Monday, May 30, 2011

Memorial Day

Some days I have profound thoughts about stuff.  Today is Memorial Day.  It's a time to remember those men and women who have given their lives in conflict to make our country "free" and "safe".  The ultimate sacrifice.  On days like today I think about those men and women. When I was a child our country was involved in the Vietnam War.  I can remember being about  7 years old in the late 60's and watching the nightly news, and pictures of the war.  Pictures of the soldiers.  They looked like the kids on my street that were in high school.  They must have been young. How young were they? In Vietnam the average age was 19.  Children.  With their whole lives ahead of them.  Witnessing horrible things that man does to fellow man.  Injured.  Dying.  It hurts my heart to think of these children dying, possibly thinking about their moms and dads, brothers and sisters, possibly wives, children, friends. They would never know the joys of getting married or having children.  Sitting at a back yard BBQ on Memorial Day.  They died so that our country would be safe. They died for our rights.  You know, the rights we exercise today  - the right to speak hatefully and disrespectfully to each other.  The right to be intolerant of each other.  The right to get yourself so worked up about your political or religious beliefs that you totally tune out anyone with a differing opinion.  Somehow I don't think that the Founding Fathers had that in mind when writing the First Amendment.  The thing I love most about this country is that we have the right to change things.  If we don't like who is in office, we can vote them out.  Then, when we start to hate the people we voted in, we can vote them out.  We DO have the right to be nasty and disrespectful to each other.  I don't like it, I prefer informed debate, and maybe someday people will be willing to listen to each other again.  But it IS our right.  And no matter that I hate the level of intolerance in this country right now,

" I will gladly STAND UP next to you and defend it"
There ain't no doubt I love this land
God Bless the USA

Monday, May 23, 2011

I'm not falling for that

Dear People in my Office

When I send a note explaining that I will not be at your 2pm meeting because I am home SICK, and my throat is sore and I have a nasty cold, please do not call me from the phone in the conference room just to embarrass me as I quack out "HELLO" and then completely lose my voice.  I'm not falling for it.  I see you online and I know you can just IM me with any issues.  I'll be in the office tomorrow and feeling more like putting up with your idiotic embarrassment and making fun of my honking and quacking.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

The New Math

Scene: The supermarket deli counter.

Finally it's my turn.  I say to the deli counter assistant person very clearly "I would like one pound of chicken salad please" She repeated "one pound of chicken salad"

She proceeds to grab a container and start CRAMMING chicken salad into it until it's really really FULL.  In my mind I KNOW it's more than one pound.  Onto the scale it goes.  Total weight: 2.73 pounds.

Deli Counter assistant says to me "is it ok if it's a little over a pound?"

When I say "no I want one pound please" she gives ME a dirty look! Then proceeds to almost empty the container.  Total weight this time 0.47 pounds.  She looks at me.  I again say "One pound please"  More gets spooned in - total weight now - 1.89.  Now I'm just on a roll.  "One pound please".  At this point she grabs another container - a smaller one - you know, the one that on the display says ONE POUND and fills that.  Total weight? 1.03 pounds.  Yet another validation of my theory that when people leave their homes and end up in a grocery store they somehow become mentally challenged.