The Cancellation

 We have a "shiver me timbers" cold outside, with our current temp being in the low 20s (F).  Forecasters are saying we are going to warm up into the low 40s (F) this afternoon.  They are probably going to be close to hitting the target.  We are in a warming trend that will continue for about a week, then, if they're still right, our daily highs will drop down into the mid 30s (F) for a day or two.

Yesterday, being Sunday, meant I spent a full day at the store.  I did have a decent flooring sale go through to a senior woman who's putting vinyl plank throughout her home.  She told me that her husband's been in the hospital for over 4 months; he had his foot and lower leg amputated.  I feel bad for her because I suspect he will probably not be coming home.  She's uses a cane and I asked if she ever leaves it someplace, adding that my mom used a cane and seemed to be forever forgetting it at K-Mart.  We had a decent laugh or two. I also felt bad because, even though she didn't say so, I think she's trying to fix up her house so she can sell it.  Being uprooted at her age is difficult, and unfortunately that happens to a lot of seniors.

Our store did hit its sales goal for yesterday, but not for the week.  How busy will we be for the next 3 days is anybody's guess.  Our Christmas set up was much smaller this year, and we have some serious mark-downs going on to try and eliminate our stock.

I have another full-body workout scheduled for this morning.  I ordered a smaller pull bar so I don't need to keep moving the large one around.  Legs are part of the exercise today.  I'm looking forward to working the old quads.

And one of the biggest headlines yesterday was that 60 Minutes cancelled a story that was going to make Orangie's administration look bad.

This was on top of all the flack the administration, particularly the Department of Justice was getting on their seriously flawed release of the Epstein file; the fact every word, every picture of Orangie has apparently been expunged.  And so, being the cynical person I am, the idea occurred to me that, while this 60 Minutes segment did show how terrible immigrants are being treated in the deportation process, this was also a good way to get people to stop talking about the Epstein files.  Are the 2 related?  Without a doubt.  And the problem for this administration, in fact for Conservatives in general, is that no one is buying into the authoritarianism they are trying to sell.  In fact, this administration is underwater in so many place because of Conservative policies.  And things are just going to continue to get worse for them.

This is What Greatness Looks Like

 Well, the temps climbed into the upper 80s (F) yesterday, and it was humid... (understatement).  Right now the outside temp is 73 (F) and it is humid.  In fact, that does appear to be the word of the day for Central PA. We might have spotty showers this morning, but this afternoon the temps will climb into the upper 80s (F) and it's supposed to be humid.  This is summer, after all, and for the time being, these temps are just a little higher than those we had over the 2 previous years, though it wasn't nearly as humid.

Work was slow, until I was about to leave, then customers began showing up.  Our aisle associate is on vacation, so there's only one specialist from 7 until closing, and while he's a very nice man, my loyalty to the orange home improvement retailer I work for ends at 7.  The inability to staff sufficiently is a corporate issue.  Bringing someone one in to replace the aisle associate's hours is a payroll expense.  Frequently, customers are having to make do with the fact that there are no people on the sales floor to help them.  The current HR rep was complaining, corporate only gave her 187 hours for scheduling.  That may sound like a lot of hours, but not when you're staffing a store that sells over $1 million a week.  There are going to be some serious gaps without a scheduled associate in Hardware, and Plumbing, and customers are just going to have to deal with that fact.

Of course, Joe Biden gave one the last speeches as president last night.  I watched it.  

Stepping aside is the right thing to do.  He is elderly.  There were times that I felt bad for him. but he also made me proud.  I don't think many people understand how difficult it is for an older person to come to terms with their age on public TV, and that's what Joe Biden did.  As we age, we like to keep those very personal moments private.  There are those who never accept the reality of getting old and fight it, but there comes a point when we should all sit ourselves down and admit to ourselves that we are not nearly as spry, or as fit, or smart as we used to be.  This is what greatness looks like.

And now the fun begins.  The Republicans have so many things going against them and one of them is their complete denial of reality.  Republicans live in their own jagged, little world where narrowed tunnel vision is the norm.  It's not that they refuse to see America as it really is, they simply can't, it's not within the scope of their vision.  This will be their downfall.  They will define failure for political parties for far into the future.

President's Day

 Ah, on this sunny Monday President's Day, it's going to be a short entry.  I slept in until 7 and need to be at work by 9:30.  And it is Sunny.  Not only are the days growing longer, we've only got 28 days of the winter season to work through.  

Lily had an episode last evening.  A little panting, not much, like Biggie with his Cushing's Disease.  Many senior dogs get Cushing's, unlike Biggie, most aren't diagnosed until very late in life, and after diagnosis, they can be expected to live for another 1 - 2 years.  Lily's 10 and a half.  Average lifespan for a Boxer is 11.3 years.  This morning I got her downstairs to go potty outside, and when I went into the kitchen, wouldn't you know it, but that sneaky little lady went back upstairs and got back on the bed.  It's not her heart, it's her breathing.

And, yesterday at the flooring desk, it was rather busy in the morning.  I had a small blind sale.  No measures.   But I did get a lead from the most delightful little, senior Japanese woman.  I find myself chatting more and more with seniors, probably because I'm becoming one.  Believe me, most of them like to talk, and sometimes I get the feeling that people don't talk to them enough.  Just because you're getting up there in years, doesn't mean you've lost your ability to be social.  We are all, or at least everyone that I know, social animals.  Talking is good for you soul.  Maybe that's why my books have so much dialog.  You can describe someone and their actions from here to high heaven, but it's what they say that truly reveals their character.

And, since it's President's Day, I'm posting a presidential picture.

And, since it is President's Day, I thought I'd refrain from talking about the Orange Anus... except for one thing.  He is now considered the worst president we've ever had.  You'll get no argument from me on that.

Clint speaks!!!

No, I didn't chance to hear Clint Eastwood speak during the Grand Finale of the Republican Convention, though when they announced a surprise speaker his is the name I thought of first.  Why?  Because party organizers knew he would hit a home run right into the waiting gloves of all the young Republicans watching the final nights coverage.  Actually, that's not true at all.  A lot of young people, Republican and Democrat a like, will recognize the name but will not be able to put it to a face.  Their parents are the ones who went to see "Dirty Harry," not them.  If you say to them "make my day," they look at you clueless.  If they wanted these kids to vote, the organizers should have put as many young, vibrant Republicans on that stage as possible speaking as often as they could put a microphone in their hands.  Instead, they enlisted a quiet spoken, octogenarian who evidently spoke to an empty chair.

Every Which Way But Loose

Who knows what they were thinking?  Maybe they wanted to appeal to the loyal Senior Citizen vote.  Of course, in Pennsylvania the new Voter ID law is going to keep a lot of loyal seniors from voting because at a certain age they stop driving.  This means the Republican party will save a lot of money since they will no longer need to bus Seniors from their nursing homes to their polling stations.  Of course the real reason Clint was their was because he's white, and rich, and familiar to the 50 something crowd.