzcIGqZxm8KqwPAFRIQYoUimPEVBhwXzUHkx2eymuiOqFyVgtKBQwb77_y0IPkM-r4T2MDKlj6nvrgTuK6w5QPQRJ9DzTkmHKHlwVvmWNoGxLhT9ak0lrpBQA5LVkPHT1zA/s1600/Sen.-Rand-Paul-ABC-News-Radio-410x220.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwypEpoNberzcIGqZxm8KqwPAFRIQYoUimPEVBhwXzUHkx2eymuiOqFyVgtKBQwb77_y0IPkM-r4T2MDKlj6nvrgTuK6w5QPQRJ9DzTkmHKHlwVvmWNoGxLhT9ak0lrpBQA5LVkPHT1zA/s400/Sen.-Rand-Paul-ABC-News-Radio-410x220.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Oh, and Rand, I couldn't have said it better!</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, with laziness behind me, I submit to you this Ten Things of Thankful. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or, in the words of a once wise man, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>"That's All Folks!"</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>CIAO!</i></b></span></div>
<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*** I just noticed that several of you wrote in after I'd put the blog aside last time. My most sincere apologies for not answering or acknowledging your comments in any way. I do ask your forgiveness as I am usually good about responding as soon as I'm able (weekend work schedules and such). Again, I'm very sorry for my neglect!</span></i></b><br />
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-17114933903662817822015-12-18T21:53:00.002-05:002015-12-18T21:53:36.614-05:00LOVE, Christmas And Ten Things Of Thankful Holiday Edition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnxEJdmNL4e55VyxH5oc6GIQhU8kBMvx_lAHijtfxDH09gjfU2hgO4hV1DPogHXVQSHxeSVCJXzUGIez1sbLQSOWJqNUN05trRsaL4x5SGSs_Wp1qtcX84Asj92jugJ_Z8osivB_zeND8/s1600/love-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnxEJdmNL4e55VyxH5oc6GIQhU8kBMvx_lAHijtfxDH09gjfU2hgO4hV1DPogHXVQSHxeSVCJXzUGIez1sbLQSOWJqNUN05trRsaL4x5SGSs_Wp1qtcX84Asj92jugJ_Z8osivB_zeND8/s320/love-8.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>L-O-V-E
…</b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><i><b>What is
it?</b></i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Could it
be a blending of various emotions and human characteristics such as desire, obligation, happiness, trust and mankind's
need to feel wanted? </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">For
example, a mother needs to feel that her family needs her. That
feeling of need brings about happiness within. It also reminds her
of her obligation, or responsibilities that must be fulfilled in
order for that same family to return that feeling to her. That
desire brings about a closeness of the central core group and a
reminder of how necessary the family unit is to continue the core
successfully as trust, or knowledge of each of the core's members
intent provides a security blanket for all.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">In
simple terms, by doing what a mother is expected to do, love is created.
The same applies for a father, grandparents, uncles and aunts, and so
on and so on. The circle's strength provides for mistakes to be made
and forgiveness to be provided to the “Black Sheep” of the
family, or those that recognize too late what family actually means.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8VM2M8hRDWR0rSFwbMFsN0IB7657pyulftq48KwtIb5SqyFQcHzpE7yY-am9BQ0Ukrf0f2R5lfD4oTuyxafOn_JFw5-3DgtxKpN2jqRi_PLpwGSfvcv74-7FhMPrZjIozj9Uu0Z5E0c/s1600/Mother%2527s_Love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8VM2M8hRDWR0rSFwbMFsN0IB7657pyulftq48KwtIb5SqyFQcHzpE7yY-am9BQ0Ukrf0f2R5lfD4oTuyxafOn_JFw5-3DgtxKpN2jqRi_PLpwGSfvcv74-7FhMPrZjIozj9Uu0Z5E0c/s320/Mother%2527s_Love.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">We are
in the season of the “Family.” </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><i><b>No,
I'm not talking Godfather style. </b></i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><i><b>But,
stay with me and I'll make you a deal you can't refuse.</b></i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Christmas was wonderful when I was young. Unfortunately, my mother passed when I was thirteen. Christmas seemed to lose its luster for a few years. I drifted away from its true meaning, even though my actions were in support of its true meaning. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Confused? So was I.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It was a time I rejected my satellite family. I was young and rebellious and
knew everything. Being a member of the<b> “Peace, Love, Dove”</b>
Generation, I knew that love for all was a false facade only spoken
by those naive enough to believe in fairy tales and Gilligan's
Island. The military, the loneliness, and some of its required tasks, had removed me
from the ranks of the naive. Thus, a bitterness filled the void.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Returning
to civilian life, I moved 20 miles away from my core family.
Christmas arrived as usual that year and I refused to drive the
distance to be with them. It was an act I repeated for two years.
Why? Because my family used to taunt each other, flaunt their
gifts, and see who out did who in the presents department. It was pride instead of love, or so it seemed.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I spent
those Christmas days alone in my apartment, smoking dope, trying to
find something to eat besides a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, and
feeling sorry for myself.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><i><b>I
was a fool.</b></i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">If the
future could only have been viewed for a split second I would have
changed my mind immediately. To know that my grandparents would both
be dead within only a few short years, soon followed by an aunt and
uncle, would have been reason enough. To recognize that all of us
kids were growing up and would never again sit together, as we had,
sharing </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsgES2eDh1FLAoCrODsWraqMoABY-vJPrV1Ut-oRy6g09jMP5Sshq1KtqX1CcCaBgvqRvQFSokDEQ7szqqC3ZDKfR_IgUYqNWn5pZtkXXw_2Z2Y5XENgeQ81MGorchiKv416_mr9U-lM/s1600/holiday2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsgES2eDh1FLAoCrODsWraqMoABY-vJPrV1Ut-oRy6g09jMP5Sshq1KtqX1CcCaBgvqRvQFSokDEQ7szqqC3ZDKfR_IgUYqNWn5pZtkXXw_2Z2Y5XENgeQ81MGorchiKv416_mr9U-lM/s320/holiday2.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">laughter and tales of Christmas morning would have been
helpful, too. And, knowing that never again would the feast that my
Grandmother would prepare (turkey, roast, ham, all types of
vegetables, oyster bread dressing, dumplings, yeast rolls, and
several cakes and pies and cobblers) would never be seen again would
have been the final reason to attend.</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Yet, in
my protest to what I saw as greed weakening the season's main reason
for being, the birth of Christ, I missed out. Now, only memories are
all I have left to remember those family times.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">What I
think I seriously ignored was the love that they provided. From the
smiles on the faces of those receiving gifts to the laughter the
family provided when my Grandmother figured out I'd tied her apron
strings to the back of her chair, love was the true feeling in the
air. We were as one, enjoying the day and each other as if it would
never end. Unfortunately, as sure as the coffee will run out on your
day off, each day had its end. Now, the days remembered are only
remembered. That time of my life is over.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">So, as
there are so many that don't believe in Christianity these days, so
many that have switched faiths these days, and so many that don't
believe in anything except arguing these days, we have forgotten the
one thing that we need so desperately to remember.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>L-O-V-E.</b></i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Don't
miss out while you have the chance. Enjoy it! Feast on it! Drink
more than your fill of it and don't worry about its hangover! Love
will not give you a headache or add to your waste line. No, it will
give you an inner warmth that you'll never lose. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">This
season, as in every season, there will be those on Social Media
blasting the day. If they don't like it, I more than welcome them to
go to work for regular wage (since it's not a holiday for them) and
bitch to those who want to hear it. Let their bitterness be quieted,
one day, by a realization that they are not the superior beings. Or,
let their screams be heard in the afterlife. We've done all we can.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Don't be
selfish with your love. Give to all those you can give. You'll get
so much more in return in the memories it provides.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><i><b>And,
if you find you've got some left over, I'll take any handout I can. </b></i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><i><b>(I'm
not proud.)</b></i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">And,
with that uncharacteristically sober opening, </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">let's get on to the Christmas edition of</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>TEN
THINGS OF THANKFUL!!!</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWYvXqPrDUWXT7Ydr-6k48etJkQ-OH1UYbWT2EXXawH5zWF87QzMnDAGAsMuqjMIqwygN91Sj29kGPVNS1V-Jz6gmZBqINRbvMyHTzzOVKlrE5brmhGKhKUBNqhqL0EkbVW5wENTiEcM/s1600/TenThingsBanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWYvXqPrDUWXT7Ydr-6k48etJkQ-OH1UYbWT2EXXawH5zWF87QzMnDAGAsMuqjMIqwygN91Sj29kGPVNS1V-Jz6gmZBqINRbvMyHTzzOVKlrE5brmhGKhKUBNqhqL0EkbVW5wENTiEcM/s400/TenThingsBanner.jpg" width="374" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%E2%80%9D%20https://summat2thinkon.wordpress.com/ten-things-of-thankful/%20%E2%80%9D%20target=%E2%80%9D_blank%E2%80%9D%3E%3Cimg%20src=%E2%80%9D%20https://summat2thinkon.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/10thankful-banner.jpg?w=700?w=700&#8243; alt=”Ten Things of Thankful” style=”border:none;” /></a> Your hosts A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Cons"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>VISIT ALL TTOT POSTS HERE!!!!!</i></b></span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>This
Week I'm Thankful For ...</b></i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="display: inline !important;">
<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">1)</span></b>… <span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">the <span style="color: #7e0021; font-size: large;"><b>Winner of The Voice Is Jordan Smith!</b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sQao9OnpmLU/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sQao9OnpmLU?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Okay, many of you know I don't care for these type of television programs. Any public "call in" voting can be rigged one direction or the other. This is one of the few times that the voting was unable to go any other way. Jordan Smith, the second winner in a row from Kentucky, was so far above all the rest of the entries in the area of true vocal ability that the playing around with the results would have instantly been obvious to a hearing impaired person. </span></div>
<div>
<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>(Now, let's see what happens next season. Oh, and remember, previous winners on the show have only had minor success afterwards. Jordan's goal is to sing the National Anthem at the Superbowl. Okay, so he's done a song by Sia and one by Beyonce, so I guess he could record it for playback like Whitney Houston did years ago!)</b></i></div>
<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizZOTpg5uktF5EpspOoUML40GkH83-gGbCp_pKzbSiCGcIQxU7xRMxH59heaCKJfUSZLFk7whyphenhyphenRCp2J3oP1QHgkZoZY5HfafLqHXaQwSuJoRVN4h15AabGyOOWRN_pVblaQCi3RhOyLAU/s1600/Star_Wars_Episode_VII_The_Force_Awakens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizZOTpg5uktF5EpspOoUML40GkH83-gGbCp_pKzbSiCGcIQxU7xRMxH59heaCKJfUSZLFk7whyphenhyphenRCp2J3oP1QHgkZoZY5HfafLqHXaQwSuJoRVN4h15AabGyOOWRN_pVblaQCi3RhOyLAU/s320/Star_Wars_Episode_VII_The_Force_Awakens.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>Episode XXVII coming<br />in 2079!!!!<br />Buy Your Tickets Now!</i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>2) </b></span> … <span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>Star
Wars “The Force Awakens</b>”</span> footage is being
leaked online. Okay, dragging out a movie and its sequels for over
40 years is ridiculous. Obviously, some fans think so as well and
are leaking footage out online of the new Star Wars film.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>(It's
subtitled in Indonesian so these are obviously Jar Jar Binks fans who are
pissed off over being overlooked in the film. Damn, and I spent my
high school years in Latin Class instead of Indonesian. Hindsight
is indeed 20/20.)</b></i><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="display: inline !important;">
<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">3)</span></b> … <span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #7e0021;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">J.
Birnbach Inc. jewelry store</span> </b></span>tosses diamonds. When
employees are pulled away to do things that are not necessarily
their jobs, mistakes generally occur. When employees are told to
move boxes (which entails physical labor), they will generally find
a way to shorten their efforts. Throwing out three wooden boxes was
the decision made by employees of the J. Birnbach Inc. jewelry
store. <b>Unfortunately</b>, these boxes contained over $5 million worth
of diamonds. <b>Fortunately</b>, a security guard went through the trash
and found them. <b>Unfortunately</b>, the only reason he found them was
that he always went through the trash since his pay is a joke.
<b>Fortunately</b>, the jewelry company didn't lose the diamonds.
<b>Unfortunately</b>, they didn't reward the security guard as he was only
doing his job. <b>Fortunately</b>, the security guard has lost his honest
streak and
will not be so quick to return missing items in the future.</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>(Moral
to the story: Screw me and I'll screw you!)</b></i></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtUn6PWEd714S7BZQUuDakwsJ18oYJFo0mP0UknibCrESAZJPBroexYXNaPPZ8NU3SRIOa_TsumFbe_i_zEDxqOE8EYyNLH99scmISOYeXdw5DDM1TIujJD-BFDFhF3Og12GtYfJ5YUM/s1600/Ehsan+Abdulaziz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtUn6PWEd714S7BZQUuDakwsJ18oYJFo0mP0UknibCrESAZJPBroexYXNaPPZ8NU3SRIOa_TsumFbe_i_zEDxqOE8EYyNLH99scmISOYeXdw5DDM1TIujJD-BFDFhF3Og12GtYfJ5YUM/s320/Ehsan+Abdulaziz.jpg" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>"...and it only cost me twelve gas stations<br />and three camels!"</i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">4)</span></b> … <span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #7e0021;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Saudi
millionaire gets away with rape!</span> </b></span> <i>(This
happened in a British court, believe it or not, so let us forget
about American courts being the only ones that provide stupid
verdicts.) </i> Ehsan Abdulaziz met a twenty-four year old and a
teenager in a West End club, took them both to his apartment, had
relationship with the older of the two, walked out in his living
room, tripped, fell atop the teenager with his erect penis sticking
out of his underwear, penetrated her vagina, which just happened to
be wide open and uncovered, and is declared innocent of rape by a
jury.</span><br />
<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>(Am
I missing something here? Oh, yeah, the British court system loves
to remind the U.S. about prison overcrowding. When is rape not a
rape? I guess when Viagra gives you a four hour erection and you
trip atop a teenager and poke her with perfect aim. I know what
male enhancement I'm buying next trip to London!)</b></i><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></i></div>
<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">5)</span></b> …<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #7e0021;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Obamacare
under attack by Democrats! </b></span></span> What? You thought
Republicans were the only foes of the program? Not when big
business money is involved. Confused? Okay, this is how it
lays out. Obamacare depends on constraining the high costs of
medical care. The Cadillac Tax, due to go into affect this year, is
being fought by Democrats as high up as Hillary Clinton and Harry
Reid. Why? Only they know for sure, but most of us are betting
it's because of campaign
contributions and the favors already promised to the medical side of
big business.</span></div>
<div>
<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>(So,
let's be real, for anyone that thought politician's really were
different and that Hillary and company were the next holy
triumvirate to save the United States from utter degradation …
SURPRISE!!!!! She's just as dirty as the rest of them. And, it
doesn't even take a British Court to await that verdict. )</b></i></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxtCFBVJbZQPA_suawQFFvBbEM_dUI4xHjTjFrgJRds5fS997t5n8E4l2D4TuyJBkmfzASAdGKr0vTdfb-m4eW2TsWwRpmz08S_bt0uFLOO41fGyQNqMmNCHEKY-tFWCzdZhPT2TBmM14/s1600/635857991148249314-freeway-proposal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxtCFBVJbZQPA_suawQFFvBbEM_dUI4xHjTjFrgJRds5fS997t5n8E4l2D4TuyJBkmfzASAdGKr0vTdfb-m4eW2TsWwRpmz08S_bt0uFLOO41fGyQNqMmNCHEKY-tFWCzdZhPT2TBmM14/s320/635857991148249314-freeway-proposal.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>"And, even though I'm a total dumb ass<br />that is hoping you get hit on the way back<br />to the car so I can collect insurance,<br />will you marry me?"</i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>6)</b></span> … <span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #7e0021;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Man
stops Interstate 45 traffic to propose.</span> </b></span> Ah, love
makes a person do stupid things for sure. Still, stopping three
lanes of interstate highway traffic in order to get out of the car
and propose to his girl on his knees is something that the
grandchildren will one day look back and say, <i>“Damn, we carry
his genes?”</i></span><br />
<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>(What's
really sad is that this couple both exited the car in order to
accomplish this. So, it's not a case of one set of bad genes, but
two! Looks like a future president in the making!)</b></i><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="display: inline !important;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="display: inline !important;">
<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">7)</span></b> … <span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #7e0021;"><b>House Bill
allows for more foreign “guest workers” to be allowed in U.S</b></span>.</span>
Introduced into a current spending bill by a Democrat and a
Republican, this will allow for almost four times the amount of
“guest workers” to do the jobs that disabled veterans, single
working mothers, and uneducated members of society normally do in
the industries of hotel house keeping, truck driving, construction,
and food processing.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>(So,
once again, the people of the United States are given the shaft by
their government so that big business can bring in “guest workers”
that don't have to have various benefits and taxes, as well as
health care benefits paid. Big business profits, more Americans go
on the Welfare lists and become dependent on government handouts.
It almost makes me wish the military would indulge in a coup d'tat
and clean house. “In with the good air out with the bad … in
with the good air out with the bad.”)</b></i><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<ol>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>And, since Christmas will preclude the TTOT next week,</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>a few personal notes to finish things up.</i></b></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMgyBZiEB1O5Yt9fJSjtR9wgxex2hVNaPf7sf__M7MZdbsJqxRJm_J-oCUzh1kwhOdLMBGF6u4ZIxSXOmzJxZJ7As3PUf4edBpucNnan2InCNl9JPzWZuAEfqLniiq88SqSSHNH65_vPY/s1600/DSCF0012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMgyBZiEB1O5Yt9fJSjtR9wgxex2hVNaPf7sf__M7MZdbsJqxRJm_J-oCUzh1kwhOdLMBGF6u4ZIxSXOmzJxZJ7As3PUf4edBpucNnan2InCNl9JPzWZuAEfqLniiq88SqSSHNH65_vPY/s320/DSCF0012.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">My buddy, Faletame. (Gabriela is<br />camera shy ever since she gained weight.)</span></i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>8)</b></span> ... <b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">two wonderful cats</span></b> that give me joy all year long. Faletame and Gabriela are the biggest pains in the necks there could be. Yet, as Gabriela meets me in the hall each morning on my initial trek to the bathroom and begs for attention as I do my thing and smoke the day's first cigarette, and Faletame takes over after my shower and follows me back to the bedroom to get dressed and even rubs up and down my back as I put my socks on, they are as precious to me as any living creature. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>9)</b></span> ... <span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>a year in which I was able to purchase</b></span> a new sports car, and when Summer was over, trade it in on a new Mazda CX-3 with All Wheel Drive for Winter driving. I've had much better years financially, but am lucky in that I'm still not as bad off financially as many others. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwm739-XgJF9bZOlwhVELcHFhB5h1CX1nBHht_Isn5VLzVZO2Ml1WQ3bzhWmtd0OgA8WQKo-zJg66sGz9LIbahwZ2_Zn_ieZ2pvjnOO9wOU3Tixj7pakdphFlsttM8OyzdpeOubvznSJI/s1600/2015+cars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwm739-XgJF9bZOlwhVELcHFhB5h1CX1nBHht_Isn5VLzVZO2Ml1WQ3bzhWmtd0OgA8WQKo-zJg66sGz9LIbahwZ2_Zn_ieZ2pvjnOO9wOU3Tixj7pakdphFlsttM8OyzdpeOubvznSJI/s400/2015+cars.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>My new car and the one it replaced. Who knows what next year will bring?</i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ4b4hERVmbyuX2tM-KHjTAnzPOr6-2XpFldFBom3taEVmh3zMsssXibQtTnbrK7S_XlOPbi_k7GUEf027juRSShOYa4vGHR-GTkKTb3YUGq94TMEggHGs1Q4d3c5sGppnxMeJ3e9l3Fs/s1600/IMG_0891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ4b4hERVmbyuX2tM-KHjTAnzPOr6-2XpFldFBom3taEVmh3zMsssXibQtTnbrK7S_XlOPbi_k7GUEf027juRSShOYa4vGHR-GTkKTb3YUGq94TMEggHGs1Q4d3c5sGppnxMeJ3e9l3Fs/s320/IMG_0891.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>59 and still a blonde ...<br />how does she do it?</i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">10)</span></b>...<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>a year in which I was able to:</b></span> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b>a)</b> leave a job that was starving me out and find another that has many future opportunities, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b>b)</b> recognize my love for my wife <i>(pictured falling asleep at my dad's house after we'd stopped </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><i>and brought him barbecue from Kentucky)</i> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">even more than ever before, </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">and the same for my family by my side, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b>c)</b> get closer to my father who, though in dwindling health, is still alive and able to </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">maintain the</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"> lifestyle </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">he chose many years ago,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b> d)</b> finally see my cousins and still living aunt and uncle who have finally become a part of my life </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">once more,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b>e)</b> thank God for the friends that have stuck by me and continue to read my blog even though my ever worsening eyesight prohibits me from returning the favor as much as I'd like, and to <b>Lizzi</b> who tolerates </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">my "sometimes here/sometimes not" behavior,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><i><b>and finally </b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b>f)</b> for the sun which always is </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">shining whether the clouds are in the way or not. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">I am truly blessed.</span></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">I pray you are, too!</span></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>MERRY CHRISTMAS</i></b></span><b style="color: red; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;"><i>!!!</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Spread the LOVE!!!</span></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-29931589590271761202015-10-30T20:29:00.001-04:002015-11-01T19:00:45.054-05:00Halloween Tales, Ghostly Wails, and Ten Things Of Thankful<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFDsN7mmmbtLTv8dWxNQ2s0sASU4wH9Y_4UUxQKtmUqlHDbDBcZ1aZ7eF-ThKqSVAucA8ft5-qxVGtg_oZ5GvU7ZABNncNIf7pZ701HzeIT5vfWh-aezcQoR73bLH7e6frwAqtb48jGk/s1600/TenThingsBanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFDsN7mmmbtLTv8dWxNQ2s0sASU4wH9Y_4UUxQKtmUqlHDbDBcZ1aZ7eF-ThKqSVAucA8ft5-qxVGtg_oZ5GvU7ZABNncNIf7pZ701HzeIT5vfWh-aezcQoR73bLH7e6frwAqtb48jGk/s400/TenThingsBanner.jpg" width="373" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>**This was actually written prior to last week's post, but not posted as I'd confused Halloween to be last week instead of this. So, overlook the "haven't posted in three weeks" bit and enjoy the rest ... I hope!"</b></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the last three weeks, I've written three separate posts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I've published none of them.</i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought they were good, but not excellent. They all made their points, but none of them would have received more than a slight belly chuckle from the reader.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>That's not what I'm all about.</i></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>It is my goal</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b> to make people laugh. </b></i> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the past weeks, I've written about gun control, cutbacks in Social Security, and other social topics. Again, all would have easily have been posted on many sites. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Just not here.</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It gets discouraging at times when you want to make people laugh and nothing funny comes out. Like a writer's block, it's a comic's block. You hope that it will soon end, but like constipation, it has its own timetable to let the crap start flowing again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, since nothing funny wants to make itself known at this time, let me share with you a few tales of the supernatural ... paranormal if you will.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>That's right ... encounters with the other side.</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A story of a young fourteen-year-old lad that had been cast into a makeshift household. This included a stepmother with whom he constantly did battle as her selfishness for her two children created tension and hostility among all that resided there. That is, until one night when it all came to a head.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The battle was much more fierce than usual. Profanities were thrown out by both the teenager and the stepmother. Insults ensued and tempers flared to greater heights. As usual, the teenager was in the wrong, at least, as far as the stepmother was concerned. Finding no support in his father, who had turned up the television instead of acting as a mediator, the teenager turned and exited the back door of his home.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Immediately, the freezing night air reminded the teenager that he'd left with only a shirt on to face the elements. No matter. He had his anger to keep him warm.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKqOcVfA9t6qByFgzgbDHWfkjso8hQGcNMFgRsLWy5pYKYtN8_BsoHdwbPzoxXORg6Y4mD5tPo0FzNI2_P48Qvj9FRfUyEkMWJgd_7BVxQhmjxnai_QEBWk_2CfFcdLG798hrnAtFeYgI/s1600/Old_Christmas_%25281916%2529_%252814780836824%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKqOcVfA9t6qByFgzgbDHWfkjso8hQGcNMFgRsLWy5pYKYtN8_BsoHdwbPzoxXORg6Y4mD5tPo0FzNI2_P48Qvj9FRfUyEkMWJgd_7BVxQhmjxnai_QEBWk_2CfFcdLG798hrnAtFeYgI/s320/Old_Christmas_%25281916%2529_%252814780836824%2529.jpg" width="198" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He walked through the harvested corn fields and cow pastures that made up his back yard and his grandparents farm. Climbing barbed wire fences in the dark was tricky, but he only cut himself a couple of times as his anger kept him pushing forward.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, he reached the woods. Dark and threatening as they were, he entered without a thought for his safety. Again, it was a challenge to see the fallen trees, briar patches, and border fences within, but that didn't stop him. Only his memories of an opening scene from <b>"I Was A Teenage Werewolf" </b>and the similarities in the location site filmed in the movie to his shadow filled surroundings put a slight chill up his spine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then, there it was. Two miles through fields and forest had brought him to the graveyard. Although not originally his destination, fate had brought him here. And, right in front of him, gravestone rising in the darkness, was the last resting place of his recently passed mother.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On his knees, he spewed out his anger and frustrations to his mom. Tales of being cast into a basement room that flooded when it rained, unfair distribution of allowance money and chore responsibilities, and the general hatred he felt to the invaders of his home filled the air. Tears flowed from his eyes and froze upon his chin before having a chance to drip away. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, there was silence. He had no more to say.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcWxSBG6NchyIjxezwurrLO0sVL4tDzRDnD7mmN5KS0tChNfP4E9Ce7LZ9hVsNfreH3Tw-fLvudy82JyIMM09krX90AD6O9iJh6dffkpwWZi3zsfLPCfndadVCGZzDk3Hw98gj5QD6wGo/s1600/Alexandre_III_%2528Dictionnaire_infernal%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcWxSBG6NchyIjxezwurrLO0sVL4tDzRDnD7mmN5KS0tChNfP4E9Ce7LZ9hVsNfreH3Tw-fLvudy82JyIMM09krX90AD6O9iJh6dffkpwWZi3zsfLPCfndadVCGZzDk3Hw98gj5QD6wGo/s320/Alexandre_III_%2528Dictionnaire_infernal%2529.png" width="268" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"Go Home. Everything will be alright."</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He turned to see who was talking to him. Yet, in the darkness, there was no figure to be seen. He turned back to his mother's gravestone as if it would offer safety.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"Go Home. Everything will be alright."</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Again, there it was. A male's voice rang in his ears. It was so close he could sense the breath upon his neck. But, when he turned, there was no one there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"Go Home. Everything will be alright."</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The voice came from all around him this time. It wasn't an inner voice speaking, but one that filled the air ... like from loudspeakers at a sporting event. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He rose, said goodbye to his mother, and walked to the highway bordering the graveyard. Within minutes, a car, driving slowly from the opposite direction, slowed and stopped. It was his father with all of his makeshift family. The teenager walked across the road, opened the front door, and got into the car. Nothing further was ever said about the incident.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Years later, after the military, the young man was no longer a teenager. As he was going to attend a local university, he found a great bargain on a house to rent. Four bedrooms upstairs, a huge kitchen, dining room, and living room downstairs, with bathrooms both above and below. He fell in love with the house.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a short time, he noticed things would disappear from the living room. First, it might be a can of Coke or a pack of cigarettes. Then, it moved on to bags of pot or textbooks. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He could always find them upstairs on the floor in the center of one of the smaller bedrooms.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The back of the house had a small apartment segregated off. The girl that moved in there </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLRjP6A5MO0M0rboqFbodEGYD_B2HT2HLupANZLaR4FH86a8_UtfBJHOcth1g6OEetVKuiifbsAp6uq9DDMK-fxvql_8yXDs_iBR1pCf_WttK-1rJo2tqT27OCPuY-lcsZLcPsEZHJSSU/s1600/A_man_in_armour_is_confronted_by_a_ghost_and_a_skeleton._Aqu_Wellcome_V0042200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLRjP6A5MO0M0rboqFbodEGYD_B2HT2HLupANZLaR4FH86a8_UtfBJHOcth1g6OEetVKuiifbsAp6uq9DDMK-fxvql_8yXDs_iBR1pCf_WttK-1rJo2tqT27OCPuY-lcsZLcPsEZHJSSU/s320/A_man_in_armour_is_confronted_by_a_ghost_and_a_skeleton._Aqu_Wellcome_V0042200.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">hated the home. She always complained about the furnace going out and having to go down and light the pilot light when he was gone. He'd never had that happen.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One night, coming home from work, he pulled into the driveway to see the girl running out of the basement and throwing herself face first into the snow. When her boyfriend returned from taking her to the hospital, he stated that they hated the place and the damned furnace that kept going out and were moving out as soon as she recovered from her burns.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was the first night that the young man heard the baby chuckle.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the couple had moved, the baby could be heard at night when the evening's lights were turned off. At times, it would be crying. However, it didn't take the young man long to realize that if he talked to it that he could stop the crying and get a baby chuckle out of it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>It worked wonderfully in getting girls to leave after sex instead of having to go through awkward morning after conversations.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The years flew by and the young man had aged, gotten married, and had a family of his own. He'd had a few experiences out of the normal realm take place over the years, several almost dangerous in nature, but he thought he was over them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His being promoted to Sales Manager required him to move to the middle of a country. It was a small town and rentals weren't easy to come by. One of his employees knew of a house that had just come open. A quick visit with the landlord, a transfer of funds, and a handshake were all that were needed to seal the deal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not wanting to move his family there until the school year would be over in a couple of months, the gentleman moved in by himself. He knew that with it being an older home that it wouldn't be as bright as some of the newer ones. He just didn't know the darkness that the home really held within.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His first night there was one filled with fear. He entered the bedroom to be met with ice cold temperatures. His breath could easily be seen in the air in front of him, which was extremely rare in the Alabama late spring with only a window unit air conditioner in the room. In addition, no matter which way he turned he felt as though there was someone there, watching his every move. He closed the door to the room and wedged a two by four between the dresser and the chest on either side of the door frame. He didn't sleep well for several days.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOiyVtQryjBmnd2kfw3qtiG0JybCPikKaNM5g8tW4h2ymzEgLWa3D1y0uSCt_P-T4jcP7zV_XRfRS5DXNqEgzYGBvaCkgDuhmkXJe-L3kbH6Loj2FgM1YG_vOsTizzX6l3F3H7Wgt8e7Q/s1600/Rotten_Johnny_Reb_and_the_Death_Tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOiyVtQryjBmnd2kfw3qtiG0JybCPikKaNM5g8tW4h2ymzEgLWa3D1y0uSCt_P-T4jcP7zV_XRfRS5DXNqEgzYGBvaCkgDuhmkXJe-L3kbH6Loj2FgM1YG_vOsTizzX6l3F3H7Wgt8e7Q/s320/Rotten_Johnny_Reb_and_the_Death_Tree.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, once he brought his family down that weekend, things seemed to ease up. The laughter of his two girls and wife filled the home and seemed to meet the approval of whatever had been disapproving of his homesteading until then. Never again did the home seem to want them gone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Years later, after moving away and then coming back for a visit with in-laws the next year, they drove by the house. In one year, the house had aged thirty. The roof sagged between the support beams and the entire house exuded a look of having the life drained out of it. It was sad to see it in such a condition.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* * * * * * * * * * * * * *</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll never know exactly where the voice in the graveyard came from. It was too late and too cold for someone to physically be there. Some say it was a voice from above and others say it was a voice of the dead. Either way, I know it was truly there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The house I'd rented while in college had a history that I didn't know about until after having moved in. Neighbors later told me a man had gone off the deep end (several years before) and shot his entire family there. The neighbors heard the yelling, the shots, and the baby crying endlessly as windows were open during the Fall in which it had occurred. Finally, one more shot and the crying stopped. One final shot and silence prevailed until the sirens arrived. I might add, I lived in that house alone for almost another year after the couple moved out and the furnace never once went out. I never had a girl make it through staying an entire night there either!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The home for my family turned out to have had the landlord's wife die with cancer within it. I understand she'd suffered there for months before finally passing on. Although I never saw anything or anyone there, my youngest daughter swears to this day that she saw an older woman in the house many times when she was there alone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, in closing this part of the post today, I can only say one thing .....</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC7RxJJq-pmmsvaKv5aEwrBsbdQGVnh5Xy3B_wKkT0pr-Dz_U7yAKSBeu2dnRHAkBxeNBSoOD19ksNJrhQrDkRDvKQ4n8WQjiv91CmgW5O6nZoyrsY7Qbew97c7n9QaTso-OJvVjONslA/s1600/hAPPY+HALLOWEEN+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC7RxJJq-pmmsvaKv5aEwrBsbdQGVnh5Xy3B_wKkT0pr-Dz_U7yAKSBeu2dnRHAkBxeNBSoOD19ksNJrhQrDkRDvKQ4n8WQjiv91CmgW5O6nZoyrsY7Qbew97c7n9QaTso-OJvVjONslA/s400/hAPPY+HALLOWEEN+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Now, it's time for </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Ten Things Of Thankful! </i></b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZDWWx3F6fVSKNMMrnJDD60b_I0bpZbLuKBMBAlaN6UU5hAU19ECug4_Q-3nuYmbTLCOCVEVkZfzISmlaCfI0DI9LVRgEvPR44lnh3tMd3S_Dn4sLS2XfR355vBGPUV3mkjCoYWlzJ7NQ/s1600/Ten+Things+Of+Thankful.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZDWWx3F6fVSKNMMrnJDD60b_I0bpZbLuKBMBAlaN6UU5hAU19ECug4_Q-3nuYmbTLCOCVEVkZfzISmlaCfI0DI9LVRgEvPR44lnh3tMd3S_Dn4sLS2XfR355vBGPUV3mkjCoYWlzJ7NQ/s400/Ten+Things+Of+Thankful.jpg" width="391" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%E2%80%9D%20https://summat2thinkon.wordpress.com/ten-things-of-thankful/%20%E2%80%9D%20target=%E2%80%9D_blank%E2%80%9D%3E%3Cimg%20src=%E2%80%9D%20https://summat2thinkon.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/10thankful-banner.jpg?w=700?w=700&#8243; alt=”Ten Things of Thankful” style=”border:none;” /></a>"><b><i><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;">SEE ALL TTOT POSTS HERE!!!!</span></i></b></a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>This Week I'm Thankful For ...</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1)</b> <b><span style="font-size: large;">... Earthquake in Afghanistan and Pakistan kills over 260 ... and the United States press did its best to minimize this disaster. </span></b> For a week, we heard about Hurricane Patricia and how devastating it was going to be. Then, when it hit, news suddenly disappeared. Now, an earthquake killing hundreds of people has occurred, and the headlines are once again about the future presidential race.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I guess big business isn't making any money in the hurricane and earthquake hit areas, so why bother reporting on it. Or, could it be that there were no police abusing their authority and the news agencies couldn't manufacture sensationalism, as they're so good at? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Funny how they can make such a big deal over one student disobeying a teacher and a police officer (excuse me, one innocent, young, pristine example of fine upbringing), but they have no interest in hundreds getting killed elsewhere. Don't all lives matter? Gives them a chance to show their true color, doesn't it? </i></b> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>$$$$$$ GREEN $$$$$$</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2)</b> <b><span style="font-size: large;"> ... Khloe Kardashian cut her long locks. </span></b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Anything talking about the Kardashian's </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>is a complete <strike>whorer </strike></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>... oops, horror story.</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>3)</b> <b><span style="font-size: large;">... Seven-Year-Old chokes on school lunch and no one helps her. </span></b> Noelia Echavarria's family feels as though she may have choked on a sandwich trying to eat it too fast as school employees had hurried her before. The young lady is now brain dead as she turned blue before paramedics could arrive. No one attempted to assist her in any way prior to their arrival.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>I'm just wondering how many of them had their phones out filming </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>the incident </i></b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>to see if they could get a "views" record on YouTube later.</i></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Sad thing is that's probably TRUE!</i></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4)</b> <b><span style="font-size: large;"> ... Mike Tyson endorses Donald Trump for President. </span></b> Mike feels as though America needs a business minded individual to run it. So, he's endorsing Donald Trump.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Let's see, Mike's been hit in the head many, many times in the boxing ring in the past? He's also attempting to become a celebrity again with his Adult Swim show. Just goes to prove, "Any publicity is good publicity!"</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>(And then we all woke up out of our nightmare, </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>felt to see that we still had both of our ears,</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>and went back to sleep.)</b></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhteHJNSHDQlJYl_4vPxd8pC6V0V_ob4lAZXHVaDM8J6yY7lYWot0Qpa4dwK-Ghvvr70jYn22puEOQc3HBD5JzQlA0QeJHK_quJg2ZNwwRzMxmALKjE6o8YZXq2e6FV58OPcqzBXFYfU/s1600/tyson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhteHJNSHDQlJYl_4vPxd8pC6V0V_ob4lAZXHVaDM8J6yY7lYWot0Qpa4dwK-Ghvvr70jYn22puEOQc3HBD5JzQlA0QeJHK_quJg2ZNwwRzMxmALKjE6o8YZXq2e6FV58OPcqzBXFYfU/s320/tyson.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5)</b> <b><span style="font-size: large;">... Man put in coma after E-Cigarette explodes. </span></b> Evan Spahlinger, 21, of Naples, Florida, was put into a medically induced coma after an E-Cigarette exploded once, sent the lithium battery down his throat, and exploded again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Now you know why I smoke Pall Mall 100 Lights. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Screw those exploding suckers!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6)</b> <b><span style="font-size: large;">... Top Five Halloween Candies. </span></b>According to a Yahoo survey, the number 5 favorite Halloween candy are Kit Kats, followed by other chocolate bars, M&M's, and Snickers at number two, just behind Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Oh, those are the favorites to be received by Trick or Treater's. </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>My favorites are generic Sweet Tarts, generic Twizzlers, and </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>anything else I can find at the Dollar Store that's cheap and will</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b> keep the little bastards from toilet papering the trees</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b> in my front yard!</b></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7)</b> <b><span style="font-size: large;">... Patriotic Shirt banned by California School. </span></b>The Yuba Gardens Intermediate School sent an honor student home the other day for wearing a Kohl's T-Shirt bearing the California State Emblem. Their excuse: Because it had a red star in the upper corner it was gang related material.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>I guess they're right on this one. It was a gang of white settlers </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>that decided to go into the turf of the noble Native Americans, </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>steal their land, profit from their natural resources, and </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>breed a society that couldn't figure out when </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>a t-shirt is gang related or not.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>God, what a serious bunch of stupid assholes!</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyIjbFMJ7bIgnFCNSyUZO3fCDp5Iqj1HAuyV2PyPmiDG19X62vbenSwcpxPRHv49m-0QU3aEkYry2tRhrdh-Me-zIwSDZyPmJu5OOtW2nMAVosQ9EIAI4wKcx85hABBYOu2TUyzXaEL4M/s1600/California-Flag-US-State-Paper-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyIjbFMJ7bIgnFCNSyUZO3fCDp5Iqj1HAuyV2PyPmiDG19X62vbenSwcpxPRHv49m-0QU3aEkYry2tRhrdh-Me-zIwSDZyPmJu5OOtW2nMAVosQ9EIAI4wKcx85hABBYOu2TUyzXaEL4M/s400/California-Flag-US-State-Paper-XL.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>I'm guessing they'll ban the California State Flag next!!!</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>8)</b> <span style="font-size: large;"><b>... Texting Drivers caught by Homeless Man Police Officer. </b></span> Okay, so you're driving along, come to an intersection, and decide to check your texts. Why? To keep from looking at the homeless guy with his cardboard sign that you know is probably pulling the scam on you. Why? Because many of them are doing just that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, you pull away, drive 100 yards, and are pulled over and given a citation for Distracted Driving! Later, you find out that the homeless man's sign read,<i> "I'm not homeless. I'm a police officer looking for distracted drivers texting or using cell phones."</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mad? Damn right! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's exactly what happened in Baltimore, Md. Over 56 drivers were given citations. Guess the city needed some extra cash and the Annual Policeman's Ball will now be funded. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've nothing about police pulling over folks for texting while driving. You gotta do something to stop these idiots. However, when one has to look at every supposedly homeless person at every corner and read their signs to find out if they're a police officer or not, there's something wrong. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, at the price of tickets these days, give me one and I'll be homeless. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think I'll put on my sign, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"For $5, find out the location of the Homeless Man Police Officer Today!"</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Sounds like a bargain to me!</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>9) </b> <span style="font-size: large;"><b>... WHO says you have Herpes ... they really do! </b></span>The World Health Organization says that two thirds of the world's population has oral herpes. You know, cold sores, fever blisters ... stuff like that. That's like 3.7 billion people! Scientists are desperately attempting to discover a cure, but to this point, everything they've come up with won't validate the price the drug companies want you to pay. <b><i> (Wait a minute, retract that last sentence.) </i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>So, the next time you get the tingling and the lip starts to swell, don't feel sad. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Feel like you're part of the group and wear your blister proudly! </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>After all, most everyone else will too! </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10)</b> <span style="font-size: large;"><b>... Halloween is a racist holiday! </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was on Facebook the other day and saw a post stating that Halloween is a racist holiday. I didn't want to read the post and didn't. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because I'm fed up. I'm fed up because everyone can find something wrong with everything these days and do their best to ruin the fun for the majority.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taking the costumed young ones out to gather candy, telling ghost stories, watching horror movies ... these are all things that I can't associate to racism. They are things you do once a year to take the normal, boring life we live to a new level of excitement. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's bad enough the world seems to be taking Christ out of Christmas, trying to find fault in Thanksgiving, and getting the ASPCA involved with Groundhog's Day and Easter. If you don't have enough racism in your life already, how about saving it for another time and let people enjoy this satanic, evil and bloody holiday in their own way.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Life is going to be pretty damn boring when you eliminate all holidays. Of course, the herd you'll be a part of then will be non-thinking, much like many of those complaining today. I'll be dead by then, thank goodness, and won't have to see the crappy place you've created in which to reside.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>But, maybe, just maybe, I'll come back as a poltergeist and scare </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>the hell out of you for your lack of reason, fun, and tolerance.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Hell ... I will come back. That's a promise!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>So, change your ways ... or else!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Ciao!</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-64270444859055763722015-10-23T20:43:00.001-04:002015-10-24T21:59:33.201-04:00Far Out ... It's Halloween!!! What? It's not? Damn!! Oh well, it's time for TTOT!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXi5kHXYriNrooibAIzzelTfyj-YJ-joV5sRZHQXCdfQccYdND84or_d1MjccvJVaCI1Ko2hz-LiZTyNjaQkxpAhJFmvbGPYKBqOXHO4AWI61L6MHbWEz2Qf5gU2VkcblbKz8NvUT2MC0/s1600/ttot.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXi5kHXYriNrooibAIzzelTfyj-YJ-joV5sRZHQXCdfQccYdND84or_d1MjccvJVaCI1Ko2hz-LiZTyNjaQkxpAhJFmvbGPYKBqOXHO4AWI61L6MHbWEz2Qf5gU2VkcblbKz8NvUT2MC0/s400/ttot.jpeg" width="374" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%E2%80%9D%20https://summat2thinkon.wordpress.com/ten-things-of-thankful/%20%E2%80%9D%20target=%E2%80%9D_blank%E2%80%9D%3E%3Cimg%20src=%E2%80%9D%20https://summat2thinkon.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/10thankful-banner.jpg?w=700?w=700&#8243; alt=”Ten Things of Thankful” style=”border:none;” /></a>"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">SEE ALL TTOT POSTS HERE !!!!!</span></i></b></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I sat down last night and wrote a beautiful post.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's all about Halloween.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd forgotten that Halloween is next week, not this week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>So much for </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>the beautiful post.</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, here I am, sitting here wondering what I can write about that will be worth posting. I ask myself that because for the last several weeks, I've written several posts that I have not published. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I find myself in a niche that I'm having a hard time exiting. A niche that continuously attempts to enlighten the masses about the profundity of our political structure, the degradation of common sense, and the ignorance of mankind that surrounds us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>No wonder I'm always in such a great mood.</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could talk about the walk in the park with the one I love. How gorgeous the trees and flowers and green grass as the butterflies flutter about our heads ... and the gnats occasionally enter our mouths. The warmth of one hand in the other, as we walk side by side ... being led away by police officers that didn't appreciate our becoming part of nature in the bushes. Smiles being shared as we gaze ahead at the cameras ... taking our mugshots, before being taken to our cells for another joyous evening ... with our new partners ... or "cell buddies" if you will.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I should, but since it never happened I'd only be making things up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Or, would I?</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could write about how much I'm looking forward to the Winter ahead. The brisk breezes chilling you to the bone as your overcoat blows open ... exposing the <i>"Hey, little girl"</i> attire underneath. Or, we could imagine rolling together down a snow covered hill that seemed never ending ... as the park security stumbled through the drifts chasing us in full determination. Or, I could describe the brightness and warmth of the room where the camera flashed, taking mugshots ... oh, wait a minute. We've already been there. Sorry!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, I'd be fabricating once again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Or, would I?</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sitting here, I have the opportunity to reach out to all my friends with open arms and hands ... requesting handouts whenever possible. A chance to rekindle old friendships in hopes of developing new relationships ... with their wives while they're at work. A way to ensure new friendships will be forthcoming continually through my life ... after the mugshots are taken and new "cell buddies", oops, sorry. Another repeat.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The written word is my slave and the page knows only I as its master. I have the power to create as I will and demand what I must. I have complete control over this and your television set. Do not attempt to change the channel. For the next ten minutes I will control all. For I reign supreme. I am in charge! I am the controller!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just give me a second. My wife just asked me to take out the garbage. I'll be right back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Or, will I?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Okay, now I'm back. It's time for</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>TEN THINGS OF THANKFUL!!!!</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week, I'm going to lighten things up a little bit as I've found a few of you don't like to think as much as scan. As I don't want these few to miss something in their quest to finish without understanding, I'll now revert back to my sixth-grade writing level and begin.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week ... <b><i><span style="font-size: large;">I'm Thankful For:</span></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) <span style="font-size: large;">... <b>Showers.</b> </span> Not only do they make you nice and clean, they can save a life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week, my wife lounged around until 1 p.m. before taking a shower on her day off. When she heard the knock on the door, she wasn't dressed to answer it. Fifteen minutes later, police sirens were heard. Within minutes, ambulances arrived at a house three doors down and the police crime scene tape was being strung out. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seems a couple of individuals were knocking at doors until they got someone to answer. Then, they'd force their way into a house and rob the occupants. At least, that was their plan. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unfortunate for them, they forced their way into a home thinking only the lady of the house was present. Once inside, they found three fully grown men confronting them. In the scuffle that followed, one of the three innocents was shot in the back, one of the guilty fled the scene, and the other guilty party was held down by the two other innocents until the police arrived.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If it hadn't have been for the shower, my wife could've been the victim.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Keep clean, honey!</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) <b><span style="font-size: large;">... Crime Free Communities.</span></b> When we moved to our neighborhood, 22 years ago, it was known as a "Crime Free" neighborhood. Since then, I've ran drug pushers off the block by video taping their house 24/7 and letting them know the police had a copy of all the license plates of those that visited them, my neighbor's home was robbed, a mentally ill individual attacked a lady taking her daily walk, my wife was able to scare away a person attempting to kick our back door down, and now, this latest occurrence (described above).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm guessing that thieves don't have anything to rob in their own neighborhoods, so they come to ours.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If I'm ever home when it happens, I can only say one thing ...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7wz9F-9EfzT74SjZOefS-33xOmVZ65KBK8QP5iM0Isb2AYFaJnS43g3XkXIhKphVOARbMTQVwx1HBTWWtVM7XgS9JNgnqlaxUPp8JTvVEyc3YESBwt92hZaf0eI4ZWD1aW2w3gZR9mA/s1600/Scarface-Al-Pacino_l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7wz9F-9EfzT74SjZOefS-33xOmVZ65KBK8QP5iM0Isb2AYFaJnS43g3XkXIhKphVOARbMTQVwx1HBTWWtVM7XgS9JNgnqlaxUPp8JTvVEyc3YESBwt92hZaf0eI4ZWD1aW2w3gZR9mA/s320/Scarface-Al-Pacino_l.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>"I'd like for you to say "Hello" to my little friend and sixteen of his buddies. </b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Oops! i guess they couldn't wait to make your acquaintance. </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Oh, you want gun control? Watch me control where the gun shoots.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Next time, stay in your own neighborhood!</b></i></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>"</b></i><br />
<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></i> <i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Just call me Mr. Rogers as "it's a wonderful day in the neighborhood,</b></i><br />
<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>a wonderful day in the neighborhood ... "</b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3) <span style="font-size: large;"><b>... Religious Cults. </b> </span>The Word of Life church had a meeting a couple of weeks ago. During this meeting, two teens were disciplined. From this "discipline", one died and the other was hospitalized.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, to the church, this act was a necessity. The guilty parties state that it was to beat the practice of witchcraft out of them. It was reported that the teens had been making voodoo dolls and had threatened to make one of their pastor.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The surviving youth denies this. In fact, police have said it was because of the youths desire to leave the church for good that the incident occurred.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Either way, one is dead and the other is mending his physical wounds. Who knows how long the mental ones will take. It is a reminder to all of us that following a religion doesn't mean you have to take abuse by man. Our judgment lies above, not by a group of idiots that have no other intent but to inflict pain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>But, then again, Jim Jones and David Koresh might disagree. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Kool Aid, anyone?</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_zegbkCKFDG9ILzySCHIHVUxlKf-DD50ax86qaX_0edPmUVsvGoogdhJW2lpZLrnWd6ZEI6xsk3ry3GN6Ll5o1aBRNb7y90Xy7vvbl5m67yF6qU9NzJTBB5D-W_NsYsPUA98sIYA4gQ/s1600/koolaidman.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_zegbkCKFDG9ILzySCHIHVUxlKf-DD50ax86qaX_0edPmUVsvGoogdhJW2lpZLrnWd6ZEI6xsk3ry3GN6Ll5o1aBRNb7y90Xy7vvbl5m67yF6qU9NzJTBB5D-W_NsYsPUA98sIYA4gQ/s400/koolaidman.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4) <span style="font-size: large;"><b>... Russian President Vladimir Putan.</b></span> According to opinion polls, the Russian president has an approval rating of 89% among Russian citizens. Even at worst, considering a maximum error difference of 20%, the man still has an approval rating that makes our last few American Presidents envious, to say the least.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Russians seem to prefer his "take charge" attitude, his "take no crap" mannerisms, and his "I'm President of one of the largest countries in the world and don't you forget it" style. His domestic and international successes have been scorned by many in the democratic world, yet those that reside in Russia feel as though he's taking care of those at home first and worrying about everyone else second.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Gee, that's the way it was in this country once. However, for the last two decades, few are pleased with the way things are, presidential approval ratings barely hit 50%, and the populace is always bitching about one thing or another. How about updating our National Anthem to fit the times?</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"O say can you see, </i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>by the shopping mall's lights,</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>What so proudly we watch, </i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Kardashian's TV.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Tiny seats on our jets, </i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>squeeze our asses real tight,</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>No Smoking is the norm, </i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>so eat more and buy new clothes.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>And, McDonald's yellow arch, </i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>and KFC pails,</i></b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: red;">Give proof on the scales, </span></i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: red;"> heart attacks will prevail.</span></i></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: red;">O' say do those PC'er's </span></i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: red;">still bitch about everything,</span></i></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: red;">The land of no middle class, </span></i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: red;">and the home of Jared's thing."</span></i></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT ... IF YOU CAN AFFORD TO!</i></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>OTHERWISE, GET A CREDIT CARD AND GO BROKE</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>LIKE THE REST OF US!</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5) <span style="font-size: large;"><b>... Immigrant Businesses. </b></span> According to a recent study done by Pew Research, 30% of the new businesses created last year were created by immigrants. These are main street businesses (restaurants, shops and such), and usually maintain a highly visible presence. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This really puts Americans to shame as only 17% are self-employed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm guessing it's one of two reasons for this. 1) Many Americans that owned individual businesses have fallen victim to the "Big Box" retailers over the years and grew disgusted fighting a losing battle to stay afloat against the cheap labor rates overseas, or 2) Americans are lazy as hell and want someone else to handle all the legal paperwork, insurance, and managerial duties while they take vacations, sick days, and stretch expense accounts to the max.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>See what happens when you grow up playing video games all day!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6) <span style="font-size: large;"><b>... Hurricane Patricia.</b></span> The strongest hurricane on record is going to be hitting Mexico this weekend. Scientists predict catastrophic damage when landfall is reached, stretching into the billions of dollars.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>In a related story, Colorado pot retailers are increasing prices of El Primo weed this weekend as shortages are predicted as soon as Mexico takes a hit from Patricia. Said one retailer, "Wow, man, this is just like oil prices. Whatta rush!"</b></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7) <b><span style="font-size: large;">... No Criminal Charges For IRS Officials. </span></b>The Department of Justice has decided not to charge any IRS official for targeting specific groups. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Said one anonymous source, </i></b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"Hell, they screw everyone that can't screw them!"</i></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8) <b><span style="font-size: large;">... Goran Olsen. </span></b> Hiking 150 miles west of Oslo, Norway, Goran found a 1,200 year old Viking sword. He stated he found it while digging under a pile of rocks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>However, this extraordinary find has its downside. Seems Goran had forgotten </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>where he'd left his Mexican weed and was frantically searching for it in order to take advantage of the price gouging weekend ahead when Hurricane Patricia hits Mexico. </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Flying overhead, the Marvel Avenger, Thor, saw what Goran was doing </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>and smashed his skull flatter than your mother's ironed panties as a form </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>of punishment. Goran's family wept.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Okay, okay, I made up the last two paragraphs. </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Had you going though, didn't it?</b></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9) <b><span style="font-size: large;">... The Plague. </span></b>What you learned in school may just be wrong. Originally thought to have started during the days of the Roman Empire, scientists, in examining teeth and other remains, have decided that the plague may have started at the time of the Bronze Age 5,000 years ago. In addition, they report that it was transmitted by humans instead of fleas and rats.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has readied a lawsuit that will be filed as soon as the living relatives of the Pied Piper are found. Should you have any informations concerning their whereabouts, please notify your local society branch.</i></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10) <b><span style="font-size: large;">... LaGuardia Airport. </span></b>Yes, New York's famous LaGuardia International Airport has been chosen as the worst airport in America. Surprisingly, Chicago's O'Hare was way down the list at number ten.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Says anyone that's ever flown out of or in to O'Hare ...</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Dat's Bull, Dat's Bull, Dat's Bull!!!</i></b></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, that's going to do it for another edition of </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Ten Things Of Thankful!!!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stop in next week for the post that was going to be this week</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> until it was discovered this week wasn't next week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Confused? Come back next week and it'll all make sense!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh, and please leave all comments below!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><i>Ciao!!</i></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-77051508182066116362015-09-17T18:49:00.000-04:002015-09-18T22:09:25.360-04:00Naked and Afraid, Wendy's, and Carly and Hillary Jello Fight! Yes, It's Time for Ten Things Of Thankful!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpBV2SfrtsdSvaKy5yp4sQn1kDi0fjyiSxeO-cl4VIijtim5vpB26zkHvSR-rH6BYp8HuNFJcjJ-4Ud5V29OIffyyNAEtbkzxpKF0ibvC73zzykvKVBj16W_EAxI0dbSlmpODKzCmkVcw/s1600/amanda+knox.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpBV2SfrtsdSvaKy5yp4sQn1kDi0fjyiSxeO-cl4VIijtim5vpB26zkHvSR-rH6BYp8HuNFJcjJ-4Ud5V29OIffyyNAEtbkzxpKF0ibvC73zzykvKVBj16W_EAxI0dbSlmpODKzCmkVcw/s320/amanda+knox.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just in case you missed it, Amanda Knox has been found innocent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The highest of the Italian courts declared that her initial trial had basically been a sham and that there was absolutely no proof that she had any part in the killing that took place.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Her fifteen minutes of fame are now over. She will go back to living a life outside of the spotlight until <i>"Dancing With The Stars"</i>, or some other menial television show decides to offer her thousands of dollars to appear as a contestant.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>What do you want to guess it's not </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"Naked and Afraid?"</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In case you haven't seen<i> "Naked and Afraid"</i>, here's the basic premise. Put a man and a woman in a survival situation with minimal survival chance. Take away all their clothes, give them one tool each to use (fire starter, machete, etc.) and leave them in the wilderness for 21 days. If they're still there at the end of that time period, they can proclaim themselves survivalists and be proud that they lost 20-30 pounds each during the event.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcdwnCEf-SIJFS0_5_HxE8d0me6Ej9ZBT-hzGORGldc8Xj5uZi88RBwdcquJ5-H2uVPkzO79p1fL_tgzIHnYGmAHRxbd9kInz3-Gp0hixRWCeBwZ4Y6SZ2yIfpSljqZwFqbdWdLemWeyg/s1600/652089-naked-afraid-uncensored_430x573.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcdwnCEf-SIJFS0_5_HxE8d0me6Ej9ZBT-hzGORGldc8Xj5uZi88RBwdcquJ5-H2uVPkzO79p1fL_tgzIHnYGmAHRxbd9kInz3-Gp0hixRWCeBwZ4Y6SZ2yIfpSljqZwFqbdWdLemWeyg/s320/652089-naked-afraid-uncensored_430x573.png" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No, none of the contestants has ever taken their Richard Simmons calorie cards as a survival tool. They all complain about the hunger they suffer through as finding food is usually a task few do well at accomplishing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can you imagine being Amanda Knox's partner on the show and seeing her pull out a razor sharp machete? Now, children, can you say, <i>"Deja Vu?"</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Remember, no body remains make murder hard to prosecute! Just hope that she's a vegetarian!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Speaking of food, let's discuss the latest rule practiced by some of our wonderful eating establishments.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other morning, I traveled the 200+ miles to my father's home in Indiana. I started the trip at a convenience store where I purchased a large coffee. I partook of this drink along the route, finding I still had a little left when I pulled into a <b>Wendy's </b>restaurant in Bloomington, Indiana. I looked for a place to throw my cup but found that <b>Wendy's</b> has removed all outside trash receptacles. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ordering a Diet Coke and a chicken wrap, I asked the Keeper of the Drive Up Window if she would mind throwing away my cup to make room for the drink I had purchased. I was informed that because of "food contamination" rules, they couldn't do that. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I said, <i>"Oh, you're good enough to allow me to contaminate my car with your cup, but you </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglB9d2ulm5fmEhwnH5P7cE_Hf0AJh2rIW_QPVuK_xUaXjo6PPjc5cTllqk-Tbxrl-1V0y0OLL-rYJHF2DF9tI5R52gQ5siq99aw7yK-IVWBd54VJ5qzwdo-3-PoqlhuksleMuN8WNN9SQ/s1600/wendys.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglB9d2ulm5fmEhwnH5P7cE_Hf0AJh2rIW_QPVuK_xUaXjo6PPjc5cTllqk-Tbxrl-1V0y0OLL-rYJHF2DF9tI5R52gQ5siq99aw7yK-IVWBd54VJ5qzwdo-3-PoqlhuksleMuN8WNN9SQ/s200/wendys.png" width="200" /></a></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>can't toss my cup in a trash can?"</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>"Sorry, sir, rules are rules!"</b></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"I understand. You're allowed to handle money, which has been proven to be the dirtiest item one can handle, and then handle food, but you can't throw away my cup."</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>"Sorry, sir, rules are rules!"</b></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, being the asshole I am, I took my order, proceeded forward one car length, stopped my car, opened the door, and set the cup of coffee on the ground before driving off!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. I have rules, too! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Screw with me and I'll screw with you!</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I bet they threw it in a trash can when they picked up the lot that day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remind me not to stop at <b>Wendy's </b>again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a dangerous game they're playing. Hell, they don't know that I'm not Amanda Knox in disguise just awaiting the chance to unsheathe my machete!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>"HAHAHAHAHAHA .... I've FOUND the BEEF!!!!!!"</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, it's time for</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Ten Things Of Thankful!</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>This week, I'm thankful for ...</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>1)</b></span> .... a Chinese surgeon </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh4Fn2qCElOi_k9L2r7y859oxi1AheY3OJ8P-KsHGb30YJNoGQ-djtcrSrk5z0of0UeWQSKMCNPNMH1L7dTNHmBd-MqDHOrhP9SDMfQU2-Dku96X-cfrws8wwexuqxieNHUAM_b0QRauM/s1600/SuperTrump.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh4Fn2qCElOi_k9L2r7y859oxi1AheY3OJ8P-KsHGb30YJNoGQ-djtcrSrk5z0of0UeWQSKMCNPNMH1L7dTNHmBd-MqDHOrhP9SDMfQU2-Dku96X-cfrws8wwexuqxieNHUAM_b0QRauM/s400/SuperTrump.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>"Hell, I think I turned out just fine!"</i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and an Italian surgeon have confirmed that they will perform the <b>first head transplant surgery</b> at Harbin Medical University in China. Having never been attempted, they hope for immediate success. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or, at least they're hoping that their efforts provide something better than the previous secret attempts that no one would ever take credit for.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, at least no one in the Republican Party would ever take credit for.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Or, would they?</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>2)</b></span> </span> ... <b>Consumer Reports</b> has listed the Chrysler 200, the Land Rover Discovery Sport, The Lexus NX Crossover, and the Kia Sedona to be the three worst cars in the market. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Lexus, Kia, and Land Rover contest this listing, while Chrysler simply states, </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"Hell, at least we're at the top of someone's list!"</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>3)</b></span> ... <b>Donald Trump</b> was blasted by a Latino crowd after a political rally in Dallas, Texas this week. The disagreement was voiced over his statements concerning the "sending back to Mexico" the illegal aliens, and how drugs, crime, and rapists were much of what was coming into the states.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Let's be real, the Latino vote is a Democratic one, for the most part. </b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Obama thrived on it during the last election, and Hillary plans on doing </b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>the same in the next one. (She'd email you about it but seems to have </b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>trouble emailing anything these days.) Personally, I see the Latinos as</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b> a hard working group that isn't afraid to get their hands dirty for their pay. </b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>There are several other groups already in the United States that should take</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b> lessons from them instead of hanging out at the Post Office awaiting </b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>government checks every month.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Besides, what American city couldn't use another quality restaurant?</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Got any hot sauce?</b></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>4)</b></span> ... <b>El Nino's</b> possibly going to lead to more snakebites. Seems that the heat it will bring the serpents closer to humans in search of their prey (rats, mice, etc.). Thus, more people will get bit. Some accidentally and some through foolishness. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Seems like the weather is bringing more than raindrops on the head </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>and showers bringing flowers that bloom in May, doesn't it?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Oops!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>5)</b></span> ..<i><b>. "Dancing With The Stars"</b> </i>began its 21st season on television Monday Night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ..............</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>6)</b></span> ... a <b>Texas teenager</b> that brought a bomb to school ... or so the school officials thought. Actually, turns out the officials bombed big time as it was only a clock that he had put together. The police also bombed as they put the 14-year-old in handcuffs and took him to jail.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are times fear leads people to do things they later regret. Obviously, it was better for the officials to end up eating crow in the name of safety first, rather than to try validating why hundreds of children were blown up by a bomb. (And, just this week, an ISIS violence influenced 15-year-old Danish girl was sentenced as her and her male Iraqi friend, Mohammed Bakhtiar Abdullah, stabbed her mother over 20 times!) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Still, Obama wants to make it up to this kid and offer him a visit to the White House.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Sure, let's reward stupidity!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>What am I saying? Let's look even further into this matter. </i></b> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Terrorism is everywhere and people are afraid. We are at war with a Muslim force that wouldn't hesitate one second to send a suicide bomber into a school. So, if you were a Muslim, wouldn't common sense tell you not to parade around with a <i>"Make Your Own Clock"</i> kit that resembled a bomb? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>That's right, common sense isn't common!</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, now this stupid kid<i> (who should have finished all these "make your own" kits by age 9 or 10) </i>is being rewarded for his inability to exhibit common sense, as many, who also lack the common sense to calculate human reactions, think he was mistreated. Hell, he's lucky someone didn't shoot his ass thinking he really was a terrorist! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Someone sit the offended public and the kid down, </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>explain the values of common sense and thinking </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>about </i></b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>what you're doing before you do it, </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">and buy the kid a wristwatch!</span></i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDhgmfo1kBphlDVuo5KoGqS4Dpnu88011U_VjAT8saKb61qgxP8gdCtz5ZbdqpuobHG7JbhWW-_ZuwAFOWmc09utHlh2teTpSlky5WSD2dCLIRbwHMiqi5FVJaMJkijxHLW_-BOmavqA/s1600/mickey+mouse.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDhgmfo1kBphlDVuo5KoGqS4Dpnu88011U_VjAT8saKb61qgxP8gdCtz5ZbdqpuobHG7JbhWW-_ZuwAFOWmc09utHlh2teTpSlky5WSD2dCLIRbwHMiqi5FVJaMJkijxHLW_-BOmavqA/s1600/mickey+mouse.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>(Talk about some Mickey Mouse B.S. Geeeeesh!)</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>7)</b></span> ...<b><i> Twinkle, Twinkle, little star, shooting near and farting fa</i>r ... </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <b>WHAT??? </b> Yes, shooting stars may not be what you think they are. NASA scientists have stated that when the astronauts aboard the space station orbiting the Earth take a dump, it's got to go somewhere. Out the chute with the poop and into space it does fly. If it happens to enter Earth's atmosphere then it's a quick <i>"Flame On, Flame Out"</i> as it burns up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, for all you romantic lovers stargazing, remember, wishing upon a star from afar may keep you from feeling the poo from the crew. Just put the top up in the convertible (or close the moonroof) and you'll be fine... except for maybe taco and burrito night! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Makes you wonder what urine turns into, doesn't it?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"Did someone say something about </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head a little earlier?"</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Hmmmmmm!</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>8)</b></span> ... the<b> typical American family's income dropped to $53,657</b> last year. (I might add that bankruptcies continue to rise as more and more credit card companies find that people cannot pay the 29.99% rate they conveniently charge when family funds are at their lowest.) This was the fifth year in a row that income levels either dropped or were stagnant. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>This is sure to bring a big laugh at the upcoming Republican and Democrat</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i> $10,000 a plate campaign dinners. After all, getting rid of the middle class </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>seems to be working quite well for all of them!</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>9)</b></span> ... <b>Carly Fiorina, </b>candidate for president on the Republican ticket, seemed to win a debate among other candidates this week aired on CNN. (I missed it ... intentionally, I might add.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>I say let's end all the bull right now, put Hillary and Carly in bikinis and </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>have them fight for the presidency in a swimming pool of either Jello or mud. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i> We could do the same thing with Jeb Bush and Donald Trump, but that </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>might scare viewers away even faster than Hillary in a bikini!</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Actually, I take that back. Hillary would be scarier!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>(Okay, I'm expecting the chauvinistic statements </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>on that one</i></b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> so don't hold back!)</i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>10)</b></span> ... a Florida woman who was arrested this week after attempting to stab a deputy with a sword! Later, police found several rooms filled with over<b> 3,500 bladed weapons</b>. This is one time that decorating abilities weren't as sharp as the accessories within!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>All we've heard for years is gun control, gun control, gun control. Here's a </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>lady that obviously didn't trust the government from not taking away her guns. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i> So, instead, she has enough knives, swords, spears, machetes, and </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>other stabbing weapons to take care of two zombie apocalypses! </i></b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Like I've said for years, it's not the gun that kills, </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>it's the person that pulls the trigger,</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>or, in this case, stabs the hardest! </i></b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Get the point?</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b>11)</b></span> ... <b>15 Presidential candidates, past and present, have admitted to trying marijuana</b> at least once in their lives. These admissions seem to be the thing to do these days as taxes from pot sales in Colorado actually surpassed alcohol taxes this year.</span><br />
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <b><i>What I want to know is who still does it, </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>where they get their weed from, </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>and if any of them have ever had an acid trip flashback! </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>That's the one I'm voting for!</i></b></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can see it now ... </span></div>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"Hey Dude, there's a lot of names and buttons on this machine. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i> I just want to vote for the doper. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Close the curtain and I'll light one up! </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Wow, dude......"</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* * * * * * * * * *</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic;"><b>Well, that's going to do it for another edition.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic;"><b>Hope you found something above to smile about.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic;"><b>I should've stopped at 10, but I forgot ... wow, man!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>My smiles have been deleted this week by some</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>unprofessional events I've endured, but won't go </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>into detail over. Hopefully, your comments will</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>assist in bringing them back.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Till Next Time ...</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>Ciao!</b></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-20850349460785836792015-09-04T18:22:00.000-04:002015-09-05T03:00:07.854-04:00Ky Co Clerk, Miley Cyrus VMA's and Peeing in the Pool ... Ya Gotta Luv 'Em, and TTOT!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_eEGm7-wrxq1zF9TtKsCG7gpHmlIH217XqM7FqJ5-UYRCLJ1-2Cf3BKVZWix2RKQZzFCJJ5t86zljyUabVyWzdDY-IG8ORhAevv6UdUa4a5FEEa26QhxhzUwa9LSTW4cuhndpREibU8/s1600/Kim+Davis+a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_eEGm7-wrxq1zF9TtKsCG7gpHmlIH217XqM7FqJ5-UYRCLJ1-2Cf3BKVZWix2RKQZzFCJJ5t86zljyUabVyWzdDY-IG8ORhAevv6UdUa4a5FEEa26QhxhzUwa9LSTW4cuhndpREibU8/s400/Kim+Davis+a.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A clerk has refused to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples in Kentucky and the whole world is watching.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Obviously, MTV's Video Music Awards were broadcast on the wrong day!</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some call her a martyr, some a hypocrite, some a tight ass bitch, and so on and so on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>I'm talking about the County Clerk, not Miley Cyrus</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i> (who hosted the VMA's).</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet, in consideration of the week and the events we're starting to discuss, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>AREN'T THEY THE SAME?</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Yeah, I'm gonna piss some people off with that one!</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seriously, let us look at this scenario.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbLOmFlNWcTg2jccSZhn9I1hG0ByJdKue1kmFOExxmd49gMLZJHZnKSgep7ZhzxyKRWGgi_WHLXqfnXh_7ilqIyTp9Ec9RHEBTY42cdmKntgBMkNLSXG_9lfcxSUkdpvHRSStIRA5lTBk/s1600/Miley+a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbLOmFlNWcTg2jccSZhn9I1hG0ByJdKue1kmFOExxmd49gMLZJHZnKSgep7ZhzxyKRWGgi_WHLXqfnXh_7ilqIyTp9Ec9RHEBTY42cdmKntgBMkNLSXG_9lfcxSUkdpvHRSStIRA5lTBk/s400/Miley+a.jpg" width="255" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Miley can wear what she wants, pretty much say what she wants, and dance with anyone she wishes and only suffer minor critique. Of course, there are those that are making a big thing of the word "<i>mammy</i>" in one of her sketches, but there will always be a few assholes with something to say since the world is now made up of so many "<i>experts</i>" that have never worn the shoes of those they slander.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She's paid to do it and earns her money. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of hers, but I have to admire her tenacity of seeking and reaching the extreme in most she does.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, Kim Davis, the Rowen County Clerk in Kentucky, can do pretty much what she wants, as long as she follows the same guidelines as Miley in as that it's in the performance of her job. She can tell jokes, compare signatures, check identifications to ensure those in front of her are of age, and issue licenses to those the law states are legally able to receive a marriage license.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She's earning her money ($80,000 a year) by doing this. Trouble is, she suddenly isn't following the laws that have been set down. So, in reality, she's really not doing her job.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What if different religions only issued licenses to those that were of the same belief structure? Wouldn't that be a mess?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jews could turn down Christians who could turn down Muslims who could turn down Buddhists who could turn down Hindus who could turn down Atheists who would turn down everyone! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No one would ever get married! Thousands of lawyers would be out of work as with no weddings come no divorces! And, we just couldn't have that, could we? Poor, poor divorce attorneys need an income, too!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, no one recognizes how wonderful it is to be married until they're married.<i> </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>(Of course, it's too late to do anything about it then, but that's another story.) </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, when can religion prevent a person from doing their job?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whether you agree or not, it shouldn't.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If your personal beliefs keep you from performing the responsibilities of your position, then you simply need to find another position!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you're not a prostitute, I wouldn't pay you for sex. <i>(Maybe that's why I might as well be abstinent.) </i> If you're not adept in working with snakes, I'm not going to ask you to extract venom from one.<i> (Unless I don't like you.) </i> If you're a not a proctologist, I'm not going to ask you to put your fingers up my ... well, you know where. <i> (However, if I'm paying and you're a prostitute...)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What makes it even worse here is that it is a so-called "<i>public servant</i>" that is refusing to do what she took an oath to do. "<i>Public</i>" is not just those of your personal belief circle, it's everyone.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf2f5WfUt8cKLyhlUwF-7HU0l66rM8yTEfJj-pyjuEw-F9D9C80RAfZ9bDnGaB_jgXzld7cFB4VUTdP9SpfJugvAN-9rZvqKik7ndDHJN2GZZBO-bt7qbKUtrqUMj_hpULONJmosAFZy8/s1600/justice+scales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf2f5WfUt8cKLyhlUwF-7HU0l66rM8yTEfJj-pyjuEw-F9D9C80RAfZ9bDnGaB_jgXzld7cFB4VUTdP9SpfJugvAN-9rZvqKik7ndDHJN2GZZBO-bt7qbKUtrqUMj_hpULONJmosAFZy8/s400/justice+scales.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really don't care who gets married to each other. We all deserve our time in Hell and marriage is one sure way to experience it! If there were two aliens from the planet Humpa Humpa that became legal residents of the area you are sworn to serve, you gotta do it,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> or get the hell out of Dodge! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Living in Kentucky, I'm not ashamed of this woman standing up for her beliefs any more than I'm upset over what Miley Cyrus said or wore at the VMA's. Everyone has a right to believe in what they wish. I am pissed off that she let those beliefs stop her from doing what my tax dollars pay her do, and in this, brought forth unnecessary negative attention to the state whose laws she swore to abide by.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wish Kim well, as I do Miley. Both have performed beyond anyone's expectations.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> However, it's time to either earn your pay, or pay for what you fail to earn. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope your time in jail is short and that you get a great job with a church, Kim. It's really where you belong.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, Miley, remember, it's not always what you show, but what you either have or don't have to show. Can you say, <i><b>"Implants?"</b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, let's get on to </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>TEN THINGS OF THANKFUL!!!!!</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://summat2thinkon.wordpress.com/2015/09/04/ten-things-of-thankful-116-10thankful/">See All TTOT Postings Here!!!!</a></i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Damn, what am I going to slam this week? I've already hit on a couple of real winning topics I could have attacked. <i>(Talk about poor planning.)</i> So, now I've got to come up with ten more. Let's give it a shot and see what I can do!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>This week I'm Thankful for .....</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) ... <b>Donald Trump's </b>inability to stay strong and ignore the Republican Party's request for him to sign a statement in which he would not run for public office if he didn't receive the Republican nomination for President. By indicating that he will sign this, he has proven himself to be a typical snot nosed politician that needs to cuddle up with those that make him as wealthy as he is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I'm thankful for this because I was almost believing that someone would finally stand up to the two party waltz and show them a thing or two. This has simply assured me that my feelings that all politicians, regardless of the party, are scum and only looking to improve their own financial position in life.</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) ... the continued absence of <b>AllLivesMatter </b>from any of the news broadcasts concerning the murder of police officers. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <i>Funny how "all lives don't matter" to them, isn't it?</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3) ... <b>CVS Health Corp</b> announcing Thursday that their decision to stop selling tobacco products led to a 1% drop in smoking in <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">some</u> states where they have a sizable presence.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>CVS proves its ego! Cigarette prices were always outrageous at CVS (as are prescription prices), which meant only two groups purchased them there ... those with extra money or the drunks visiting the huge liquor departments the stores present that didn't care how much they were spending, as long as they didn't get stopped by the cops on the way home. </i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4) ... <b>Spotify </b>for naming Major Lazer's <i>"Lean On" </i>the most streamed Global Song of the Summer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>This once again proves that those that listen to today's music have no taste whatsoever! </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>(Where's a good Miley Cyrus song when you need it?)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Please, no Miley songs! Just joking here!!!</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5) ... <b>Kanye West</b> almost acting like a human being after being introduced by a praising Taylor Swift during this week's VMA's.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Of course, this only lasted for a few seconds before his ego got the better of him and he once again became an asshole announcing that he's running for President in 2020.</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6) ... discussions at the end of Summer about <b>peeing in the poo</b>l. After a season spent splashing in the water, Purdue Professor Ernest R. Blatchley III mentions that excessive peeing in the pool can create a chemical agent known as cyanogen chloride which has been used as a chemical warfare agent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The only recommendation given is that you always take a break and pee where </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>you're supposed to, and make sure all those you're with do the same. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Ex-President Bush proclaimed, </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"I knew we'd find the WMD's one day, damn it, I knew it!"</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7) ... a U.S. District Judge condemning the NFL's suspension of <b>New England's Tom Brady</b> and throwing the "<b>Deflategate</b>" ruling out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Now, all you have to say is that you didn't have any knowledge of a violation</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> taking place and you get a "Get Out Of Jail" card FREE!!!!</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8) ... U.S. Defense Department laboratories sending out anthrax to five unsuspecting labs this last week.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I can see the Generals up in arms now. "Why send them Anthrax, damn it???" Hell, just mix some pee with chlorine and you'll get rid of your competitors the easy way!"</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9) ... <i>"Here's a story, about a famous pitch man, he was fat but slimmed down eating smart,</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>And a story, about one of his friends, who liked sex with kids and liked to be tied up tight!"</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>It's a story, about how the cops caught them, saving kids and dogs and other animals, too,</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Just a story, it'll make you hungry, ..."</i> <b>so go order a damn pizza!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Okay, Jared will be going to jail. Twenty years ago, it wouldn't have happened. Why? Because his friend's texting the wrong person brought the investigation right to his doorstep. For that, I'm thankful. No more having to look at size 895 sized blue jeans and wondering how many kids he made wear them.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>What scares me is that one of the kids will suffer a trauma 20 years from today and start killing people with footlong meatball sandwiches! Oh, the heartburn!</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10) ... AOL's headlines "Dangerous Storm Season May Set New Record In 2015".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>And, then again, it might not!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>That's going to do it for another edition of TTOT! Hope you enjoyed! </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>If you didn't, I'll understand. After all, not everyone likes Chocolate Ice Cream</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i> ... wait a minute ... yes they do!!!! </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Please leave your comments below!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Ciao!</i></b></span></div>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431865736422930321.post-47262701040326814172015-08-22T17:59:00.000-04:002015-08-23T01:11:54.607-04:00Ten Things Of Thankful and "Cecil ... Bang, Bang, The Dentist Doesn't Use Novacaine!"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://foter.com/"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>WE'RE ALL PISSED ABOUT CECIL!</i></span></b></a></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b> <b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">A lion is dead.</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Cecil is no more.</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People are generally afraid of lions as they will attack and eat humans, as well as other animals if the opportunity arises and they're hungry. You know, top of the food chain stuff!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>That's why they have </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>the title </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>KING OF THE BEASTS!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, our society has now made a martyr of this animal and presented him as if he had been a loving and common housecat. I'm sure some would even have purchased him a toy mouse if they could've.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>We are all crazy as hell</i></b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> these days!</i></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cecil became accustomed to human beings gawking and taking pictures of him. (He probably didn't like it much, but put up with it to maintain his celebrity status.) Also, he knew he could easily take one down in a second if they'd have ventured too close. His fear of man had vanished.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was his downfall.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The King of the Beasts died over the course of two long and torturous days before being skinned and beheaded at the hands of a bow and arrow /rifle illegally hunting dentist with an obsession to destroy more than the plaque on huge incisors. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>Great White <br />Root Canal Hunter</i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now you know why I've never trusted dentists.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was always told that people became dentists because they didn't have the intelligence to become true medical doctors. The idea of a person that can't pass medical school putting their hands in my mouth is not an appealing thought.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another guy I know that couldn't pass a medical exam works for a company that sets up and takes down portable potties.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't want his hands in my mouth either.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps an older and wiser Cecil would have been familiar with the "Great White Hunter" phrase that filled the world of adventure and hunting television shows in the 1950's and '60's. We were shown expedition after expedition traveling to Africa in hopes of killing the "wild and dangerous beasts" that resided there. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, Cecil was no cowardly lion.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I was a youngster, I conquered the world of crows with my Daisy BB Gun by shooting down as many as I could. I never liked crows so I had no regrets. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who could like a bird that would caw instead of tweet, and would crap on you any chance they got? They're like the noisy, diarrhea dropping cockroaches of the sky.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One day, I took on bigger game. Like Elmer Fudd, I shot a rabbit.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>I Finally Find Out What Happened <br />To My Brother! You Bastard!</i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having been shot with a BB gun by my more than adventurous, and slightly sadistic neighbor's kid, I didn't think that the BB would pierce the skin of the rabbit. It might leave a welt, but that would be the maximum injury incurred. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My BB hit the rabbit right behind the ear and entered the skull. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He awkwardly fell to his side and started kicking his rear legs in hopes of escaping his fate. Sad thing was all his feet found beneath them was air.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feeling immediate regret for my act, I tried to figure out what I could do to save the rabbit's life. So, in the thought/ logic pattern of the child I was, I ran to the house, grabbed a huge cardboard box, put the rabbit inside of it, and hurried to the garden to get some lettuce for it to eat. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, I returned to find the rabbit had hemorrhaged and was dead.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Believe it or not I sat there with tears in my eyes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was the last animal I ever shot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Later in life, when I hunted for venomous snakes, I did so with a grab stick and a snake hook. I brought them back alive to the venom lab so they could be used to supply venom for scientific research in the stoppage of Alzheimer's disease and skin cancer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>I wonder how many that protested the killing of Cecil would tell me that they'd</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i> kill a venomous snake in an instant if they found one in their back yard? </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>I guess they can only love something warm and fuzzy. </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>(Perhaps it's time they examine their love of animals?)</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No, I no longer use a gun to hunt.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet, I admit I am a hypocrite as I</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> eat meat and let others do the killing for me. I will continue to do so because I enjoy the taste and believe it nutritious for my body. I, like most, don't often think about how the animals are terminated or forced to live. It's not because I don't care. It is because the "super" livestock houses ran the small farmer out of business and they're all we have left. If one wishes to continue to eat meat, one has little choice as to how it lives or where it comes from these days.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I won't condone or condemn hunting. I see the need of hunting for population control at times, otherwise nature would end up in more of a quandary than we've already made it. Also, some places in the world do still hunt to provide food for the table. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, for those that would love to contribute thousands of dollars for the thrill of the danger in the hunt, let them do so on an equal level with the beasts they hunt. <b><i>In other words, go after them without any weapons. </i></b> Put down your damn sniper's rifle and prove how really brave you are!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Or, would you simply prefer doing root canals?</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>That's what I thought you'd say.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Don't forget to floss!</i></b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%E2%80%9D%20https://summat2thinkon.wordpress.com/ten-things-of-thankful/%20%E2%80%9D%20target=%E2%80%9D_blank%E2%80%9D%3E%3Cimg%20src=%E2%80%9D%20https://summat2thinkon.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/10thankful-banner.jpg?w=700?w=700&#8243; alt=”Ten Things of Thankful” style=”border:none;” /></a>"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>SEE ALL TTOT POSTS HERE !!!</i></b></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Ten Things Of Thankful!!!</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, I have been absent from posting for quite some time. Along with some family dramas, I grew tired of each week's post sounding like the prior weeks again and again. Thus, I took a break from writing for a couple of months.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've changed my "thankfuls" to being much shorter and to the point. Humor through sarcasm takes time to develop. But, since most readers only scan, they miss many of the jokes and points made anyway.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, here is my newly revamped format for<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>Ten Things of Thankful!</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week, I'm thankful for...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) ...the <b><span style="color: #990000;">#AllLivesMatter</span> </b>movement showing their true colors. An unarmed, nineteen-year-old white male, Zachary Hammond, was shot and killed by a police officer in South Carolina while he was attempting to purchase a small bag of marijuana from an undercover officer. Conflicting reports and no coroner's statement, similar in situation to others killed that brought national attention.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, where are the protesters, the looting and the rioting? Giving credit where credit is due, <b><span style="color: #990000;">#BlackLivesMatter</span></b> has acknowledged the incident, but no protests were rendered and the crowd inciting press has been noticeably absent. Why?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Sometimes, no action speaks louder than words. </i></b></span><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> </i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Hypocritically sad, isn't it?</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Guess #AllLivesMatter should change their name </i></b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>to </i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>#WeChooseWhoMatters.</i></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) ...<b><span style="color: #990000;">Eli Goodrich</span></b> demonstrating that ultimately it is the man that kills, not the weapon. Eli got into an argument with his father, grabbed a sword, and fatally stabbed him to death. As this occurred in Philadelphia, I'm sure guns would have been easy to procure, which would have continued being a newsworthy spur to continue the gun control movement. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>I'm still awaiting opponents to organize legislation to mandate sword laws,</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i> but so far none have come forward.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>I understand the Sword Swallowing Lobby is as big as the NRA!</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>This news was quickly cast aside as it didn't create the </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>big bang of gun related crimes.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3) ...<b><span style="color: #990000;">Malaysian Airlines flight MH370</span></b> now is known to have crashed. For months, it was unknown what happened to this flight as it seemed to have simply vanished. Now, a wing section has been found and identified. No longer to we have to wonder if the 239 passengers and crew were captured by aliens or are caught in the Twilight Zone. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Now, about that creature they'd seen tearing up the plane's wing....</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>(You gotta be older to understand that one!)</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">) ...<b><span style="color: #990000;">Donald Trump</span></b> emerging as the Republican frontrunner in the race for the presidency, and only trails Hillary Clinton by six points in the latest poll. This is proof just how fed up the American public has become with all the politicians in Washington, D.C. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>If big business is going to buy and use all the politicians to make huge profits, </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>let's just put a snotnosed businessman in office and stop all the charades.</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6) ...<b><span style="color: #990000;">Subway's</span></b> ex-spokesperson, <b><span style="color: #990000;">Jared F</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">ogl</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">e</span></b>, has cut a plea deal and admitted that he paid others to solicit minors to have sexual relations with him. His plea deal included paying $1.4 million and registering as a sex offender. In addition, his wife has now filed for divorce. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Guess we've seen the last of the </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>$5 footlong and Jared unless they feature him on a</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>future episode of "Scared Straight."</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"Five ... Five ... Five ... Five to Ten ... with good behavior..."</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7) ...hackers of the <b><span style="color: #990000;">Ashley Madison</span></b> website (whose purpose is to set up extra marital affairs) found that the area of the country with the highest amount of usage was the District of Columbia! Over 15,000 email addresses came from government .gov and .mil servers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>So, the next time you're threatened by an employee of the IRS, just say,</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"How would your spouse react if I told her about you and Ashley Madison?"</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"It's refund time!!!!!"</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8) ...after twenty seasons as a judge on <b><span style="color: #990000;">"Dancing With The Stars", Len Goodman</span></b> will not be returning to the show. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>After twenty seasons of ignoring this show while my wife watched it,</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>I really don't give a damn.</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9) ...officials investigating<b><span style="color: #990000;"> Hillary Clinton's </span></b>emails through her personal account have found sixty emails containing classified information and flagged over 350 more. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Good thing she was only Secretary of State</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>and nothing of any importance was sent.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>I'm sure half the emails concern the Scotchgarding of blue dresses.</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>And this is the leading Democratic Presidential Candidate?</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Maybe we can talk Len Goodman into running!</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10) ...the <b><span style="color: #990000;">National Safety Council's</span></b> new report that shows an increase of 15% in the deaths of pedestrians over the last five years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>And, if my truck holds up to the impacts,</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i> it won't be long before people wise up </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>and start jogging and walking on the sidewalks </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>instead of in the middle of the damn streets!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Stupid Dumbasses!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>* * * * * * * * *</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>That's going to do it for this week's posting of TTOT. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>If you enjoyed, or if you didn't, leave a comment </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>and let me know about it.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>Ciao!</b></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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Richard Rumplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15478732756685966429noreply@blogger.com17