A Plague of Locusts

 It's 42 (F) outside.  The early morning skies are somewhat overcast.  If the weather forecasters are correct, they will give way to partial sunshine and the temps will zoom up into the high 70s (F).  That would make for a really nice day, how sad that I have to work. 

Luckily I'll be sitting at the flooring desk, rather than outside loading mulch in people's cars.  And yes, mulch season has arrived.  That time of year when customers line up to buy bags of (mostly) organic material to spread around their flower beds in order to gain optimal curb appeal.  I can only remember using it one time, and that time it ended up getting spread far beyond the the flower beds by squirrels who can never remember just where it they've buried their nuts.

And for those of you who don't know, there is a plague of locusts coming our way... well, that's not precisely correct.  This summer, two groups of cicadas are going to be hatching.  From what they're saying, they being those who know about cicadas, the numbers will be in the billions.  Two different brood groups will be making their appearance at the same time.  There will, literally, be a plague of locusts.  This summer is going to be special... but not for everybody.  When I first heard about this insect event, I thought it was going to be all over since we have locusts here in Central PA.  Wrong.  It seems that most of this pseudo-religious event will be happening in none other than the Red conservatives states.  I honestly had to laugh when I saw which states are going to be effected the most.

And barely an hour goes by with out the Orange Anus  spitting out something vile on his Truth Social account.  Everybody does know what Truth Social is, don't they?  That Trump owned Social Media platform that went public, so people could invest in Donald?  Of course, it's failing because everything Trump touches dies.  Truth Social was supposed to earn him billions.  (Can you hear me laughing?)  The stock was way overpriced, initially at $70 a share, though the bottom fell out fairly fast and it's now trading at around $29 a share.  Ouch.  A lot of cultists are losing money.  Good.  Everything about this man is a lie.  The "Art of the Deal," was a lie.  Truth Social is anything but true.  The cultists will never understand.  For that to happen they would have to not only think, but reason as well.

Trump was Sent to Destroy them

 Will Sunday be a slow day?  Even though the sun is shining, and the temps are to climb into the high 60s (F)?  Well, if today is like yesterday, my money is saying "sloooooow," especially at the flooring desk.  The garden department was hopping.  Trucks, cars, and SUVs were lined up at we call the mulch pit, a driveway between too long walls of palletized mulch.   Drivers show garden associates their paid receipts and the associates load up their vehicles.  If you're into a paid workout, apply for that position now.

Here's a bit about one our new associates.  I was talking to a strapping, young man (mid-20s), fully bearded and looking like he's waiting to pose for Fearsome's page, who was hired to be one of the above-mentioned garden associates.  When I asked him how it was going, he said, "well, it's hard work and the customers can be really demanding, but this is just an in-between job."  He seemed like a nice guy, but I suspect he will always be working 'in-between' jobs until he decides it's too much work to apply for another one.

As the editing continues on The Body in Repose, work is still continuing on Eli and Max's next chapter, The Body Under Ice.  Listening to the radio, I'm always trying to pick apart the lyrics of the song that's playing and wondering if they might be useful.  Here's one that has joined the list of contenders for the next book.

And here is an interesting poll.  While Americans are still worried about the economy, Biden's poll numbers have begun to improve.  Republicans still hate him, but then Republicans hate everyone who doesn't kiss the ass of Donald Trump.  More importantly, this poll indicates a sudden increase in Democrats who are concerned about the mid-terms.  I don't doubt for an instant this is because of what we are seeing in Florida, and in Texas, and every other state where Republicans are in power.  For years, we've heard talk about what Republicans would do if they came into full power, in those states, Americans are seeing their dark side.  The attack on Disney?  That was the turning point.  The moment the Cracker Jack Crazies posted that large 'pedophile' sign at the entrance to Disney World they party of Trump stepped in shit.  And then there was Abbott shutting down the border in Texas to inspect every single truck.  Americans looked at that and said, "What The Fuck!"   And Republicans aren't stopping, they're shrieking away on Fox News, and Democratic voters and Independent voters are stepping back and saying "Holy Shit!" And in a little over a month, the January 6 committee is going to begin televised hearings during Prime Time.  Republicans are going to learn, Trump wasn't sent to lead them, he was sent to Destroy Them.

Primary This

 A happy Saturday to everyone out there!

I am scheduled to work today, and tomorrow, and Monday.  Full eight-hour shifts, too.  The temps are forecast to hit the high 60s (F) today, so I sure our garden department will be busy.  This is the season of mulch.  We sell tons of it... literally.  I don't use it, possibly because my mom, using what I believe was an attempt at a French accent, always referred to it as 'mulsh.'  She did the same thing with charcoal, so when we grilled, we grilled with 'sharcoal.'

Weather wise, today is predicted to be nice.  Tomorrow?  Rain is supposed to come to town. 

I picked up Biggie's prescription for gabapentin and there was a price increase: 2 cents a capsule.  Everything goes up in cost, the income stays the same. 

One of the things I am truly grateful for is owning my home.  I have friends who are in the upper 60's who rent and are not going into semi-retirement because they will need to be paying rent for the rest of their lives.  I don't think renters ever realize that rent payment is never going to go away until it's too late for them to buy.  

And, of course, Primary season is approaching, taht wonderful time when voters decide who is going to run in the fall midterms.  In Pennsylvania, we have 2 out-of-staters vying to replace that loser, Pat Toomey.  Who will garner the nomination?  The Cracker Jack Crazy Thompson?  Or the Trump backed wonderful wizard of Oz?  Oh... wait, I'm wrong, it's Mehmet Oz.  The wizard wants nothing to do with this.

And if you think the Pennsylvania primary interesting, you'll simply love the North Carolina primary in which Madison Crawford is running to keep a failed political career alive.  I understand there is a video with Crawford's male scheduler groping Madison's crotch.  No, I haven't seen it, not that I think it matters.  While I would love to see him notch up the nomination for what would be a sure win for Democrats in November, I'm fairly certain he has racked up enough irreparable damage to lose.  Of course, we are talking about North Carolina republicans here, so at this point anything goes.

The Sooner the Better

The weather seems to be turning... warmer.  We had another 'freeze warning' for last night, however I don't believe the temperature got any lower than 34 (F), which is still cold for the middle of April.  Today's supposed to nice and sunny which means the store will be busy, especially the Garden department - Tis the season for mulching.  People buy mulch by the truckload.  We actually schedule people to work in what we call the 'mulch pit' for one hour shifts at a time.  Loading bags of mulch is back breaking work.
I had planned on riding 10 miles this AM... however I woke up around 0400 and couldn't get back to sleep.  Then, around 0615, when I was ready to get on the bike, I felt very tired... at the same time I got an update on the laptop.  So, I thought I'd lay down for 15 minutes until the update was finished and... I woke up 45 minutes later.  End result:  no ride this AM.  Maybe tomorrow.
I didn't hear from World Cup and Ski about my shoes which means they probably won't get to the store until Monday.  This means I might not get them and the new pedals until Tuesday.  If it's any later I'll have to wait until my next day off.  That's fine.  The weather has finally started to improve and I can't wait to take the new bike out on the road.

The sooner the better

And what about Michael Cohen?  The question of his turning no longer seems to have an validity.  Rather most people are now wondering just when that will happen.  As for his loyalty to the Idiot Jerk in the White House?  As with most everyone else surrounding the Idiot Jerk, that seems to be a purchased commodity.  Time is not on Cohen's side, and he knows this.  If he has one smidgen of intelligence, he'll flip faster than a two bit whore offered a ten dollar tip.  And he knows where all of the bodies are buried.  Sure, there will some attempts to delay the inevitable, but they will fail.  The longer he waits to turn, the worse it will be.  The sooner the better.