OAKVILLE, ALABAMA INDIAN FESTIVAL

Summer always brings loads of local festivals and events. Around here, if you can't find something to do, it's because you didn't look around.

This weekend was the annual Indian Festival at the Oakville Indian Mound Museum located just a few miles from my house. The Oakville Indian Mounds Park and Museum in Lawrence County is home to thousands of Indian artifacts and two Indian mounds. The exhibit opened in 1987. That year, 600 children, all Native American descendents, learned about their Indian heritage. Since then, that number has grown to 1,500 students. The festival includes Indian culture and dances and a civil war reenactment plus tons of vendors and people in costume doing living history recitals of local figures from days gone by, like Aunt Jenny Brooks.

Did I mention there was bluegrass picking and grinning going on, too? Something for everyone and then some!

Several of my pictures didn't turn out as well as I would like. The dance area is in the shade, wonderful for the dancers but not so good for picture taking.
































Man, I'm glad that women don't dress like this any more! She claims that she's not hot, but I think the lady lied. Even with the nice breeze that was blowing, I was sweating and she had a lot more clothes on than I did. I wish I had gotten pictures of the field nurses tending the wounded during the battle, but I took too many pics of friends and family. This is the way the common women dressed, all those fancy hoop skirts you see in the movies were worn by the well-off Ladies of the Manor. At least dressed like this, you didn't have to worry about love handles showing!


I ran out pictures before the actual civil war reenactment, but here you see them getting just one of the many cannons in position. The black powder guns and cannons were really loud and clouds of smelly black smoke rolled across the landscape during the battle. The kids loved it, all that charging on horseback, loud booms, fake death scenes and screaming. The little boys all wanted to play soldier with them!

Looks like some of combatants had to take a break!















This is my cousin, Jeff Waters who is a professional blacksmith. On the left he's showing some of the knives he made, and on the right he's using his primitive forge. He performs at all the local events and always draws quite a crowd. Looks the part, doesn't he! If any of you ladies out there in blogland like your men big, burly and of the mountain-man persuasion, Jeff's single and up for grabs.

SEE YOU AT THE DRIVE IN

I've got 7 whole days off after today, and one of the things I'm planning is to go to King's Drive In theater. There's nothing like sitting under the stars with loads of snacks, a cooler full of cold ones, a snuggly someone next to you and a couple of good movies on the big screen. If the picture sucks, you can always find your own brand of entertainment! RV starring Robin Williams and the cartoon Over the Hedge are showing this week, so I expect to have my funny bone tickled, at the very least!

At King's you see entire families sitting outside their cars in lawn chairs, enjoying the summer evening while kids roam around. With the price of $5 for adults and $2.50 for kids over the age of 6 to see 2, count them TWO, first run movies it's one of the few affordable forms of entertainment left for young families on a budget.

I read somewhere that there are just over 200 drive-in movies left in the US and somewhere else I read that there were only 59 (whatever the real count, there aren't many drive-ins remaining), and out of that Alabama has 11 outdoor movie theaters, with two brand-new venues near Anniston and Dothan. I'm lucky enough to live within driving distance of two of them. Unfortunately it seems that few of our locals take advantage of our drive-ins and I'm afraid that finances may force them to close.

Almost all of us who are "of a certain age"(damn, I hate that term) have fond memories of going to the drive-in ( I'm quoting here) - "The greatest threat ever to women's purity". Everything from sneaking in by hiding in someone's car trunk to having our first sexual experimentations in the back seat. There's a reason that the drive-in is synonymous with teen-age sex!

What about y'all? Do you have some memories of the drive-in to share?

WHO'S GONNA DECIDE FOR YOU?

Do you like using Google as your favorite search engine? Are you happy with your net service provider? Are you ready to pay $$$ on top of what you pay for web access just to send a joke to your friends or a picture of Jr. to Grandma and Aunt Jenny? Congress is fixing to give control of the internet to big business and you know whose interests will come out on top, NOT YOURS OR MINE!

Congress is pushing a law that would abandon the Internet's First Amendment -- a principle called Network Neutrality that prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deciding which Web sites work best for you -- based on what site pays them the most. Broadband providers such as AT&T, BellSouth and Verizon Communications want to expand from flat pricing and also sell tiers of service based on the speed, reliability and security of the bandwidth used. If the public doesn't speak up now, our elected officials will cave to a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign. For the financial services sector, which is expected to spend $117 billion on information technology this year, tiered pricing could add billions more in expenses to maintain online banking services and other web offerings, according to a memo circulating among financial services lobbyists. Those costs could hit the bottom line or be passed on to customers , in other words US!

Kate over at the Accidental Hedonist has a post that explains the Net Neutrality issue as well as any that I've seen anywhere. She explains things in simple terms that everyone can understand. Check out what Kate has to say and then go write a letter to someone.
SAVE THE INTERNET

POLITICALLY CORRECT

Due to the climate of political correctness now pervading America, Kentuckians, Tennesseans and West Virginians will no longer be referred to as "HILLBILLIES." You must now refer to us as APPALACHIAN-AMERICANS. And furthermore ....

HOW TO SPEAK ABOUT WOMEN AND BE POLITICALLY CORRECT:
1. She is not a "BABE" or a "CHICK" - She is a "BREASTED AMERICAN."
2. She is not a "SCREAMER" or a "MOANER" - She is "VOCALLY APPRECIATIVE."
3. She is not "EASY" - She is "HORIZONTALLY ACCESSIBLE."
4. She is not a "DUMB BLONDE" - She is a "LIGHT-HAIRED DETOUR OFF THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY."
5. She has not "BEEN AROUND" - She is a "PREVIOUSLY-ENJOYED COMPANION"
6. She is not an "AIRHEAD" - She is "REALITY IMPAIRED."
7. She does not get "DRUNK" or "TIPSY" - She gets "CHEMICALLY INCONVENIENCED"
8. She does not have "BREAST IMPLANTS" - She is "MEDICALLY ENHANCED"
9. She does not "NAG" you - She becomes "VERBALLY REPETITIVE."
10. She is not a "TRAMP" - She is "SEXUALLY EXTROVERTED."
11. She does not have "MAJOR LEAGUE HOOTERS" - She is "PECTORALLY SUPERIOR."
12. She is not a "TWO-BIT HOOKER" - She is a "LOW COST PROVIDER."

HOW TO SPEAK ABOUT MEN AND BE POLITICALLY CORRECT:
1. He does not have a "BEER GUT" - He has developed a "LIQUID GRAIN STORAGE FACILITY."
2. He is not a "BAD DANCER" - He is "OVERLY CAUCASIAN."
3. He does not "GET LOST ALL THE TIME" - He INVESTIGATES ALTERNATIVE DESTINATIONS."
4. He is not "BALDING" - He is in "FOLLICLE REGRESSION."
5. He is not a "CRADLE ROBBER" - He prefers "GENERATIONAL DIFFERENTIAL RELATIONSHIPS."
6. He does not get "FALLING-DOWN DRUNK" - He becomes "ACCIDENTALLY HORIZONTAL."
7. He does not act like a "TOTAL ASS" - He develops a case of "RECTAL-CRANIAL INVERSION."
8. He is not a "MALE CHAUVINIST PIG" - He has "SWINE EMPATHY."
9. He is not afraid of "COMMITMENT" - He is "RELATIONSHIP CHALLENGED."
10. He is not "HORNY" - He is "SEXUALLY FOCUSED."
11. It's not his "CRACK" you see hanging out of his pants - It's "REAR CLEAVAGE "

HOW DIRTY MINDED ARE YOU?

Still working, still don't have time to do anything but work and sleep. So I'll just feed y'all a little tidbit now and then to keep you coming back until I have time to really do a little thinking and writing. Hell, who am I fooling, I never think. I just sit at the keyboard and channel the random nothingless that is my mind.



Look closely. Study the picture, what do you see?

Look closely-keep looking....... What do you see?

?

?

?

?

?

Shame on you! This ain't that kinda blog! Well actually it would be if I had the time and energy.......But back to the picture.

Scientific research showed that children can't recognize erotic scenes. Instead they see 9 dolphins.

On the other hand, an adult's mind is rather "corrupted" so an adult person may have problems spotting 9 dolphins at first eye glaze.

If you have trouble spotting dolphins in the first 6 seconds, then your mind is heavily corrupted, and you are seriously obsessed with sex! ...Better go and practice with easier examples.

FUNNIES

SINGING MEAT

I love this story, but it's been making the rounds of the internet without giving the author proper credit. Go to Terry Bisson's Home Page and find a link to a short film based on "They're Made Out Of Meat". (From OMNI, April 1991 & it was a 1991 Nebula nominee)

THEY'RE MADE OUT OF MEAT
by Terry Bisson
"They're made out of meat."
"Meat?"
"Meat. They're made out of meat."
"Meat?"
"There's no doubt about it. We picked up several from different parts of the planet, took them aboard our recon vessels, and probed them all the way through. They're completely meat."
"That's impossible. What about the radio signals? The messages to the stars?"
"They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don't come from them. The signals come from machines."
"So who made the machines? That's who we want to contact."
"They made the machines. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Meat made the machines."
"That's ridiculous. How can meat make a machine? You're asking me to believe in sentient meat."
"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. These creatures are the only sentient race in that sector and they're made out of meat."
"Maybe they're like the orfolei. You know, a carbon-based intelligence that goes through a meat stage."
"Nope. They're born meat and they die meat. We studied them for several of their life spans, which didn't take long. Do you have any idea what's the life span of meat?"
"Spare me. Okay, maybe they're only part meat. You know, like the weddilei. A meat head with an electron plasma brain inside."
"Nope. We thought of that, since they do have meat heads, like the weddilei. But I told you, we probed them. They're meat all the way through."
"No brain?"
"Oh, there's a brain all right. It's just that the brain is made out of meat! That's what I've been trying to tell you."
"So ... what does the thinking?"
"You're not understanding, are you? You're refusing to deal with what I'm telling you. The brain does the thinking. The meat."
"Thinking meat! You're asking me to believe in thinking meat!"
"Yes, thinking meat! Conscious meat! Loving meat. Dreaming meat. The meat is the whole deal! Are you beginning to get the picture or do I have to start all over?"
"Omigod. You're serious then. They're made out of meat."
"Thank you. Finally. Yes. They are indeed made out of meat. And they've been trying to get in touch with us for almost a hundred of their years."
"Omigod. So what does this meat have in mind?"
"First it wants to talk to us. Then I imagine it wants to explore the Universe, contact other sentiences, swap ideas and information. The usual."
"We're supposed to talk to meat."
"That's the idea. That's the message they're sending out by radio. 'Hello. Anyone out there. Anybody home.' That sort of thing."
"They actually do talk, then. They use words, ideas, concepts?""Oh, yes. Except they do it with meat."
"I thought you just told me they used radio."
"They do, but what do you think is on the radio? Meat sounds. You know how when you slap or flap meat, it makes a noise? They talk by flapping their meat at each other. They can even sing by squirting air through their meat."
"Omigod. Singing meat. This is altogether too much. So what do you advise?"
"Officially or unofficially?"
"Both."
"Officially, we are required to contact, welcome and log in any and all sentient races or multibeings in this quadrant of the Universe, without prejudice, fear or favor. Unofficially, I advise that we erase the records and forget the whole thing."
"I was hoping you would say that."
"It seems harsh, but there is a limit. Do we really want to make contact with meat?"
"I agree one hundred percent. What's there to say? 'Hello, meat. How's it going?' But will this work? How many planets are we dealing with here?"
"Just one. They can travel to other planets in special meat containers, but they can't live on them. And being meat, they can only travel through C space. Which limits them to the speed of light and makes the possibility of their ever making contact pretty slim. Infinitesimal, in fact."
"So we just pretend there's no one home in the Universe."
"That's it."
"Cruel. But you said it yourself, who wants to meet meat? And the ones who have been aboard our vessels, the ones you probed? You're sure they won't remember?"
"They'll be considered crackpots if they do. We went into their heads and smoothed out their meat so that we're just a dream to them."
"A dream to meat! How strangely appropriate, that we should be meat's dream."
"And we marked the entire sector unoccupied."
"Good. Agreed, officially and unofficially. Case closed. Any others? Anyone interesting on that side of the galaxy?"
"Yes, a rather shy but sweet hydrogen core cluster intelligence in a class nine star in G445 zone. Was in contact two galactic rotations ago, wants to be friendly again."
"They always come around."
"And why not? Imagine how unbearably, how unutterably cold the Universe would be if one were all alone ..."
the end

SACK IT UP AND SET IT OUT!

I know this is two posts in one day, but this last one is a public service announcement. Be sure to read the second post after you fill a bag with canned goods and set it by your mailbox.

On Saturday, May 13th, letter carriers in more than 10,000 cities and towns across America will deliver much more than mail when they walk and drive along their postal routes. They will be picking up donations of food left by mailboxes for the 14th annual National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive, the largest one day food drive in the nation.

Nearly 1,500 local NALC branches in 50 states, the District of Columbia , Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands are involved in the drive.


This is tomorrow people. IN THE MORNING! So go clean out your pantry, you know you can spare a bag of rice, pasta, or dried beans, a can of vegatables, beans or soup. Sack it up and set it out by your mailbox. Make yourself feel good and make a difference in someone's life.
*Please do not include items that have expired or those in glass containers.

Thanks to Patrica for the link.

WEB SERVICE STORIES-STAMP OUT HUNGER
OFFICAL "STAMP OUT HUNGER" SITE

ODDS AND ENDS

VIRGIN BLOGGER ALERT! First thing, y'all go over and say "HI" to Anonymous Jones at her very first blog. I promise that once you visit her, you'll have to go back for more. Ms. Jones is a very funny lady from "Down Under" with a wicked sense of humor and a unique way of looking at life.

After several trial & errors (and a few back and forth comments between the 2 of us), she has installed Blogrolling on her site all by herself. Way to go, Jonesy! Not bad for someone who listed her likes as "NOT COMPUTERS" on her profile. I'm sooo proud of her. An aside to some of the rest of you out there. Yeah, y'all know who you are. Don't pretend that it ain't you! Look at me when I'm talking about to you!! Jonesy did it, I know you can play with your template, too. Dang, that sounds kinda dirty. I'm working too much, I need an off day, my mind is in the gutter and I'm too tired to do anything about it.

I'm still on the outage at work, and so far the powers-that-be have promised that I will get some days off a week from today. Hopefully I'll have a full 7 day break to spend this hefty paycheck in.


At least I'm not in as bad shape physically as I thought that I was. True, I could stand to lose a lot of a few pounds. But even after all this climbing of ladders and stairs, swinging through pipe bridges like Jane of Tarzan fame, lugging around wrenches and buckets full of locks, and straining my guts out turning valves that have stems as long as I am tall---I'm not sore. I go home and pass out on the couch but I'm not achey in the mornings at all. Not bad for an old woman if I do say so myself.

One thing I can say about working shut-downs, you meet all kinds of new folks. Guys freak when a female tells them what to do or they see her using power tools and climbing up into pipe bridges wearing a safety-harness.

Some of them even get a little turned on by it! I can't tell you how many guys years younger than me wanted to get friendly. Maybe I need to spend some of this $$$ on a black leather dominatrix outfit? Naw, I'm way too "pleasing plump" to try to shimmy into something that form-fitting. Besides, they probably just wanted a Sugar Mama and I ain't going there. To repeat what I said in an earlier post "Ain't but one thing wrong with being a Sugar Mama, you can never get your money's worth".

FRIENDSHIP PRAYER

What starts with "F" and ends with "K"

I'm busy working a shutdown, and don't have time to do any heavy thinking, so I'm going to pass on a funny.

A first-grade teacher, Ms. Brooks, was having trouble with one of her students. The teacher asked, "Harry, what's your problem?"

Harry answered, "I'm too smart for the 1st grade. My sister is in the 3rd grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the 3rd grade too!"

Ms. Brooks had had enough. She took Harry to the principal's office.

While Harry waited in the outer office, the teacher explained to the principal what the situation was. The principal told Ms. Brooks he would
give the boy a test. If he failed to answer any of his questions he was to
go back to the 1st grade and behave. She agreed.

Harry was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he
agreed to take the test.

Principal: "What is 3 x 3?"

Harry: "9."

Principal: "What is 6 x 6?"

Harry: "36."

And so it went with every question the principal thought a 3rd grader
should know.

The principal looks at Ms. Brooks and tells her, "I think Harry can go
to the 3rd grade."

Ms. Brooks says to the principal, "Let me ask him some questions."

The principal and Harry both agreed.

Ms. Brooks asks, "What does a cow have four of that I have only two of?"

Harry, after a moment: "Legs."

Ms. Brooks: "What is in your pants that you have but I do not have?"

The principal wondered why would she ask such a question!

Harry replied: "Pockets."

Ms. Brooks: "What does a dog do that a man steps into?"

Harry: "Pants."

Ms. Brooks: "What starts with a C, ends with a T, is hairy, oval, delicious and contains thin, whitish liquid?"

Harry: "Coconut."

The principal sat forward with his mouth hanging open.

Ms. Brooks: "What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft and sticky?"

The principal's eyes opened really wide and before he could stop the
answer, Harry replied, "Bubble gum."

Ms. Brooks: "What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting down and a dog does on three legs?"

Harry: "Shake hands."

The principal was trembling.

Ms. Brooks: "What word starts with an 'F' and ends in 'K' that means a
lot of heat and excitement?"

Harry: "Firetruck."

The principal breathed a sigh of relief and told the teacher, "Put Harry in the fifth-grade, I got the last seven questions wrong...... "

local.live

Although Mapquest and Google Maps are what I usually go to, I've been playing with Windows local.live and you can actually see my house! The last link goes to the page I built, showing my little ponderosa. You can make one and send it to friends so they'll have an easier time visiting for the first time. The views are not real time, but hey, it actually shows my house. None of the rest do that!

This is a free service; to have Google zoom in that close I would have to pay a fee. Yep, that little blue dot is marking my house, and I have all the land between the 3 roads and back to the last of the tree line.



You have to choose between road for a regular map or aerial or bird's eye view (right above the toggle button on the left). The bird's eye view only works on major cities but you can actually tell the buildings apart and see people walking. I'm still learning about this new toy, but so far it's got my vote. Here are some more links:

* View of the Space Needle
* PCMAG.COM rated local.live as "very good".
* local.live Blog

HOOTY HOOT HOOT

As I stumbled out the door at 4:15 this morning, eyes at half mast and more asleep than awake, I was scared jerked awaked by a hoot owl screaming at me. Not just any old barnyard owl, either, this was the James Earl Jones of hoot owls with a loud, deep voice (do birds have voices?) that practically echoed across the carport.

Think Darth Vader with big eyes and feathers. A bird with a demon voice, deep as the voice of God. Oh yeah, that was him! Every hair on the back of my neck stood straight up and I froze for a full minute before reacting. Surprise factor and all, I don't want y'all to think I'm a wuss or anything.

I never saw the Screaming Meany but I swear he sounded like he was right next to my head! My heart jumped up in my throat, I spun around on one foot and was almost back inside before my brain kicked into gear and I figured out what the heck was yelling at me!

There are tons of superstitions about owls. Here in the South, they're a bad omen, harbringers of doom and death. Hearing one nearby or seeing either a raven, crow or owl perched on a rooftop is supposed to mean someone will soon pass away.

Of course any bad omen has it's counter-measures. To counter evil owl power, put irons in your fire. Or throw salt, hot peppers or vinegar into the fire, the owl will get a sore tongue, hoot no more, and no one close to you will be in trouble. When you hear an owl, take off your clothes, turn them inside out and put them back on (You might not want to do this if you are in public).
But there is one superstition that's good - good for us women that is.
Any man who eats roasted owl will be obedient and a slave to his wife.

I had to get to work, so I didn't have time to take any of these preventive measures this morning, NOT THAT I BELIEVE IN SUPERSTITIONS ....... but you can never be too careful. I DO have a brush pile that needs burned. Lets see - I know Dad had some scrap metal at the shop ....... there's vinegar and peppers at the house ....... and I can always turn my clothes inside out for a bit.

I ain't a'scared of no owl - but then again, it never hurts to honor tradition.......

READ TO A KID

I've mentioned before that I love to read and will hide out with my nose stuck in a book every chance I get. I learned to read before I ever set foot in a classroom, thanks to time spent teaching me by my loving parents.

The 5 of us grew up with a love of reading. When our father got older and feeble, one of his greatest pleasures was when one of us would bring him a book that he had reminisced about reading in years gone by.

I ordered half a dozen Erskine Caldwell (one of the most risque, controversial and censored American writers of Dad's time) novels just for Dad (many of them used because they were out of print). Not only the well known works like God's Little Acre and Tobacco Road but ones like Georgia Boy and Trouble in July, too. Dad could remember and recite entire passages from when he read them the first time around, even if he couldn't remember what he had for supper the night before.

It seems that today our kids don't enjoy the simple pleasures in life, like reading. TV and video/computer games keep them enthralled while they turn-up their noses at low-tech pleasures like books.

Mamacita referred me to this post at The DeHavilland Blog and I just had to steal part of it. All you parents, if you already do this, KUDOS TO YOU. If you don't then get your butt in gear and start. Your child's future depends on you.

"My fellow parents,

The ability to read is the single most important indicator of success in life. If your child does not learn to read and read well, his opportunities in life are so limited that you may as well buy him a mop and a bucket right now: he won't get much further than minimum-wage manual labor for the rest of his life.

Despite what you hear from the talking heads in the news, our schools are perfectly capable of teaching a child to read. But we have to have children who are ready to learn, who have a supportive environment at home that reinforces what they're doing at school.

From almost the time that they're born, it is your responsibility - and only your responsibility - to prepare them to successfully learn how to read. Fortunately this is simple to do.

Read to them every day, preferably a few times a day. Let them see you reading. Make sure they have access to a wide variety of reading materials in the home.That's all it takes: do that, and they'll be ready to learn how to read when they get to school.

We'll take it from there, although of course we'll still expect you to do your part at home by continuing to read, continuing to
emphasize the importance of reading, and holding yourselves and your child accountable when we send home work that reinforces what we're doing in school.

And if you don't? Shame on you. You're failing your children, relegating them to a life filled with the frustration and despair that come with living on the fringes of society. They will always look longingly at the lives that others are able to build for themselves and knowing that success is permanently out of their grasp. It won't be the fault of the schools, nor will it be the fault of "society". It will be your fault, and yours alone.

So please: read to your children. Let them see you read. Give them access to books and other reading materials. And help them lay the groundwork for a life that can take them anywhere they decide they want to go.

Good night, and good reading."

ROCK AND ROLL

Mount St. Helens is in the news again. Along with spitting and spewing, America's favorite volcano is now growing a rock "fin".

They say the "fin" is growing 4' to 5 ' a day and apt to break and fall sometime soon. It's the first time one of these "fins" can be seen on the Mount St. Helens volcano Cam.


All this makes me glad I live where we don't have to worry about lava and ash and giant rocks falling on our heads. I can handle snakes and bobcats and such, but volcanoes are out of my league.

Even here in the sunny South there has been a history of volcanoes and earthquakes, that's what created our beautiful mountains, hills and hollers. Alabama earthquakes literally make me shake with fear, we had a minor one several years ago.

Ain't science amazing!

Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI)

I just took the short version of the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI) personality test. The Enneagram is one of the newest personality systems in use, and emphasizes psychological motivations.

While I agree with a lot of this, some of it is way off the mark. For better or worse, here are my results.

TYPE 8: LEADER

World View: The world is an unjust place. I am strong and I defend the innocent.
Basic Desire: to be self-reliant
Basic Fear: of submitting to others

Healthy loop controlled by Basic Desire:
Need to be self-reliant -> strength -> independent -> Need to be self-reliant

In the healthy state, the need to be self-reliant induces Type Eights to become stronger and capable of defending others. When Eights are independent, their need is satisfied and a balance is reached.

In the average state, when Eights' are not building their strength as much, they will become more dependent on others for certain needs. This increases the need to be self-reliant, which helps Eights to again work hard to become strong. Thus the balancing loop can help Eights to recover.

Unhealthy loop controlled by Basic Fear:
Fear of submitting to others -> controlling -> independent -> Fear of submitting to others

In the unhealthy state, the basic fear of submitting to others can cause Type Eights to lash out and try to control others as a defense. This unfortunately make them ironically more dependent on others, which further increases Eights' basic fear. The cycle continues to build up.

Insight:
We can see from the diagram that a way to help break the control of the basic fear is to weaken the unhealthy loop. Eights can refrain from controlling others but start to strengthen themselves instead. This will naturally make them more independent and thus reduce the fear of submitting to others.

The Asserter (the Eight)
Asserters are direct, self-reliant, self-confident, and protective.
How to Get Along with Me
Stand up for yourself... and me.
Be confident, strong, and direct.
Don't gossip about me or betray my trust.
Be vulnerable and share your feelings. See and acknowledge my tender, vulnerable side.
Give me space to be alone.
Acknowledge the contributions I make, but don't flatter me.
I often speak in an assertive way. Don't automatically assume it's a personal attack.
When I scream, curse, and stomp around, try to remember that's just the way I am.
What I Like About Being a Eight
being independent and self-reliant
being able to take charge and meet challenges head on
being courageous, straightforward, and honest
getting all the enjoyment I can out of life
supporting, empowering, and protecting those close to me
upholding just causes
What's Hard About Being a Eight
overwhelming people with my bluntness; scaring them away when I don't intend to
being restless and impatient with others' incompetence
sticking my neck out for people and receiving no appreciation for it
never forgetting injuries or injustices
putting too much pressure on myself
getting high blood pressure when people don't obey the rules or when things don't go right
Eights as Children Often
are independent; have an inner strength and a fighting spirit
are sometimes loners
seize control so they won't be controlled
fugure out others' weaknesses
attack verbally or physically when provoked
take charge in the family because they perceive themselves as the strongest, or grow up in difficult or abusive surroundings
Eights as Parents
are often loyal, caring, involved, and devoted
are sometimes overprotective
can be demanding, controlling, and rigid

8. The confronter The aggressive power-seeker

"Power is the virtue that makes all other virtues possible." - From the movie Enter the Dragon, starring Bruce Lee

8s come across as the toughest of the Enneagram personalities. At work, average eights can be assertive to a fault - they like to speak their minds bluntly, make quick but forceful decisions, and respect others who do the same. They demand and need a high degree of autonomy, and when they feel controlled by authority, they often show an unmistakable defiant streak. They are often shrewd in using circumstances to their material advantage. They do not like threats to their dominance, or people who hide information from them, and may force confrontations with others to get the truth, however uncomfortable it may be. 8s like to have the final say on things, but they may also give tremendous autonomy, within certain absolute limits, to subordinates they trust, which others find very empowering. Eights may show a softer side at home, where their strength is used not to dominate, but to protect. 8s are the prototypical "father figures", (even if they are women). When eights are secure in their dominance, they may expand their caring side by becoming magnanimous and generous. However, insecure 8s are the most tyrannical, destructive, and self-serving types. Many historically great world leaders are 8s, but so are many ordinary people who project a strong sense of being their own person, refusing to be used or led by others.

While some types dislike conflict (notably 9s and 7s), eights are energized by it. This ability helps them overcome obstacles that would crush a weaker person. For better or worse, during periods of historical crisis, it is often an eight (or someone with a strong eight wing), who comes to the forefront as a political or military leader.

Famous 8s: Joseph Stalin, Henry Kissinger, Mick Jagger, King Henry VIII, Muhammad Ali, Julius Caesar, Vladimir Putin, Zhu Rongji Famous 8w7s: Pablo Picasso, Rosie O'Donnell, Lyndon Johnson Famous 8w9s: Sean Connery, Carl Sagan, Bruce Lee, Franklin Roosevelt

It is surprising how many 1s score as 8s on Enneagram tests. This is understandable: both 8s and 1s have a lot of core anger, and both tend to see the world in black-and-white terms. Both may set rules for others to follow. However, 1s feel guilty when they break their own rules, while the 8's feel much less bound by limits, even their own. 8s are much less prone to guilt than 1s, and more likely to delegate responsibilities, as opposed to 1s who often become overwhelmed with responsibility

WEBZINES & WET WOOD

The new issue of Estella's Revenge is out! Y'all be sure to check it out, the theme this month is "Carnival of the Senses". While you're there, be sure to read our own NonGirlfried's column "Single and Childless By Choice". Then go and drop NonGirlfriend (Chicken to her friends) a comment on her writing skills and opinions.

It's a rainy and yucky day, and I'm trapped here at work. We've got a shutdown going on and I'm on 12 hour days for the next 2 weeks, so I probably won't have much to write about. I'll let y'all know I'm alive and well but don't hold your breath for much of anything personal and interesting unless I go postal on someone or something blows up.

The wet wood in the title comes from trying to get soggy rained-on bark to burn in a power boiler. Anyone who has ever gone camping in the rain knows what a frustrating concept that is. At least I'm on the inside looking out and staying dry. Just another day in the boiler house.

HATS AND RANTS

This was taken at Donna's daughter, Wendi's, graduation and snapped by one of Donna's sons. As you can see, I was taken by surprise in a "tickled" moment. That's me all over, mouth wide open at an inappropriate moment! At least I'm a happy camper most of the time.

The ceremony was held on the football field. I know it's after dark in the picture, but it as a long event and I swear the sun was beaming down at the start, thus the Southern Belle chapeau. How do ya like the hat?

Now for the rant part: If you call my house and I don't answer the phone, leave a message and I'll get back to you. Don't come beating on my door demanding to know why I didn't answer. I may have been asleep, having wild kinky sex, in the tub, just plain busy, or not in the mood to talk. Nowhere is there a law that says that I HAVE TO ANSWER THE DAMN PHONE!

Speaking of phones, if you're at my home and the phone rings, DO NOT RUN AND CHECK OUT MY CALLER ID! Doesn't matter if I'm dating you, you're blood kin, best friend or what - who calls my house is none of your business! The same goes for my mail. Stop going through my piled up mail - again, none of your business.

What ever happened to manners? All of the above are rude, uncalled for, and pisses me off. STOP IT!

BEER SPAS

Yes, Beer Spas. Now I can go soak my fat ass in beer (wonder if carbs penetrate the skin?) The article is in The New York Times and you have to be a registered member to read, so I've reprinted the article for y'alls reading pleasure.

Do you reckon that beer conditions skin the way it does hair? Anyone out there in BlogLand care to share a tub of lager with me? Hope to HELL I don't get a yeast infection!!!

Beer Spas: Yeast of Eden
By EVAN RAIL
THERE is something perversely satisfying about soaking in a tub of beer. First there is the yeasty aroma of malt and hops, followed by a warm and sticky sensation as the brown liquid envelopes your body. You think to yourself: this must be every lad's dream. Whatever comes next will surely have to involve a supermodel, an Aston Martin and a fat cigar.

But bathing in beer is much more than just a fantasy made real. During the last decade, a pack of beer spas have opened in the hills and lowlands of Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, promising health, wellness and the chance to bathe in your favorite suds.

The Chodovar brewery in Chodova Plana, in the Czech Republic (420-374-794-181; http://www.chodovar.cz/), started offering beer spa therapies in March using the brewery's celebrated dark lager. At the Kummeroer Hof in Neuzelle, Germany (49-33-652-81-111; http://www.klosterbrauerei.com/), customers have been slipping into beer baths tapped from the nearby Klosterbrauerei Neuzelle brewery since 1997. Spa prices start at about 42 euros ($52.50 at $1.24 to the euro). But it is in neighboring Austria that the beer spa seems to reach its alpine pinnacle.

One brewery, Starkenberg (43-5412-66201; ww.bierschwimmbad.com), in Tarrenz, even fills a swimming pool with barrels and barrels of its own Pilsner. And just outside Salzburg, the Landhotel Moorhof in rustic Franking, Austria (43-6277-8188; http://www.moorhof.com/) offers what may be the most complete beer treatment, from the spa to the dining table.

In the cellar, four couple-size wooden tubs are filled with a special brew. The Moorhof also offers milk baths, but Hedwig Bauer, who owns the hotel with her husband, Karl, believes that beer has certain advantages. "Beer is very good for the skin, because of the vitamins and the yeast," Ms. Bauer said. "It's cleansing and drying."

That may be true, but it's worth noting that the half-hour treatment, which starts at 44 euros, is also mildly intoxicating. The Moorhof's therapeutic brew is composed of a 2 percent-alcohol lager made for it by the local Schnaitl brewery, fortified with brewer's yeast, malt and two scoops of hops, all thrown into a barrel-shaped tub and topped with warm water. Bubbles rise from the bottom, stirring the mix and causing a head to form — much like a Jacuzzi or giant mug.

During the soak, a few pints of Schnaitl's beer are offered for imbibing, suggesting that the relaxation is chemically rather than therapeutically induced. After about 20 minutes, you're wrapped in a starched white sheet and led to a four-poster bed piled with toasty alfalfa hay. The curtains are drawn and you're left to have a mild sweat. Go ahead, just try to stay awake.

When you finally come to, you're invited to take a cool dip in the indoor swimming pool, provided, of course, you rinsed the green hops flakes from your body; they stick just about everywhere.

If the whole thing sounds somewhat masculine, Ms. Bauer was surprised that many of the beer bath's customers are women, a number of whom also splurge on a brewski facial — a gooey mask made from ground hops, malt, honey and cream cheese. The concoction tickles furiously when it slides down your cheeks, and it smells remarkably like breakfast.
Couples are welcome. A beer-bath weekend for two at the Moorhof costs 198 euros a person, and includes two nights at the hotel, breakfast and two four-course dinners. The menu recently featured a yeasty beer soup, beer-battered broccoli and chicken schnitzel with sour beer gravy. Dessert was beer crepes, which you can wash down with a choice of four local brews.

MAKES YOU GO HUMMMMM?

One of few weekly TV programs that I try to watch is "Bones" on Fox.

DR. TEMPERANCE BRENNAN (Emily Deschanel, who has played in countless movies, "Glory Road", "Cold Mountain", "Spiderman 2" and many more) is a highly skilled forensic anthropologist who works at the Jeffersonian Institution and writes novels as a sideline (I do so love me a bad-ass female character!).

Law enforcement calls on her to assist with murder investigations when the standard methods of identifying a body are useless – when the remains are badly decomposed, burned or destroyed beyond recognition. Brennan’s special expertise lies in her uncanny ability to read clues left behind in the victim’s bones. Brennan often finds herself teamed with Special Agent SEELEY BOOTH (David Boreanaz who played a vampire cursed with a soul in the shows "Angel" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") of the FBI’s Homicide Investigations Unit. Of course there is sexual tension between them on screen, but both ignore it.

Any who, back to my point. Last week's episode showed how Brennon proved that a young girl contracted fatal cancer from a bone graft that was illegally taken from the corpse of a 60-something year old man who died from mesothelioma (lung cancer). Imagine my surprise when I read this news article tonight.

Stolen Body Parts Blamed for Illnesses By ADAM GOLDMAN
Associated Press Writer © 2006 The Associated Press
NEW YORK — At least a dozen people who had routine operations claim they caught deadly viruses and other germs from body parts stolen from corpses in a ghoulish scandal that has sent hundreds of people for tests.

The patients tested positive for germs that cause AIDS, hepatitis or syphilis after receiving tissue transplants, according to their lawyers and court records.

Coincidence? Or did the writers have a jump start on the news? Damn, I love this show, and I don't usually watch TV!

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION BOYCOTT

JackieSue sent this to me and I promised to send it to all my friends. Read it and do what you feel is right.

FROM JACKIE SUE:

I'll do this. Hope you will too! Show that Americans keep our Country and our economy strong and that we don't depend on Illegal Immigrants to support us.

Make the First of May Shopping Day!

Illegal immigrants are planning a nationwide boycott of all goods and services on Monday, May 1st. They have marched in our streets and demanded rights as a reward for breaking our country's law. They hope to show that they have an impact on our economy, they hope to hurt American business, they hope to emotionally and economically blackmail us into submission.

So what can we do?

All Americans who support LEGAL immigration but demand that all immigrants RESPECT our law are asked to act on May 1st.

Wear RED or BLUE that day, (They will be wearing white), and go SHOPPING.

If you have to grocery shop, make it May 1st. Need gas in your car? Fill it up May 1st. Buy Mother's Day gifts, buy Father's Day gifts, buy summer clothes, buy whatever you need, but BUY THAT DAY.

American citizens outnumber illegal immigrants, and we MUST make ourselves heard. Wear red or blue to show your pride in your country, and your opposition to weak border and amnesty
legislation. And GO SHOPPING! Let's make May 1st a day to
remember, and remind Congress that the illegal immigrants they cower before can't vote. We can. And we will.

Make the First of May Shopping Day!

FORWARD THIS TO SHOW YOUR PRIDE IN YOUR
COUNTRY!!!!!

Forward this to everyone on your email list, at work, at school, your friends, your family. We CAN make ourselves heard. We
CAN remind the politicians that WE are the ones that put them in office, and that it's OUR tax dollars they're squandering.

Pass the word along and make your voice heard!

There ya go folks, from Jackie Sue's mouth to your ear.

BOOK MEME

It's raining and all I'm doing is working and sleeping, so for your entertainment I give you another meme. Per the instructions I'm to look at the list of books below, bold the ones I've read, italicize the ones I might read, cross out the ones I won't read, underline the ones on my book shelf, and place parentheses around the ones I've never even heard of. You'll probably be able to tell a lot about me from this meme! Or not.

The Da Vinci Code-Dan Brown
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams
The Great Gatsby - Scott F. Fitzgerald
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J. K. Rowling
The Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Animal Farm - George Orwell
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
(The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon)
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
1984 - George Orwell
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J. K. Rowling
(One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden [I've been aiming to get this one]
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
(The Secret History - Donna Tartt)
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
(Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell)
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
(Atonement - Ian McEwan)
(The Shadow of The Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon)
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Dune - Frank Herbert
Sula - Toni Morrison
Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier
The Alchemist - Paulo Coehlo
(White Teeth - Zadie Smith)
The House of Mirth - Edith Wharton
(Purple Hibiscus - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
(Songs of Innocence and Experience - William Blake)
Adultery and Other Choices - Andre Dubus
The Iliad and The Odyssey - Homer
(The Stone Angel - Margaret Laurence)
(Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - Haruki Murakami)
(Swann's Way - Marcel Proust, translated by Lydia Davis)
(The Angel of Forgetfulness - Steve Stern)

I know my reading list is eclectic, but most of the books I have on my bookshelves aren't on this list, like Tanith Lee's "Tales of the Flat Earth", the complete works of Louis L'Amour, tons of mystery and SiFi like Koko, lots of C. J. Cherryh and many more. I also have many of the classics, from Dickens to Patricia Highsmith to Robert E. Howard (of Conan the Cimmerian fame). There are too many more to name so I'm not going to try.

Now just because I'm curious, I tag:
Pat
Jackiesue
Bitichitude
Dan
Jay

Note for non-Geeky Types: I'm substituting [ ] for < > or else these hints won't show up. To show delite or crossing out use [del] [/del], and to show underline use [u] [/u] on the HTML page. Hope this helps some of y'all.

SIX WEIRD THINGS ABOUT ME?

Man, I gotta get the list down to only 6!!! Jackiesue over at Yellowdog Granny tagged me with this one. It's hard to find weird things about me that I haven't blogged. Here goes:


SIX WEIRD THINGS ABOUT JUNEBUGG
1. By the age of 31 I had been married 4 times, widowed twice (the first time at the ripe old age of 19 and with a 2 month old son) and divorced twice (and no, I didn't kill any of them although the 2 ex-husbands deserved shooting). Been single and loving it ever since then.

2. I've worn a Wings of Freedom motorcycle club property patch, had a long term relationship with a pro-rodeo cowboy, built and drove my own VW off-road rail (dunebuggy), broken and trained horses, welded under a federal nuclear permit, and worked for the government (security clearance and everything)

3. I've supported more sorry non-job-holding males in my lifetime than any Mama alive. No more, no way, no how! Ain't but one thing wrong with being a Sugar Mama, you can never get your money's worth.

4. I believe in a higher power, but not organized religion. The Wiccan Rede and Threefold Law fits my beliefs better than anything else that I've found. I don't claim to be a witch but I believe there are powers some people can harness. I don't believe that any true deity would cast out someone for their sexual orientation, color, or anything else except for pure evil.

"An it harm none, do what thou wilt."
5. I'd rather read than eat. I remember all kinds of useless trivia but can't remember anything to do with numbers. I can tell you about a book I read 3 years ago, the definitions of words that I know but can't pronounce, but I can't remember phone numbers and birthdays.

6. Most of my friends are male. I've never been a "girly girl", I could care less about hair-dos and makeup, and don't have much in common with most females. I'd rather talk cars, fishing, and tools than fashion. I'd much rather mow the yard than clean the house. Although I clean up fairly well, I live in jeans and T-shirts with no make-up and wash & go hair. In spite of that, I get "accosted" (my sister Donna's words, not mine) by strange men in stores all the time, I have no idea why. It's not like I'm some kinda beauty, I'm fat and 50 for God's sake! She and my friend Karen just stand back and snicker at me while I try to get away from fellers following me down the aisles and hemming me up against my car. Traitors! They're supposed to rescue me, that's what you've got relatives and friends for!!

There ya go, folks. I kept it PG rated in spite of some of Donna's suggestions. What I've got stashed in the toybox under my bed is none of your business!!

I'm only gonna tag Donna, because I want to see what she writes about herself after hearing her ideas on what's not normal about her big sister!!! The rest of you can play if you want, just drop a line in the comments so I can be sure to read your answers.

UPDATE: Donna's 6 Weird Things has been posted. Y'all go and check her out.

KINKY SQUIRREL SEX

I was following a link from Eric's when I stumbled across this:

"Within moments it had bitten into the mat and started to hump it, hard, rubbing his crotch all along the surface and staring at me ....... he was a pretty good looking squirrel himself. Kinda beefy even… you know… the way macho squirrels can be. I imagine any fluffy-tailed mistress would have been happy with him. But maybe fluffy doesn’t work for him".

Now I know it's spring and the time of year that a young male's fancy turns to love, but darn it the squirrels have gotten out of hand!

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

I've taken a stab at spring cleaning, starting with the carport. Now there's a method to my madness! Dirt gets tracked in from the carport; ergo it's useless to clean the inside before preventing the outside from gaining entry to my humble abode on the soles of my heathen male companions who can't be bothered to wipe their feet.

Blackie's doghouse sat on the carport all winter (Have to take care of my baby, can't let her freeze) and she's scattered her cedar bedding all over the place. No matter how often I clean it up or how many shavings I put in there, she slings cedar chips the length of the concrete. Of course, Chane, Drennon and all their assorted buddies track the stuff inside. I swear, most of the time it looks as if I have cedar carpet! The vacuum is starting to think it's part wood chipper.


I moved the doghouse and shoveled up the cedar chips. But when I started moving other things out of the way, a snake ran out from under a cooler and straight at me! Major mistake for snaky-poo, the shovel was right by me and I'm a blood thirsty bitch at the best of times, but especially when I've had the shit scared out of me.

After I murdered the sneaking snake-under-the-cooler, I did my best Fred Sanford having-a- heart-attack impersonation, except instead of yelling "Elisabeth, I’m coming to join you Honey", I grabbed my heart and screamed "SHIT SHIT SHIT!"

I know, not very original, was it? I hope when my time comes, I'll be able to come up with something more profound and original to say than "Shit"! That's not a statement I want to be remembered for.

This wasn't one of my shedding pair of snakes, it was "only"3 1/2' to 4' long. Perhaps one of their children from several years ago? I don’t know how fast these things grow but I hope the rest of them stay out by the pond or somewhere far, far away. I’m getting tired of this invasion of serpents and may have to take offensive measures, like load the guns and declare war.

SHEDDING SKIN

I have two snakes who seem to be permanent residents on my property. Although I’ve never seen them, I know both are quite large because of the size of the shed skins I find in the back yard several times a year. It seems that my concrete patio is perfect for scrapping off old skins to reveal new ones. (If only people could do that, I would love to have a new skin each year!)

One is always over 5’ and the other almost 6’ long. The only snakes in this area that reach that size are chicken snakes and king snakes. Nonpoisonous species, but still enough to give you a heart attack when you step barefoot on one of those skins like I did this morning. Nothing like thinking that you’re fixing to get snake bit to wake you up!

Do snakes mate for life? I’ve never heard of it happening but both skins are always near to each other as if the shedding of old skin is some kind of mating ritual or bonding experience. This has been going on for over 5 years now, and I’ve never spied the adults, but I have found some of their babies, once crawling across my kitchen floor!

I stepped on that one too! It was twilight and I hadn’t turned on the inside lights yet. I was walking to the kitchen garbage can when I felt something roll underneath my foot. When I glanced down, there was a small snake, the size of a pencil, reared up hissing at me. I spun on one foot, dashed outside and grabbed a garden hoe. The little sucker was already across the kitchen, in the hall and headed toward my bedroom when I chopped his teeny, tiny head off. If that little serpent had made it to my bedroom I don’t think I could have ever slept in this house again! I found his brother/sister out on the deck a week later. Seems there had been a snaky orgy going on, and the offspring was wandering around the area.

I’m all for living in harmony with nature, but not when it invades my domain! In a rural area like this one, critters are a fact of life, but when they come inside, it’s me or them! The snakes are welcome to all the rodents they can eat as long as they stay outside. I’ll share my land but the inside is MINE.

HOT DIGGITY DOG & TOMATOES

Saturday Sweet Thang and I went to the Master Gardener Sale at the Decatur fairgrounds. Now I don't plant a garden but I do have to have me some HOME-GROWN tomatoes. Those store-bought tomatoes taste like cardboard, nothing beats the taste of a sun-rippened tomato fresh off the vine! The flavor just bursts in your mouth with every bite!

I got adventurous this year and bought some experimental hybrid tomatoes, Solar Set and Mountain Fresh.As hot as it's already been, I was afraid that regular tomatoes wouldn't do well, and both these varieties are supposed to be heat tolerant.

We'll see about that if the plants live. I planted them yesterday, and then had to replant them today. My helpful K-9 went out last night and dug them all up.

"Bad Dog" just made her wag her tail. I don't know what I'm gonna do with her! Maybe I can teach her to dig holes where I want to plant stuff instead of digging them up later? Maybe she didn't like the spot where I planted?

Y'all wish me and the tomatoes luck, cause it looks like we're going to need it.

EDUCATED IDIOTS

When looking back over the things I did or did not do in my 50 years of existence, one of my main regrets is the fact that I didn't get a so-called higher education. Although I had the smarts and the grades, I lacked the interest at age 18 to attend college. Being the oldest of 5 girls in a day and age when money was tight and females were still accustomed to being "just" a wife and mother, I wasn't really encouraged to go to college. Now don't get me wrong, I have no doubt that had I had expressed an interest in college, my parents’ would have found a way to make it happen, so the fault was mine. The fact that I was married and pregnant when I graduated canceled out any thoughts of further schooling.

Now to the subject of this post: EDUCATION DOES NOT EQUAL INTELLEGENCE! I have know in my person life, plus worked with, all kinds of engineers, Doctors, and various people with multiple degrees. BUT: Why is it that some folks with all kinds of education and college degrees can talk in several languages, cover whiteboards with complicated math formulas, but don't have the walking around sense God gave a billy goat?

Someone explain this to me! You probably know of the same type of people. I've always heard that Einstein couldn't tie his own shoes, so does this mean that genius precludes common sense?

THE GLASS CASTLE

I've mentioned several times on this blog that I love to read. I list reading on my interest/hobby section in all the online forms that I fill out, but I seldom recommend a book. This is one of those few times.

I usually read thriller/mystery and SiFi genres, memoirs don't grab me as a rule . However, the other day I was browsing the discount book table at Mike's Merchandise, a local bargain store that sells just about everything when I found buried treasure!


The book was "THE GLASS CASTLE". This is definitely one of the best novels I have ever read. Right from the first line: "I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster", I was hooked.

Jeanette Walls, MSNBC gossip columnist, bravely bares her lifelong secret of growing up with her three siblings and having to eat butter for dinner (if she got any dinner at all), trying to make her own braces, constantly having to leave town in the middle of the night to escape arrest and bill collectors, and suffering the whims of her artistic, intelligent, and utterly selfish parents (a brilliant but alcoholic father and a delusional artist-wanta-be mother). The story unfolds from her childhood perspective, from cooking hot dogs at age three and catching on fire, to growing up faster than most of us can probably imagine having to ever do.

It's amazing that she ever lived to tell this wonderfully well written saga. The story is not, however, a "poor me" tale. Walls simply states the facts, but that's all it takes to keep your attention.

I couldn't put this book down. It'll make you laugh and cry at the same time but most of all it will make you appreciate your own life more than every. I highly recommend that you run to your local library and check this book this, but I warn you that you'll probably wind up staying up all night reading it. Jeanette Walls writes the way I only dream of doing.

BELATED EASTER POST

I guess you can tell that Drennon loved his Easter Basket Bucket. A Scooby Doo bucket and 5 remote control cars plus tons of chocolate will find it's way to any little boy's heart. Hey, I'm not above bribery! A Nana's gotta do what a Nana's gotta do.



Speaking of bribery, I promised Sweet Thang that if he put my new grill together, I'd cook a big Easter dinner for him. Who said real men don't read instructions!
See what a hard worker he is when food is involved! Grilled smoked sausage, chicken, and pork chops plus rosemary potatoes, salad and bread grilled outside. YUM! Everyone was stuffed, and it takes a fair amount of food to fill up a man this size!

I hope y'all had a Happy Easter, cause I know we did.

DIGITAL DILDO

Now I've heard it all! Yahoo News:

When America's top sex researchers gathered recently to discuss the next decade in their field, some envisioned a future in which artificial sex partners could cater to every fantasy.............A field dubbed "teledildonics" already allows people at two remote computers to manipulate electronic devices such as a vibrator at the other end for sexual purposes.

That's one way to prevent the spread of AIDS, I guess.

'PUTER WOES

My home computer is giving me fits. It wouldn't go online, but I think I might have that whooped. It's still slow and acting weird but I'm working on it. Hope everyone had a Happy Easter.

I'm at work now. I'll try to post from home later.