Power to the People

 So, it's Easter Sunday, an important religious day for many that is not a national holiday.  Our blue competitor is closed today.  Outside, the weather is comfortably breezy... well, actually it's windy.  The temps are in the low 60s (F) and will get a bit warmer.  Afternoon highs are predicted to be in the low 70s (F), tomorrow, the high temps will be in the mid 60s (F), but then we start to warm up again.  Spring is now definitely in the air.

My legs are a bit sore today because I did a leg workout yesterday.  The stiffness is only noticeable coming down the stairs.  My quads are isolated as they stretch during my descent.  This means the squats I did were worthwhile.

I do work today, though I'm not expecting the store to be busy.  Not only do some people got to sunrise services, many more will gather for family dinners.  Easter buffets are big around here.  I'm taking lunch today because it's quite doubtful food is going to be provided.  Remember, today's not a national holiday.  What they will probably do is set out tons of candy for us grazers to consume.  Calories do not get counted today.

And even though I did work yesterday, friends sent me pictures from peaceful protests in downtown Harrisburg.  From State Street down to Walnut Street, 5 city blocks, thousands gathered to protest Trump.  And, as I sit here typing this, I'm reminded of a phrase that was chanted in the 60s:  Power to the People.

Evidently the US Supreme Court came down with another late night decision forcing the Orange Anus to stop deporting Venezuelans, and while this is only a temporary halt, it's important.  I'm suspecting there is a lot of turmoil in the court as both the liberals and the conservatives try to reign in the 2 fascists, Alito and Thomas.  On their last decision, Alito was not allowed to publish his dissent, saying he would be publishing at some future date.  This is a sucker punch to his face.  This is good.  He needs to be smacked both back and down frequently.

More and More

 Well, here it is Monday, April 1, and no foolin' we got a really big storm heading our way.  According to my Accuweather app, the temp is 48(F) outside, and we have rain.  I took some recycling out to my bin and I can attest to the rain, my skin's not sensitive enough to recognize specific degrees of temperature.  Now, these showers will hang with us into the afternoon, then we will experience a pause.  Tomorrow?  That's another soggy story.

As expected, Easter Sunday at the store was not a revenue breaker.  We did not make our plan.  No surprise there.  Back when I started working for the great Orange Home Improvement retailer the store manager was required to keep a diary that tracked events which effected sales, like weather and holidays.  This was supposed to help in the forecasting of sales' plans and provide reasons from year to year as to why sales on one particular day were either super good, or super bad.  Not anymore.  Now they look at sales by the week, and if you have a bad day, you just have to grow your sales during the rest of the week to make your plan.  However, if you have a really good day, it will affect your sales plan for next year, usually by increasing it.  This is how corporate greed works.

Anyway, they did bring food in, something they don't usually do on Easter.  There were more customers then I expected.  More and more, Christianity is losing it's grip on the general populace.  

And luckily, even though it was Easter, this bunny from Hell did not come hip, hip, hoppity down any bunny trails near me.

One of the things you still keep hearing is that the country is deeply divided between Trump and Biden.  I don't believe that for an instant.  However, media outlets need to create tension.  They want to sell advertising, and the only way they can do that if they get clicks.  Another however, however, more and more people are know what they're doing, except for the Cultists, who so desperately want to believe this rubbish.  Their dark hearts need to be constantly reinforced that Trump is dominating the 2024 election, but then they love their lies.  He bellows that his poll numbers have never been higher, that they're the highest poll numbers in history, and his cultists do backflips with joy.  Though, more and more you're hearing the creeping dread in their voices, like Charlie Kirk saying Republicans were out gunned, and out numbered.  And the Moral Degenerate is getting worse by the day.  Inevitability is approaching.  

Sunday In the Park with George

 Easter Sunday, and the sun is shining here in Central PA.  Temps are supposed to climb into the mid 60s (F), but alack and alas, clouds will be moving into the region.  Tomorrow the showers will start and Tuesday there will be rain.  Over an inch is predicted.  

One of those things I find fascinating is that Christians who have gone to sunrise services in Central PA will see the sunshine as a sign, while Christians in Cincinnati are lamenting the fact that their Easter services were marred by heavy rains.  Too many Christians don't stop to think about weather patterns, yet they have convinced themselves that everything is according to God's will, or plan, which means the weather comes under his... jurisdiction, so to say.  This is just one of the issues they refuse to deal with, ignoring the bigger picture because it fails to fit in with what they want to believe.

Anyway, I get to work today.  The customers who show up will either be Asians, or non-Christians, or those who put looking at appliances over religion.

Since it is Sunday, I thought I'd post a Sunday picture; a Sunday in the Park with George picture, a modern recreation of  George Seurat's famous painting.  I think this is culturally amazing.  Happy Holiday!

 

Sympathy for the Devil

 So, we have a sunny Saturday morning here in Central Pa, which is nice.  Temps are in the low 40s (F) for right now, however things will begin to cloud over, and about the time I head off to work the occasional showers should start to fall.  They're not expecting any deluges, those will come on Tuesday.

I talked to my sister twice yesterday, once around the noonish hour to wish her a happy birthday.  She's younger than I, but old enough for us to laugh about our ages, and we do laugh.  And it's not that we're old, we're not, but there there are people who look at our age and think of us as old.  We laugh at them.  I suspect too many people look at their accumulating years with a "woe is me" attitude, who look at their dwindling years with dismay, wishing there were a way to add more.  And then there are those who simply resign themselves to the inevitable and just sit back and wait.  I feel sorry for them, for their decision to give up so much.  

And I did get a lot accomplished yesterday: a nice ride on my bike near Salzburg, some cleaning, some writing, some emailing.

David, my narrator are going back and forth via email on how long of a break does a comma require.  I want barely a pause, perhaps a shift in tone, a variation on inflection, and the actor in him claims that a comma indicates a change of thought.  I will win out, of course, since I'm in charge of the purse strings.

And one of my cactus flowers is blooming.  Here's what it looks like this morning with the sun shining in on it.

And this is Easter weekend.  I'm only slightly curious to see what the Spawn of Satan, Donald J. Trump posts on Truth Social tomorrow.  Perhaps an AI generated photo of he and John Eastman tacked up on crosses next to Jesus.  Notice, I said next to Jesus since we all know that Trump would have to be front and center.  

Yesterday, he posted a picture of Biden bound and gagged in the back of a pickup truck.  He will get worse.  He knows that his cultists will dismiss his Hush money, Porno trial, it's not going to endear him to Centrists in this country, those swing voters essential for him to even come close.  This is why he's trying to delay, delay, delay.  I do suspect this is why he is working as hard as he can to break his Gag order.  I don't doubt that in his Adderall demented mind, he sees getting arrested for contempt of court will swing the sympathetic vote in his direction.  Stop Laughing!  You have to remember this is why he projecting himself as the injured party.  He wants your sympathy! 

Biggie's Movie Break

 Can say hello to the Easter weekend.  They're predicting the weather to be cool.  I think that tends to be the case.  I work so it doesn't really matter to me, not that I'm overly religious.  I don't mind getting the hours in if someone feels they need to have off to celebrate their beliefs what ever their religion.

Yesterday was boring at work.  I did have a sale go through but didn't get a measure.  I also had a discussion with the Specialty Assistant Manager about calling customers who have been measured for installations.  These customers are color coded: green because they've been called, yellow indicates they need to be called, and red meaning they're overdue.  There was a time when you had a day after the customer was measured when they'd be yellow.  Now, the instant they've been measured, they go red.  I told him I thought we should give the customer the courtesy of thinking about their quote for a day or so rather than shove that sale down their throat as soon as possible.  He disagreed.

A friend recommended I watch the old Ari Aster film Hereditary.  So I did, with Biggie.  In case you didn't know, Aster's films tend to be arthouse horror... sort of.  I think he wants to be seen as being profound.  He isn't.  His films never come close to being box office hits because of this.  Anyway, I took a picture of Biggie before he decided Hereditary was boring and lay down to go to sleep.

Of course, the buzz in the media is all about Clarence Thomas taking very expensive vacations paid for a white conservative businessman.  Yeah, I don't think anyone should be surprised by this, Clarence has always wanted to be a rich white guy, and we all know that he shit away his ethics a long time ago.  For him, this is as natural as placing one of his pubic hairs on a Coca Cola can.  He doesn't even understand that this makes him look bad, probably because in his mind he is owed, or possibly because he's a faux Christian he may believe this is just one of many blessings flowing his way.  In reality, this makes both him and the Supreme Court look even worse then they already did, if you even thought that was possible.

Non-Traditional

 Holy Crap!  It's Easter!  And I'm off.  Not that I have any great plans for today.  For eats, I'm going to be making the non-traditional ham, and cheese green bean casserole because... well, you know we all need a little ham on Easter.  

Our Garden Center was busy yesterday, but otherwise the store was not so busy.  Our sales are not that bad, they're just returning to what they were pre-Covid.  For corporate and the stockholders, I'm sure that's not a good thing.  They've already begun jacking up prices.  All they care about is keeping the stockholders happy.  The cost of a single share of stock is the only thing they prioritize.  Trouble brews when that stock price drops and so they will screw over, and eventually sacrifice, the very consumers they depend upon.  

The Non-Traditional Dinner

And for those of you who don't know, my religious beliefs are rather Non-Traditional, though to say I have no religion would be false.  Everybody has a religion; some are traditional, and some are not.  The monotheistic religions are geared towards consolidating power with either one or several individuals in charge, in case you didn't know.  They are authoritarian by nature.  They also offer the golden carrot of 'eternal life.'  An unbelievable number of people have absolutely no clue as to how long eternity is; they think of it as a long, long time.  They don't understand that a long, long time is short compared to eternity.  I have a huge problem with people believing they are so special they deserve eternal life.  All you need do is look how we treat each other to realize none of us is that special.  My Non-Traditional desire is that I live a long time in relatively good health, with a relatively solid mind, and then pass into eternal sleep.  Peace and quiet?  Believe me, that's a very good way to end things.

The White Gloves

 So, it's Easter Sunday and I'm quite pleased to say I slept in a bit and already have one load of laundry in the washer.  Work shirts.  Now, if you'll excuse me for a few minutes, I'm going to put them in the drying and pop in my 2nd load, sweat pants.

There, that didn't take long, did it?

I had a customer stop by the Flooring Desk yesterday who frequents the Paint Desk.  He took up about a half-hour of my time asking questions which always ended with 'don't you agree?'  His behavior hasn't changed since I used to talk to him about paint.  He never bought paint, but wanted to reassured his viewpoints had validity.  I don't remember him every buying paint, but he still shows up over there at least once a week.  He will never buy carpet.

There was also a couple who were interested in Plantation Shutters.  I set them up with an appointment for a representative to talk to them.   Shutters are very expensive.  They will never buy.

A few months back I purchased a small, inexpensive table to put beside my desk downstairs.  As I unpacked the parts and readied them for assembly, I found a pair of white gloves had been included.  I didn't use them while putting the table together, however they do come in quite useful when I'm handling the photo paper for printing off color pictures.  No finger prints.

And for some, today is important for religious reasons.  Notice, I didn't call it a holiday.  Holiday infers to a day that is supposed to be fun, a vacation away from work.  The Cracker Jack Crazies take today very seriously.  Me?  I'm going to drive over to my local Giant supermarket, and then clean up the dog crap in the yard.  I want to get in a ride or a run, it's been too long since my legs have done either.  For me, there is nothing holy about this day.  The fact that Easter is not a fixed day, but rather changes yearly should be an indicator it's not nearly as important as they want to believe.

Countdown

 Oh My Gosh, it's Friday, also known this week as my Hump Day because my Friday is on Sunday, which is not Easter, that happens next week and is again my Friday.

Speaking of Easter.  I've got 2 mailers from churches advertising their 'services' on Easter Sunday.  One is actually and invite to a Zoom meeting.  Now, ain't that nice.  This is their way of Zooming me in to Jesus.  One of the adverts included a picture of Jesus surrounded by his disciples... and everyone was white with brown hair.  Can you guess which crowd this is aimed at?

Work was slow yesterday.  All those measures I got over the past week, however, are turning into sales.  As of last week, I've racked up over $110 thousand in the past 2 months.  Busy, I have been.  They will hate me for saying this, but I don't mind the slow down.  Honestly, I've been thinking.  Last year this time I cut my hours down to 30 a week which is considered part-time.  Those hours are guaranteed Spring, Summer and Fall, however not over the winter.  Right now, I'm banking much of what I earn.  This means it's time to pull out the calculator and look at the calendar.  And, of course, the change would only knock off about 10 - 12 hours a week.

And what about Dominion suing Fox News?  All they needed was one nut to crack and admit 'no reasonable , and that was Powell admitting 'no reasonable nutjob adult' would believe her lies.  Their little wall of deceit is starting crash down around their ears. 

Oh, and Biden ignored Fox during his first press conference.  It looks like the administration is going to treat Rupert Murdoch's tabloid video channel as just that.

Oh and the Georgia hate machine has passed an unbelievably bill of restrictive voting regulations.  You do know they're hoping this goes to the Supreme Court so the Conservative Majority give white Republicans what they truly want, a path to white dictatorship.

The Imbecile

Okay, it's Sunday.  For some odd reason I set my alarm for 0430, 15 minutes earlier than my normal time.  I know most of you are still deep in REM sleep at that time, but I'm a morning person.
I do get to work today.  Our blue competitor is closed, a combination of Covid - 19 and a Faux Holiday.  This means those planing on going there for their Landscaping Religious Experience will becoming to our store.  Like certain religious groups, they don't really care if it's orange or blue, as long as they get their fix.  When they get to our store, they're going to be waiting in a line.  No more than 100 at a time in the store.  Let me tell you, that seems like a lot of people, but it isn't when your spread them out.
Yesterday I posted signs in my department regarding samples.  If a customer wants a sample to take home, they need to see one of the specialists.  The samples are still there... for now, but they will be going away... soon.  This is because those 4 x 4 inch pieces of vinyl, and carpet, and laminate get picked and put back by countless fingers.  They get breathed on, and fingered by people who don't really give a shit about what's going on in the world.  We call them Republicans.
One thing I find sadly amusing is this notion people have picked up that Covid - 19 is going to peak at a specific time.  You know?  Like the doodle brain who claimed it was going to be gone by April 18.  I hear people saying "it's going to peak next week."  I always ask "where?"  They don't seem to understand it progresses at different rates of speed through different communities.  Social distancing will slow it down, but it is still going to be spreading.
Another dingleberry idea floating around is that Covid - 19 is going to go away once the temperatures warm up.  Does the common cold go away when it gets warm?  Have you ever had a summer cold?  They always say summer colds are the worst.  For those who don't know, the common cold is caused by a coronavirus.  That's right.  Coronaviruses are not new to the world.  The fact that cases are showing up in places like Yemen, a hot, dry country, suggest Covid - 19 might be more like its country cousin the common cold, rather than SARS of MERS.
As time goes on, the voices are growing louder regarding the Idiot Jerk's administrations total failure in regard to this crisis.  They were being warned back in November and... nothing.  You see, the imbecile the Evangelicals put into the White House had a gut feeling this was nothing more than fake news trying to make him look bad.  Now that imbecile is on TV daily giving his little briefings... Dumb shit, he has no clue the ratings are high because people are tuning in for Birx and Fauci... not him.  That connection will never be made in his brain.  What a sorry state this egomaniac has put this country in.
Finally, I planted about 80 bulbs in a bed out front.  They're beginning to bloom.  They are going to be very pretty.  And just think, I haven't planted the Zinnias or the Dahlias yet.

Chaos

It's Monday and I do get to return to work today.  Yesterday was... odd, is a very good word for it.  I spent a bit of time at the paint desk.  They're running out of paint.  There are big holes on the shelf.  Believe me, I have no problem telling customers we can't mix the color they want because there isn't any paint.  And I also enjoy telling customers "if we do get face masks in, we're donating them to local hospitals," which is what we are doing.  Not all customers appreciate this charity since they feel they are far more important. 
Apparently on Saturday, one of our illustrious customers purposely coughed on one of our associates.  The idea of waiting in line was a little too aggravating.  Must have been an ignorant Republican.  At that point our associates were standing outside the doors and letting people inside, now they wait inside.
And yesterday was Palm Sunday... I had to be reminded since it doesn't pop up on my calendar as day of importance.  Down in the Southern States Christians gathered for worship services... and contamination.  While New York may be peaking thanks to some serious Safe Distancing and Strict Rules, those southern states are racing straight towards catastrophe.  For 2020, I suspect the Darwin awards will have their first group nomination:  Evangelicals. 
This little article caught my eye regarding the Chaos Approach the the Idiot Jerk's administration.   I didn't know there was a power struggle going on between Jaded Jared and the Idiot Pence, but it... makes sense.  The idea the Federal Stockpile is for supplemental use hints that the Idiot Jerk may have selling it off rather than creating a... stockpile.  You do know that in his mind a stockpile would be a really big waste of money, just like the Pandemic Task Force created by Obama was a really big waste of money.  I'm betting there really isn't that much of a stockpile left.  I'm sure in his mind that money might better be used on something important, like his wall.
While I don't have the front cover art yet for "The Body in the Well," I did throw together something for the back cover.  They would prefer a photograph of me... good luck with that.  Anyway, if you purchase the paperback version (when it's available) this is what you'll see on the back cover.

And this is the back cover teaser.  I think it sounds a lot like the voice over for a 'B' movie trailer.

"The body of a half-naked, young woman found in the dried out well of Pope’s Pew sends Eli and Max deep into the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.  There, in the town named for the Rattler’s Den Silver Mine, they and their team join up with the local sheriff to search for a brutal killer.  There, where the sound of a rattle snake’s warning can be as soft as the whispering breeze rustling through the tall summer grass, they will delve into the world of ghost towns, and prospectors, and gunslingers as they race to solve the mystery of The Body in the Well."

Humans Caring for Humans

Well, golly gee wiz!  I thought I was scheduled off today.  Seriously!  So I bought myself a little bottle of wine (Giant sells beer and wine), and watched "The Pale Horse" (not one of Agatha's best) on Amazon, and slept in this morning.  Imagine my surprise when my phone chimed notifying me I had to be at work in a half hour.  Son of a bitch... kind of...  Guess who's getting three days off this week?  And 2 of them will be consecutive.
I understand the Idiot Jerk called in to Fox and Friends to talk to his mini-blow bro Sean Hani (something or other).  They are the only fake news network to let him play the Brag and Blame game.  Fools, they don't understand everything is recorded by numerous groups and these tapes can't be erased.  Snippets of his profound stupidity will be around for generations.  Scholars of the future will scratch their brows in amazement at how easily the network pandered to such an ignoramus.
Good news!  GM is going to mass produce ventilators by the thousands.
Bad news!  It's will take about 3 months for those thousands to start reaching the hospital.  Do not doubt, the Idiot Jerk will blame either Obama or Bill Clinton.  In fact, that is the only thing you can count on with spineless Republicans, their ability to blame someone else is, at this point, simply legendary.
I did read a bit about how Covid - 19 is is so many nursing homes and senior living facilities.  The number was rather high. That's a terrible shame.  Seniors should not have to worry or fear something like this.  What a tragedy their lives might end because of the ignorance of one single man.
On a bright note, there will be no Cracker Jack Crazy Christian Films hitting the big screens this Easter.  Oh, wait, they don't call them that, do they?  No.  They call them Inspirational Films,  How phony is that?  They totally want to disregard any message, any story that isn't tainted with their belief.  In this time of crisis, there are a lot of inspirational people out there and unfortunately for a certain religious sect they are not just Evangelical.  Nope.  Take your hats off to the Buddhists, and the Muslims, and the Hindus, and those with no religious affiliation at all who are fighting to save lives.  Isn't it good to know there are those humans out there who really only care about other humans.
And finally, Don, one of my three editing readers, returned his copy of "The Body in the Well," and he thanked me for letting him read it.  That's never happened before. He evidently liked it.  He said there are passages that are 'laugh out loud' funny.  Who ever thought my twisted mind could find humor in murder mystery set in the ghost towns of the Colorado Rockies?
Anyway, I'll let you guess which lines from this little song made it into the final manuscript.

The Putin Upstage

Wednesday!  And another day off.  Sadly, the forecast is for drizzly weather for most of the day, with temps only in the mid 40's (F).  Not a good day for lawn work.  Yesterday was sunny and mild.  My peonies are zoom zooming all over the place.  Of course, this is to be expected because it is "spring."  Both my peach and nectarine trees are filled with burgeoning blossoms.  Here's a pic of the peach tree looking towards the front yard.

And, for those who are really worried about Covid - 19, don't worry.  Evidently everything is going to go back to normal by April 7.  This is what the Idiot Jerk in the White House says.  He says this is to help the economy.  At least, that's what he's saying publicly.  Personally, I think it has more to do with his resorts... you know, the ones that are closed down?  I don't doubt he is more concerned about losing money than he is the safety of the American People.  He has no problem putting people in danger just to make a buck.
Of course, one of the most preposterous things this dimwit has done is set a timeline for when this is going to end.  For those of you who are really devout, rest assured, you'll be able to go to church on Easter Sunday.  Didn't anybody think to tell this duffer that the worst thing you can do in a pandemic is set and end date?  Just a few hours after he carved that date in stone an urgent warning was made to all those people leaving New York:  self-quarantine for 14 days.  Son of a bitch!  Still, he has to satisfy his base.  The Cracker Jack Christians desperately need to be sitting in a pew on their most holiest of days.
Raise your hands if you think Liberty University is going to turn into a Covid - 19 hot spot.  Those young people are just coming back from spring break, and they're still under the belief they're almost immune, and so they didn't self-quarantine, and....  Oh... Shit.
Legislation has been passed to help those most destitute during this crisis:  the corporations.  Oh, sure, the small guys are going to get some help, but mostly it's the big guys who are getting bailouts. As someone who work in retail home improvement, it's the little guys, the Mom and Pop contractors that are going to be hurting more.  Conservatives have never really cared for them.  Nope.  Their fascination with greed has always drawn them to the flame of corporations.  The same thing happened when they did the bailout for farmers because of the Idiot Jerk's trade wars.  Most of the buckos went to the corporate farms rather than the Mom and Pop farms.  It's a size thing, you know?  For Republicans, bigger has always been better.
I'm sure everybody saw where Putin, donning a hazmat suit and venturing into a hospital, upstaged the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  The Russians also admitted that Covid - 19 is far worse in Russia then they had led the world to believe.  Like many other European countries, they are on the verge of going into a complete lock down which will most likely last past Easter.  Our Idiot Jerk is not going to do anything as risky as that... the hazmat suit, you know?  He might dress Melanoma up in some frilly, designer suit and maybe have her stand outside a hospital, followed by a 2 month isolation period in that building he owns in New York (aka Ground Zero).
Finally, I'm considering yoga if we end up having a 3 or 4 weeks shut down.  You know, something to include in my cycling adventure.  Yesterday I had a nice ride in Gascony.  The other day I took a ride through Burgundy and got behind a grape (harvester, or picker, or what ever it's called).  Damn those things are big.

TMI

Well, today's Friday and for once this is actually the end of the week for me.  That's rare in retail.  Weekends tend to be our busiest times, especial going into spring. Tomorrow will be busy - lots of customers stopping in to buy tulips, or daffodils, or iris', for Wives, and Moms, and Grannies.  That's fine with me, I'm not working. 
My sister-in-law is doing some sort of Easter family thing tomorrow - I'm going to text her my apologies.  I'm going to my sisters on Sunday (picking up my Mom first) and that will be enough.  I need at least one day off during the weekend to get things done - chores, you know?  Things like dusting, and vacuuming, and cleaning up the yard ( I have big dogs, remember).
I did ride a bit over 10 miles this AM - about 5 miles in I had to pause for about 30 seconds to reposition... let's say there was a private pinching going on behind the spandex.
There was an interesting article on the Idiot Jerk and his staffing his administration.  The gist of the thesis was that loyalty is what he looks for, a candidate can be as inexperienced, uneducated, and incompetent as hell and none of that matters.  The only thing that counts is loyalty.  The Idiot Jerk is only interested in people who will suck the gas from his ass.
Sunday is both Easter... and April Fools Day.... just think about it.
A friend of mine sent me a funny and so I thought I'd share it with you.

The only problem I'm having with it is the big tits bit.  That is... well... way TMI about the Idiot Jerk.

Fly this plane

Well for once this is my 'hump' day.  Now, how unusual is that?  Working Monday thru Friday with the weekend off is almost unheard of in retail.  Of course next week I have split days off - something I really don't like at all.
And, of course, this is Easter weekend.  My sister's birthday is also on the 29th.  She's having some sort of Easter lunch so I'll take her a bottle of wine.  I asked what she preferred, red or white?  She said it didn't matter, no preference just as long it's not Thunderbird.
I see that the Stock Market is continuing its slow, downward spiral.  You don't hear the Idiot Jerk tweeting about how he's responsible, do you?  Don't worry, you will during mid-terms when Centrist and Liberal Democrats want to remind voters.  Isn't this what always happens to braggarts?  The truth will always bite them in the ass.
Oh, and Trey Gowdy, from the Benghazzi Hate Club recently tweeted at the Idiot Jerk, "stop complaining and start acting innocent," or something to that effect.  This is the same Trey who's not running for re-election.  Trey probably knows there was collusion at the highest levels.  I suspect he also knows the Democrats will take the majority during the mid-terms and investigations will explode all over the place.
Big Seig is out barking at a big truck.  He likes to bark at them.  Lily?  Not so much.  UGI seems to be planning on digging up the street in front of my house.  Yippee....
And I played about an hour and a half of Far Cry 5 last evening, and have just started to meet the characters.  I can't wait until I get to know Nick Rye.

Remember when video game characters actually looked animated?  You know, like those surrounding the Idiot Jerk in the White House?  Now they look like real people.  So, tell me, would you like to fly Nick's plane?

Well, it's Easter

I wasn't scheduled today which is amusing since I'm not religious.  That means this is just another day off.  My sister is having me over for dinner, but for the most part today is going to be laundry and yard work.
One of my female associates was disappointed she was scheduled to work.  I'm not really impressed with her performance.  She actually said "with all the holidays we have, I thought the store would be closed."  I have no idea what she was talking about since we're open every holiday except Thanksgiving and Christmas.  In her early 30's, she has 3 kids, 2 from a previous marriage and one from a previous boyfriend, and she let herself get pregnant again because her current boyfriend told her he want the two of them to have a baby, at least that's what she's telling people.  She calls off a lot because of her "kids."  Once this baby is born, I suspect she'll go part-time... I mean, she's already getting support payments for 3 of them, is she really going to need a full time job?
I told Steve, another of my associates, that when he was off I'd run a $7000 carpet sale for him (our carpet can be expensive), and also mentioned that one of the "twins" had been in to change the color of the carpet his brother had ordered.  Steve asked "was their mother with him?"  When I said 'yes' he shook his head and said, "she's evidently the driving financial force behind their project, and from what the brothers say is incredibly difficult to deal with."  Says a lot, don't it.

Oh, and I had to deal with a creepy old man yesterday, meaning he was in his mid-seventies and flirty; at one point he winked at me (I'm surprised you didn't all hear that my inward groan).  I said "that's nice," quite a few times and tried to pawn him off on the pregnant woman when I went to lunch.  Didn't work.  He waited, said he only wanted to work with me....  Ugh.

Well, I'm off to pull a load of laundry from the dryer, and throw another one into the washer.  Fun day.

For me, Heaven is....

It's Easter and whoopee ding.  By this, I suppose you can tell that I'm not really a big believer.  The organized, monotheistic religions have too many problems.  For centuries they've been more concerned with controlling behavior patterns then providing a guide to live your life.  They tell you what is right and what is wrong.  I find it inexplicable that Christians, who are supposed to be following the New Testament, consistently rummage through the Old Testament to find scriptures to justify their bias, their bigotry, and their hatred.  Before I bought my house I lived in an apartment.  Tom and Jennifer McGarrity lived below me. He was a nice guy.  She was a Virginia girl, born and raised a Southern Baptist - and she could quote verbatim scripture justifying slavery.  Oh, and she was sure she was going to go to heaven.  And she's not alone.  This practice is just as rampant today as has been, for centuries.
I have a problem with people who say all life is sacred.  They fight against birth control, against a woman's choice to have a child or not - every baby is a blessing from God, unless, of course, your a Muslim, or a Jew, or Buddhist, or Hindu - then there's nothing sacred about you.  See, it's about controlling behavior patterns.
Then there's the 'living for eternity" bit.  Why would anybody want eternal life - especially when no one really knows what that eternal life is going to be like?  My Mom thinks Heaven is like a big family reunion.  Personally, I think you'd have to be pretty mindless to sit through an eternal family reunion.  What would you talk about?  Of course, maybe people don't talk in Heaven, maybe they just sit there... happy... not thinking.  My friend Betsy likes to believe that we're all going to end up as shimmering beams of light... shimmering forever.
This may come as a big shock, but I don't need to live forever.  I don't need to be a shimmering beam of light, or listen to my Uncle Bobby telling me stories.  I also know that's frightening for a lot of people, to think that when their consciousness shuts down there is nothing more.  It's because we can't even begin to imagine not thinking.

When I do die, I want to be cremated - it's in my will, and everybody knows this.  They also know I'd like to have some of my ashes shot out in to space - there's a company that does this for a fee.  I want the rest of my ashes to be mixed with those of my dogs and have them scattered along the nature trail we walk in the park.  A long time ago I realized that's where I'm happiest, and so it's a fitting place for me.  I don't need eternity because I'm happy now.

Phony Christians

Here it is, a day after Good Friday (not the non-commercial Black Friday) and a day before Easter, and I thought I'd talk about Christians, or Phony Christians to be exact.  Like the government of North Carolina.  Evidently Pat McCrory, the current Republican governor is in a terribly tight race with Ray Cooper, the Democratic nominee.  So, what better way to throw some red meat to the Republican base then to pass a hate bill they love... oh, and McCrory is a Christian... or at least he claims to be.  Nah, I don't think so.  If he is, well, then that book in the Bible where Jesus talks about the positive aspects of hate, discrimination and segregation didn't make it into my copy.
And then there's Robert (aka Bobby Baby) Bentley, the 73 year old, Sunday School teaching, governor of Alabama, who divorced his wife last year... probably so he continue his somewhat perveted affair with his advisor Rebekah (don't you love that spelling?).  He's now under investigation because evidently Rebekah is the de facto governor.  Oh, and Rebekah actually works for some group called ACE, which means every time he says "Yes, Rebekah," she says, "Okay, now you can pull down your zipper."  And this guy truly believes he's a Christian.  Wrong.  He's worse then a dirty, old man.

In fact, the Republican Party is top-heavy with these... well, let's call them CINO's - you know, Christian in Name Only.  This doesn't mean that they don't go to church regularly.  It doesn't mean they don't believe... they do, but only in their version of the Bible.  They tend to skip the parts about loving your neighbor, and turning the other cheek.  They think they're special.  Like Kim Davis, who sliced and diced the King James version of the Bible to suit her beliefs... and she believes that her butcher job will let her "Live with Jesus."  Wrong.  The fact that these people don't understand that they are a bad mark for Christianity is sad.  They've turned a guide to living your life into a way to dominate others and force compliance.  They are Phony Christians.

Is the RNC happy they're only going to have a 3 day convention?

I suspect so.  Sure, both parties love national conventions, they get a lot of news coverage to stoke up their bases.  We get speech after speech after speech with a lot of music and glitz thrown in to hype up the excitement.  A lot of liberal and conservative raw meat gets thrown on the grill to sizzle, energy food to fire up those sitting at home in front of their TV sets.  There is also the hope a lot of Independents and swing voters will tune in and find themselves sway either to the left or to the right.  I'm sure there is some consternation about the Republicans now because a little thing called a hurricane has whittled their convention down from four days to three.  Still, I wouldn't be surprised if there were not a lot of party officials aren't feeling a bit relieved.  Why?  Because it gives them only three days in which they might have to deal with the issue of Romney's faith.

That is going to be an issue among Christian voters, an issue they would like to bury under a rock.  I suspect there are a lot of Christians out there who think being a Mormon is similar to being a Lutheran or a Methodist and it isn't.  Mormons don't believe in Jesus.  They don't believe in the Crucifixion, the Resurrection or the Ascension.  Talk about taking the Christ out of Christmas.  While I am not the most religious person, I know a lot of people who are and they are not too happy about having a non-believer in the White House for four years.  At some point in time this is a discussion the Republicans are going to have to deal with and they don't want it to come up during the convention.