Distracted

I wrote about wasting time. Sometimes things have changed and I want to know why. This morning I had a really bad dream.

I woke up and decided to record it.

Before I went to sleep about midnight, I told the computer to scan itself for problems and turn off when it was done. Normally I just put it to sleep.

So I tried jiggling the mouse but remembered my scan and I hit the power button and went to make tea.

When I got back my monitors were on but all the icons were on the left screen and were very small. For some reason the computer re-configured its self.

Since this was not the first time I went searching for why and an hour later I have no idea why it happened.

And I also forgot my dream.

Distracted – easily done.

Random Memories – Interracial Neighborhoods

I am sure you know I spent years five to eighteen in a mainly Catholic old well maintained neighbor hood.

Our house was three from the corner of the street that divided our neighborhood from ghetto. Three or four blocks farther were the railroad tracks that marked the other end of the ghetto.

I walked almost everywhere but I only walked through the ghetto when absolutely necessary. This white boy got many a threatening look and was confronted several times.

Never got my ass kicked but I think that was because I was a pretty big boy and had lots of big friends. My first memory was a kid at school that lived two blocks down called me a whitey living in the ghetto.

My ‘big’ friends corrected him without touching him. Me and that kid became good friends. He later went to the majors and played for my beloved Cubs. His sister became a very good teacher. They were the lucky ones.

My most memorable racial situation was after a football game one evening.

The football field was four blocks in the opposite direction as the ghetto. Between us and the field were one block of houses and three blocks of park, most of it open. I learned lots in that park –sports – tennis, baseball, football and basketball – to how to open a bra with one hand.

This particular night my younger brother and myself were walking home from a high school football game through the darkness of the park.

A group of black kids from the ghetto were walking near the middle of the park. When they saw us they gave chase. We made it to the street light at the edge of the park and one of the ghetto kids told the rest of them to leave us alone – we were good people.

The kid that probably saved us from a beating was the biggest, meanest, stupidest kid in school. My brothers can supply a name with the initials A.H. or the fact his nickname started with a S.

Once the rest of them saw us in the light many said hello and let us go on our way. I have never been more afraid in my life except maybe the first time I held my daughter.

Our ‘friend’ protected us every time a racial issue came up – and there were many – it was the late sixties – I saw him once when I was in my mid twenties. I was over visiting a friend and ran in to him at a grocery store.

He shook my hand, we traded stories – me not married and a mechanic and him working at the foundry with six kids. He was driving a nice Cadillac and I was in an old convertible whose roof leaked but had a great motor.

I once drove into the south side of Chicago to fix a computer. For several blocks I did not see a white person. When I stopped, pulled out my took kit and set my alarm everyone was quiet and probably deciding how to rob me.

I walked to the door of the building and someone said we can’t mess with him he’s here to help us.

When I came out there was a big black guy sitting on the bumper of my van. I ignored him, put my took kit away, climbed in behind the wheel and cranked the van.

He looked at me and I raised my hands in a WTF gesture. He shook his head, laughed and got up waving goodbye.

But he held up his hand and asked if I had a smoke – I gave him the last four or five in my current pack and he told everyone else that I even smoked their brand of cigarette, Kools.

He handed me one back and lit it for me telling me the white part of town was a long way away. I waved and drove very carefully to the white part of town.

I was wishing my friend from high school was with me but it dawned on me later that one of his friends must have helped me – two hundred miles away.

Only Book You Need

Just heard something I really like. Someone was asked what one book he would take with him for eternity.

He would take the dictionary – it has all the other books in it.

Weather Memories

Looking out the frosted bathroom window I saw some flakes of something illuminated by my nightlight (the street light).

I assume it was snow flakes. I contemplated the wisp of flakes a bit and looked through my memories as has become my habit too many times during a normal day.

The first snow I remember is a record breaking storm in the sixties – can’t say early or late and am not inclined to look it up.

I just remember I was young but not too young to shovel snow.

The only problem was there was so much of it and I was not able to lift a shovel full if I let the shovel scrape the concrete. I had to insert the shovel about half-way down and take very small scoops.

No vehicles were able to navigate our street. I remember being out of school for a week and the school was less then a block away. I do not remember anything getting up or down our street until the end-loaders loaded the store into dump trucks.

I tried to walk to the park beside the school but was worn out fighting the wet snow after a half block.

I remember Dad walking to work – he was like that. I also seem to remember he refused or did not like to wear a hat. Might be false memory and not important. He would always bring home a few groceries each night even though the store had to be a few blocks out of his way.

I don’t remember another storm that bad until the last few years.

My next weather related memory was a tornado warning on the same street.

The air raid sirens were sounding and the rest of the family was in the basement. For whatever reason, Dad and I were on the front porch and saw a funnel cloud drop from the clouds several miles away.

It was a small funnel and slipped back up into the clouds in a few seconds but I always remember it whenever I hear the tornado warnings.

Next was the ice storm of 1977 or 1978. I had just starting working for the police department. We were on full alert in the garage but kept losing electricity. The department’s emergency generator would not start automatically so someone had to baby sit it 24-hours a say.

I remember dropping my wife and kids at her mother’s – it was warmer or they still had power – I don’t remember why.

But I do remember that on the drive back to the police station I drove down a tree lined street and it sounded like hail was destroying the car – failing ice. At one stop sign I had just pulled away and a branch the size of a bus fell blocking the street where I had just been.

Thirty seconds earlier and it would have landed on the car. I spent the few hours I was off at home – it was so cold – the furnace was kicking on but would shut off when the fan failed to start.

I was so cold that one night I slept in the car I was driving with the motor running waking up ever hour or so to go back in and run the water to prevent the pipes from freezing. Luckily we had a gas water heater that provided plenty of hot water but toweling dry sucked. Going out with wet hair was worse.

Two more memories – I was in Joliet repairing a computer and a tornado warning was issued but I did not hear it. I was deep inside a building that stopped the noise from the sirens.

When I went out to get a part from the truck, the sky was a deep dark green – very scary sky swirling in a circle – it was dead quiet except for the sound of the sirens.

I learned later the sky I saw was a debris cloud. Two or three blocks away the tornado had removed the roofs from five buildings but no remains were ever found. I think I saw them that night a few hundred feet above my head.

And the last was recent. The night two tornados touched down in town – one very close to Dad’s – he heard it while in the basement. At the same time he was in the basement, my son and I stood on my back porch and watched the clouds spin.

When the golf ball sized hail started pounding the roof and siding we both headed for the basement two stories below.

There used to be a real life old air raid siren in the back yard. It was replaced when the city upgraded the system after these tornados.

That night it was blaring but we could still hear the hail pound the house. I stole a look out a basement window. I could not see the neighboring house less then twenty feet away. Shortly after that the entire city lost power. The siren in the back yard was silenced.

The rain and hail were hellish but it did not end there.

A second wave of storms came through about 2 AM the next morning. My son and his family had gone to sleep downstairs. I laid down with a battery powered weather radio beside me.

It went off with the new tornado warning. I stumbled downstairs to wake them. It took several yells to get them awake and I went to my granddaughter’s room and had to shake her several times to get her moving.

We all stumbled downstairs and listened to the regular radio about people being trapped in a movie theater because of downed power lines or poles in all directions.

They were eating cold popcorn and drinking bottled water and were moving around using the lights from their cell phones.

Then the storm hit just as ferocious as the first. Since the power was off, the radio host suggested people go out and honk their car horns or call the neighbors and wake them.

During the worse part of the storm the power came back on. My grandkids were wide eyed and hanging on dad and mom tightly.

Then silence for about 30 seconds – we could hear my TV two stories above. The storm had passed but then we all got a scare. The air raid siren started back up and sounded for at least another twenty minutes.

We didn’t care – the weather radio gave the all clear and we all went to bed even though the siren was sounding.

I was still listening to the normal radio when the host said another wave was a few hours out. I was so tired but didn’t want to fall into a deep sleep in case the electricity went out.

I got up and watched the weather and listened to all the radio callers describe the damage and their experiences.

At 8 AM the last wave of weather came through – very mild thunderstorms. I finally went to bed when the cable TV went off air.

It had survived two tornados and hundreds of lightening strikes but it could not escape a utility worker cutting down broken poles and gathering the wires up.

The main feed was cut and took several hours to find and repair.

In fifty-six years that is the weather events I remember.

Is It Just Me?

I have not forgotten about this blog – it just seemed such a pain compared to Blogger.

Plus I could not paste posts from Word without serious editing.  So I ignored Word Press.

I’ll give it another chance – I have a few stories I can post – IF I can paste them from Word.

Ghosts Have Come Home

Taking a nap with the windows open and something woke me up.  Heard a female voice and then the slamming of the neighbors door.  The old guy must have gotten lucky again.  He seems to bring a new young one home every other week.

I fell back to sleep but kept hearing a noise that sounded like my attic fan.  I knew it could not be so I went back to sleep.  A couple of hours later I finally feel half-way refreshed and get my ass out of bed and immediately start looking for the ticking sound I am hearing.  I look out the window and finally decide it must be the neighbor’s truck cooling off.

I took a shower and made some lunch then decided on a walk so I went to get a shirt and there was that damn ticking noise again.  I leaned out the window and decided that he must have something running in a window I can’t see.  It sounds like a fan running with a tick noise to it.  But it sounds more familiar and like it has echoes.

I sat down to watch more TV and remembered my walk.  This time I focused on getting a shirt and even made it outside but my daughter called and distracted me and I forgot to check out the sound.  About 6 pm I went out on the back porch after supper and heard a car running.

I thought someone had come to visit but the noise was in the neighbor’s drive not mine.  I got on some shoes and went to investigate – the ignition switch was in the on position but there was no key.  The passenger side window was down but the doors were locked.  And the engine was running.  I could hear it and feel it through the body of the car.

I went to the front door and knocked and told him his truck was running.  He looked at me as if I was crazy.  He told me he was sure he had the keys – he would meet me out there.  He could not believe it – neither could I.  He had his keys in his hand and no matter how hard we tried we could not get the key out again with the engine running.

He turned it off, locked the door and slammed it shut and the truck started.  He had the keys in his hand and we were both at the front shaking our heads.  When that truck started I felt creepy feelings – he looked at me and we both were ready to flee but we did not know where to go.

I looked back in the truck and the ignition switch was in the run position with no keys.  He used his fob to unlock the door and used the key to turn it off.  Then he put the truck in reverse and pressed the emergency brake down as hard as he could and released the regular brake.

He locked and closed the door.  We both waited for anything but nothing happened.  I told him it was a good idea to leave it in reverse – it should not start.  I asked what time he left in the morning and I told him I would meet him then and maybe we would understand better.

He said I don’t think ghosts go away that fast and we both walked into our houses without another word.

Have the Ghosts Come Home?  For now we’ll just call it a ghost story.

The Country’s Future

Is it just me or is everyone concerned that a major US bank was ready to close. How could anyone sitting on the board of a major bank not ’see’ the numbers and let it go as far as it did? These are the bean counters that are suppose to ‘protect’ their customers interests – MONEY.

I can not believe that these ‘bodies’ have not made bunches of money the past few years – I wonder if anyone has looked. And how many sold their stock before the meltdown? I have not checked real close but you would figure a story like that would have made headlines on one of the news sites.

Last night I was listening to some talk radio while doing other things and someone was reporting there were several banks in trouble. They may not be as big but they were still charged with protecting their clients interests. We have banks ready to close – WHY – where are the safeguards? Does the federal government watch the banks? I sure thought they did.

This talking head also pointed out that the FDIC, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation only protects the first $100,000 in a bank – or in that account – or is that per person per bank – I have not bothered to look since I do not have to worry about that. What happens if several banks fail and JP Morgan does not step in? How long will it be before many of the banks are owned by overseas interests? How far can the dollar fall before the government does something other then telling us to spend more money?

Stock holders have to be fuming – unless they made a ton of money and knew enough or saw the signs to sell out. A complete audit of the banking industry would be nice. But then again maybe we would not want to know te results.

Everyday I see the “new” society trying to milk whatever they can for as much as they can without ‘worrying’ about the future or the other people they might hurt. Their actions remind me of cutthroat tatics used by salespeople to make that last sale – no matter what.

As soon as strong arm tactics are put in play or the people show a complete lack of caring – I’m done. There is nothing I need that badly to let someone screw me over. I still believe in ‘The customer comes first’ theory – if you want to stay in business. But I see a lot of businesses that only stick around long enough to screw whoever they can and take as much as they can then shutdown – sometimes without even bothering to file bankruptcy or tell any governing bodies. What a bunch of crap.

We hear people advertising or spouting off about these carbon credits but who is making the money? People are giving money to someone or something and all they are getting back is a ‘good feeling’ or a sense of peace when they fill up their SUV with $120 of gas or ethanol.

Most of the young people I talk to are more worried about getting the latest cell phone model or newest SUV or luxury car. They want bigger houses with pools; stainless steel grills on the over-sized decks; biggest and brightest TVs with the latest surround sound;DVD collections – many of which they only watch once; I pods filled with more music then they can possibly listen to in years; and most of it they are charging to their use-to-be low interest credit cards. Many of these people owe more then their net worth. Who taught them this? Their parents?

They have no idea the housing market has faltered in most places. They have no idea where Iraq is or how much the war costs or how many people have died in the war – on either side. The stock market is for the future. Many have never had savings accounts. Many do not know what a CD is anymore – I’m talking about the investment CD.

Many overdraw their accounts -wait for the next automatic deposit to hit and lose $20 or $30 dollars a day in overdraft fees. Then bitch when their cell phone is turned off for non-payment.

I am concerned that the financial future of the normal person – let alone the country – is screwed. And a few minutes ago I read the Social Security and Medicare is in deep trouble. I think we should all take a close look at what is really going on.

I read that a local governing board just approved a 400% increase in sewer rates without any public input. And that early in their term they voted themselves a raise that gives them $1000 paycheck for each meeting – once a month. So we are paying these guys $12,000 a year to “protect us”. And to add insult to injury – when most people can not afford health insurance – they get it with the job – don’t know if they copay or not but knowing this city, they probably have no health costs at all.

They were all appointed by the powers that be – they must be really smart people – yeah, they only know how to take care of themselves. And they have done a fine job.

It sure looks to me that all politicians – yes I said all -are out for only themselves -many are good at hiding the end result and help people all they can – I call them yes men. Don’t get me wrong – there are some good ones – they really care about the country, city or county’s needs – they just want theirs first. I just don’t get it.

I Bitch About The News

Well I was scanning the different RSS feeds and saw an article about a woman that sat on a toilet for so long, her butt grew around it. Two years she sat there – her boyfriend brought her food and drink – someone please explain why they just didn’t shoot the boyfriend for letting this happen – unbelievable. Story is here if you missed it.

Another lady in Germany could not kick a staph infection – they finally figured out her cat had it and kept giving it back to her – WHAT?

A class president lost his title and suspended for buying Skittles – this is big brother in action – and ought to be outlawed. Story here.

A lady threw her two sons, 6 and 8 off an overpass onto road below then jumped herself – they all survived – it was Texas but still who is watching these people – big brother must have been busy – story here.

37 years ago email was invented – 37 years – wow – more here.

I see the FAA is doing its normally fine work – how could Southwest fly so many flights with illegal planes – bet they didn’t have any shampoo or other illegal liquids on board. Southwest launched an internal investigation -I suggest we fire everyone at FAA and we’ll police the planes ourselves – this is so scary – more here.

And the USDA – I can’t not speak – at least I know why I get the runs more often then ever before – more here.

And another politician bites the dust over a sex scandal – if we knew one hundredth of what really went on in gov and the ‘private’ lives of people – well we would all wonder how we ended up here.

Im glad Im getting old and will soon leave this world – it is too screwed up for me.

Today’s News

First we have 40,000 people affected by idiots in a Vegas Medical Clinic – now how can that be. How many lawsuits and how many people’s lives will be affected. Bush finally admits that our country’s economy is screwed. Somebody found 3 left feet on a beach someplace – I wonder what point they were trying to get across.

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Autoscrolling

The Grand Canyon – is there really a scientist that thinks they can affect something that took eons to make – with a little bit of water. Obama supporter quit because she was over heard telling the truth – and idiots in MN think acting like a I’m not sure what will let them smoke a cigarette inside without consequences.

The federal government is maintaining its absolutely high standards – spending $42 million dollars to let people know they will soon have $300 or $600 to blow on whatever they want -but only if they have made over $3000 in the last year.

What about us folks that have made nothing this year and don’t meet the $3000 rule but still need the money. I’ll have to see if I can figure that out.

And the guys that do more housework get more sex -what about us poor guys that live alone and do ALL the housework – are we suppose to get lucky more often then who?

Here we go – another Friday of useless news bits. I saw where American soldiers are having some sort of memory problem but since I already do I can’t comment on it any farther cause I can’t remember.

And Hillary is trying to keep her bid for a return to the White House in some sort of capacity alive – saying she’d talk to Obama about running with him on the Democratic ticket. I can not imagine WHO would vote for that ticket so for now I’ll just laugh.

Congress is trying to shame the guys that made their companies billions of dollars at the time into giving up their giant bonuses and Congress is trying to blame the same guys for the current recession. I sure hope three guys were not able to screw up the country that easy with sub prime loans.

And I saw a barrel of oil was going for $105 or something like that – how many months ago did oil sell for $39 ? And when will someone finally figure out that some commodity trader is causing all our oil problems just because he can.

I may add to this after the 5 PM news – depends on if I hear anything I feel like commenting about.

Absolutely Nothing

I did absolutely nothing today except sleep and eat. I first went to sleep at 10:30 last evening and got up at 6:45 – was up long enough to drink a couple of cups of tea then ate some cereal and toast was back in bed by 9:15.

I got up the second time at 11:15 and grabbed a shower and heated some pork loin and fixings. At 3:00 i laid back down for an hour then heated left over taco meat and ate a couple of soft tacos heavy on everything – they were great.

At 6:30 I made some popcorn and had a soda. And I am almost ready to go to bed – my eyes lose focus and my head starts to dip as I type this. I don’t feel bad -just don’t feel anything – crazy.

So goes another day in my life.