On a Sunday morning sidewalk,
I'm wishing, Lord, that I was stoned.
I'm wishing, Lord, that I was stoned.
It’s a windy, cold, steel gray morning. Seven A.M. It looks like seven A.M. Hercules is still asleep as less than a handful are here at Starbucks.
Someone has been up for a while this morning. The sweet, smoky aroma of barbecue from the Kinder’s Barbecue next door is seeping into the coffee shop. A hot link sandwich slathered in a tangy, spicy sauce for lunch is sounding pretty good.
The fellow next to me isn’t asleep either. He’s Skyping with someone, taking the rudeness of the public cell phone conversation to a new level. Meanwhile John Lee Hooker and Bonnie Raitt are “In the Mood for Love” on the in-house music.
A quick look at the news tells me that a lot of folks haven’t been in the mood for love.
A cyclist was struck and killed by a Chevrolet Avalanche in Los Angeles. The driver of the truck was in a road rage confrontation with the driver of a Kia and cut over onto the shoulder to pass, striking and killing the 62 year old rider. Some cyclists are cruising past the strip mall right now. Good luck guys and girls. I’m what you would call a part time cyclist. I pick and choose my ride carefully. There are some country roads around here that are very popular with cyclists but I stay off of them; they’re narrow and very winding. I figure riding is a crapshoot to begin with. I don’t feel like stacking more odds against me. That poor guy in L.A. rolled snake eyes. This isn’t to say that cyclists don’t piss me off. The ones that cruise through stop signs and ride about three abreast regardless of the traffic annoy the hell out of me. It’s not just because of the unsafe riding; it’s mostly because those idiots are making it harder for those of us who try to do it safely and legally. There are already plenty of tensions bubbling between riders and drivers.
It’s like people who carry their little dogs into Starbucks or the grocery store making it hard for those dog owners among us who do it right and responsibly. Just because little Fifi can fit in the palm of your hand doesn’t mean you get to carry her into places where she's not supposed to be. Every time that I see some knot head pack Muffy in a bag into the local super and get away with it I wish that I could go fetch my 70 pound Gordon Setter, put her under my arm and parade around the market with her big squirming self. Do you think I’d get away with it?
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| One day I'm carrying her into Starbucks |
It was a bad day in Afghanistan yesterday. Thirty American and seven Afghan soldiers were killed when their helicopter was shot down. Six French soldiers were killed in another incident. Did I miss something? Wasn’t the mission to get Bin Laden? Can we get out now? Hasn’t it dawned on this president and the last that Afghanistan is known as “the graveyard of armies?”
A woman was killed in a shootout in Oakland last night. According to The Chronicle the shooters were gunning for people in a rival group but hit the victims (the deceased woman and her aunt who was wounded) who were not involved in the dispute. It looks like as a society we’ve decided that there is going to be a limitless supply of guns. Anybody can have as many as he wants. If that’s the course we’ve decided to take can we just get firearms training for everyone? Yes, everyone, even the criminals. That way maybe a few less innocent bystanders, many of them children, will get hit. Not trying to be flippant here, just pragmatic.
In other news, “A politician who emailed a woman nude photos of himself that were later posted on a GOP activist's website announced his resignation Tuesday and said he'll consider all legal options to have the pictures taken down.” The pictures show the 53 year old politician standing naked in front of a mirror. He sent them to a woman who he had been corresponding online with for several years. She asked for them and he did what any straight thinking fellow would do; he sent them. I might be going out on a limb here but my guess is that nobody, N-O-B-O-D-Y, wants to see pictures of a 53 year old politician showing what he was born with and what’s grown since. Nobody that is except for a political foe. Is it just me or do politicians (usually male ones) seem to be getting more and more galactically STUPID?
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| DC has a high rate of drinking!! |
The Chron. has a link to a “Map of Sins” posted on The Daily. Washington D.C. has the highest rate of alcohol abuse. No. Really? What a shocking revelation. I wonder if that correlates to all of the middle aged naked politicians on the web. Utah has the lowest rate of alcohol and drug abuse but at 5.4% the highest rate of folks who’ve considered suicide. You know, maybe an occasional Maker’s on the rocks isn’t such a bad thing. Alaska has the highest rate of people who’ve smoked weed in the past month. Double the nationwide rate. I’m not making any Palin jokes here. You can, but I won’t.
I should actually be on my work computer this Sunday morning. Too much work at the office and not enough time. My wife is getting ready to retire in a year and a half. Theoretically I’m up in 7 more years, that is until the government pushes it out again. I’m tired of it. I’m seriously considering retiring early, way early, packing up the wife and a few belongings and moving to her native Philippines. Try my hand at more serious writing. Teach, maybe? I know she wants to do volunteer work. Between the news and just being tired of doing something that I no longer enjoy, The PI is looking pretty sweet.
It’s a chilly Sunday, but it is Sunday. A good day to set aside the war, the budget bickering, the shootings and naked politicians, have that hot link sandwich and spend some nice quiet time with my wife. It really doesn’t get any better than that.
I'll begin by doing something that is rarely necessary with your writing, a factual correction. Although Cash did the best known recording of it, the song was written by Kris Kristofferson.
ReplyDeleteHard to believe the guy Skyping next to you was raising cell phone rudeness to a higher level, it seems to me that generally it is about as rude as can be. The cell phone is the second worst invention in human history (cigarettes are number one on that list).
There are a lot of cyclists who need to stop thinking they deserve all the road all the time. The Critical Massholes, as a group, are the worst. There are also a lot of cyclists who dedicate themselves to safe and smart riding, especially in urban areas. Cycling in urban areas is about as dangerous as being a pedestrian, which I frequently am. I walk safely and still have situations where drivers cut so close in front of me that I could have been hit if not for paying attention.
I agree about the meatheads bringing the little yapper dogs into stores, although I don't understand how that makes it hard for the dog owners who don't behave improperly. The only dogs that should be allowed in stores are service dogs, no exceptions. If the local dives and independent stores want to allow it, fine. Grocery stores, no. You carry Rainey into a store? Maybe the other way around.
The reason it hasn't dawned on our recent presidents that wars in Afghanistan is the same reason the Russian leaders thought it would work. The other guys did it wrong but they're going to do it right. The justification for staying usually is the necessity to completely eradicate Al Qaeda, even though it may be impossible to do.
Firearm training for everyone, not practical unless there is mandatory military service as done in Israel. The criminals aren't going to do it and it would only make them more dangerous.
Will Rogers and Mark Twain beat you to it in proclaiming the stupidity of politicians.
Ah, the idea of moving to the Philippines surfaces again. I would suggest if you continue to feel seriously about it, try to plan ahead and live there for a month or so. It's a little more time than a vacation would allow and, if done correctly, could give a good feel for life there. The idea of retirement is so far from reality for me that it is pointless to consider it.
Did you have the hot link sandwich?
ReplyDeleteBad behavior on the part of any member of a group is more apparent than responsible behavior. That was my meaning. People who bring their dogs where they shouldn't, allow them to roam free and refuse to clean up after them give ammunition to those who would like to increase limitations on dogs. They give dog owners in general a bad reputation.
ReplyDeleteFirearm training for criminals was with tongue firmly in cheek.
And yes, I just finished my sandwich. Besides having good meats, Kinder's has great sandwich rolls.
Apologies to Kris K.
I see, said the blind man. Thanks for the clarification and yes, those actions do reflect badly on irresponsible dog owners. Speaking of which, why do so many women who have dogs now refer to themselves as the dog's mother? Does that mean that they consider themselves bitches?
ReplyDeleteI figured that the firearm training was tongue in cheek, it made me think of Archie Bunker's comment that airplane hijackings would end if every passenger brought a gun on board. The main point you made, that there are way too many guns per capita or otherwise in this country, is one that has caused me to reevaluate my thinking on gun ownership. In my youth, I was against gun control. In the decades since then, the guns in America situation has gotten way beyond out of control.
If you make it to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, you can apologize to Kristofferson then. He will probably be appearing with Merle Haggard.
I've not had Kinder's hot links, may do that when I return to work because there is a Kinder's in Fremont.
Oh and thanks for writing this blog. Along with the Thomas Jefferson Hour, it is something I look forward to checking out each week.
And just today another innocent, this time a 3 year old boy, was struck by "stray bullets," as they said on the evening news. Stray bullets; the term almost makes them sound harmless. Better that he had been hit by a stray cat. Stupid kid should have been packing.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the line "stupid kid should have been packing" is obviously tongue in cheek, unfortunately it is not far from reality. I refer, of course, to the reality of kids younger than high schoolers bringing guns to school. I'm not sure what's worse, that they brought the weapons to school or that they felt compelled to do so.
ReplyDelete"Stray bullets" is a term that seems quaintly out of place for such serious matters. The media frequently comes up with such catch phrases that should never have made it on air. Two which come to mind are calling Manuel Noriega the "Panamanian strongman" and the occasional reference to 9/11 as "9-1-1".