Bobcats

News reports tonight say bobcats are roaming around north Arlington. Several pets have been killed or injured. I'm interested in recruiting the bobcats to my neighborhood. I'll even give them a nice place to stay. They can spend time in my attic. I'll promise food delivery, in the form of roof rats, and safe passage to open country after the rats are gone.

I've written quite alot tonight, but none of it is ready for inclusion on the blog. Lots of odd fiction, some in serious need of rewrites, other in need of explanation.

Maybe more this weekend. I'm hoping for energy tomorrow morning to walk to Starbucks again. I really need energy to do it weekdays...every weekday. Or, even better, I could get a bike and ride to Dunn Bros., which is about 9 miles from here. Better than Starbucks, but looks like a dead wringer...same Wi-Fi, same plush seating, same design...only the colors are different.

I watched, for the 3rd or 4th time, a show called, I think, '3 Wishes.' As the name implies, it's a tear-jerker. Three families are granted wishes...sounds bogus, right? I cannot believe how poignant it is! Every time I have seen it, I have had tears in my eyes. It pisses me off! I hate being such a weenie. 'I don't know much about macho-ness, but I hate to cry--it gives me such big distress...'

These shows really do annoy me...some timesl, I think they are bogus bullshit, others I feel such empathy for the people they help. I would rather just do it myself, without the TV coverage. I need a bit more money to do that, though.

End of an Error

I want to get a bumper sticker for my car...one like I saw on another car recently. It read "January 20, 2009: End of An Error." That day, of course, is to be the day the next President of the United States is sworn into office. It could happen earlier, if George Bush doesn't survive that long.

The sticker won't be placed on my truck...I no longer own a truck. Today, I delivered the title to Pick and Pull, an auto salvage yard. They, in turn, went to pick up the truck; the proceeds of the sale of the truck or its parts will benefit some charity...don't recall which one. It's the only one that was willing to take a car to which I do not personally have title, but for which I had the Louisiana title in my possession. The charity is, I think, a Jewish charity based in New Jersey...they claim they use the money to help kids. They will, at some point, send me documentation of the value that I can then write off on my tax return. And so, today was the 'end of an error' of mine, too. I can't be blamed for the first one; I actively campaigned against George Bush...I suggested he be used as feed for chemically-dependent buzzards.

I have lots of new ideas. Things I can do to improve my business, my life, my house, and things I can do to enjoy life more, work less, have my wife work less, and generally be happier. I'll write about them when I get around to putting them to use. Tonight, I will drink wine, eat stuffed tilapia, watch mind-numbing television, listen to music (maybe), and hope the rats in my attic die soon.

People Who Care or Don't

Today I had my meeting...people who I asked to offer advice and counsel to me on making my business move ahead the way it should...what I should do to make it better.

I got some good advice. Some not so good. Some of them cared. Some didnt't. The hard part is figuring out who does and who doesn't.

I'm tired. I will sort it out tomorrow. After I deal with the truck...either I get it out of the lot, or they will have it towed and I will have to pay the towing fee, plus impound fee. Bastards. No one wants to give someone a break. I hope to have the ability to make all of them pay for their callousness. A lead pipe, a dark alley, alot of blood. Maybe I am getting too wierd. Gotta stop...don't want to act on it...just wish someone would.

Smart Is a Matter of Perspective

A 52-year-old geezer should be able to figure out how to unload a vehicle, without going into a panic in the process. Should. That's the operative word. Reality smacks back with earthy laughter, sharp comments, and stinging criticisms.

I bought a truck without checking it out. I believed the guy I bought it from, a guy who lives just a few streets away, who said it was in great shape. He was selling it for his son-in-law, so he didn't have a reason why it didn't have a Texas inspection sticker or license plates..."I guess he just didn't want to go to the trouble; he lives in a small town in Louisiana and there's no market there, that's why he asked me to sell it for him."

If life is, in any respect, fair, I will actually witness the bastard's demise as someone breaks an axe handle over his head. But I am the one who was realy, truly, remarkably stupid.

Back to the issue...I have been unable to even give the truck away. Junk yards don't want it...won't take it. The garage to which I had it shipped via tow truck wants it gone. They won't take it, either.

If I'm lucky, the organization I spoke to today will, in fact, tow it away from the garage where the dead truck sits today, and give me a receipt indicating I gave the ttuck to a nonprofit association. If they don't pick it up, god knows what I will do. Pay the garage for looking it over and having it towed...and then have it towed to my home.

Today, there were ballots cast in Texas. Later on, we'll probably get proof that Texas is an ultra-conservative state. One of the items on the ballot is a constitutional ban on gay marriage...or anything resembling gay marriage. I am certain it will easily pass; Texans seem to believe the state has every right to dictate what is the 'right' relationship between two people and what is the 'wrong' relationship. My opinion is that it's none of the state's business. Were it in my power, I would revoke the state's right of control over relationships. I'm not in control.

No Post Tonight...Probably

I'm not ready to write tonight. I wanted to write this morning, but got up too late...had to get to work. Maybe later...maybe another day.

What I Did Yesterday and This Morning...Nothing More Interesting to Write About

This morning, I awoke earlier than I do on weekdays, just as I did yesterday. I tend to wake up early on weekends; I guess I don't want to miss any of my free time when I am not chained to my desk. So, as I did yesterday, I went for a walk. I headed south this time. I went east yesterday. Today's walk was much longer, probably 2-3 miles, maybe longer.

I walked to a different Starbucks today, expecting to buy a large coffee and read a copy of the New York Times. They had copies, but none available for casual coffee drinkers to borrow...I would have had to buy a copy and then either lug the monster home with me or read just a tiny fraction and leave the expensive paper behind. I'm inclined not to throw money away, except on worthless vehicles, so I opted not to buy a copy. I settled for a 'venti' black coffee, my usual. Despite the fast-paced walk on concrete this morning, my knees did not revolt like they did yesterday.

Yesterday afternoon, my wife and I went shopping for a new camera for work. I need a decent digital camera so I can take pictures at client events. I was planning on buying a Canon SD 450 Digital Elf, but ended up buying a Nikkon Coolpix S1, which is a tad cheaper and which has features I like, such as optical zoom, versus a mechanical zoom. Earlier in the day, I ordered a new pair of frames and lenses...I hope to be able to read books again in about a week! The shopping center in which the camera store is located is in a very, very expensive part of Dallas; it's where people who really do have lots of money (versus those who only look like it...but have lots of debt) spend time. I don't fit in there...but even the rich like Starbucks coffee, so I zipped in to the Starbucks in the center and bought a large iced coffee while the salesman at the camera store was pulling my camera gear together. My wife had an iced tea and lemonade, which wasn't half bad, though a tad sweet for my taste.

After picking up the camera, we stopped at another shopping center and wandered around, window shopping. We went to the Orvis store in the center, hoping to find a shirt similar to one my wife bought for me recently; it's similar to a collar-less cotton sweater, but has four buttons in front, just under the neckline...there's probably a name for the style, but I have no idea what it is. No luck there, but I did see some interesting hats and discovered that I could take a one-day shooting course for only $450 if I so desired. A 2-day fishing course would only cost me $295.

One of four restaurants of a local chain, Taco Diner, is located in the shopping center. The place has wonderful food and we decided to have an early appetizer (we were there about 5 pm). We each ordered a margarita on the rocks and we shared an order of their appetizer sampler, which included wonderful nachos al pastor, flautas, mushroom quesadillas, guacamole, and sour cream. We left the sour cream, but the rest of the plate was empty when we got up to leave. By the time we left, my knees were torturing me. Spending a long time standing and a long time strolling through shoppping centers seems to be rougher on my knees than a long, brisk walk.

On the way home, we stopped at a video store and rented Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. If you haven't seen it, don't bother. The book doesn't translate well to the big screen, in my opinion.

Enough of this 'day-in-the-life' diatribe. More later, when my creative juices are bubbling.

More Random Thoughts from a Burnt-Out Geezer

This morning, the world doesn't look quite so bleak to me as it did last night. Nothing changed, other than I've had a good night's sleep, took a walk this morning to a retail area about a mile away, and bought a very large cup of coffee from Starbucks. The walk probably cleared my head more than the coffee, about half of which still remains in the 'venti' cup sitting beside my computer. I'll make my way through it, though.

I listened last night to PBS as Jimmy Carter spoke of his latest book, Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis. I've never been much of a devotee of Carter, but I have appreciated his efforts with Habitat for Humanity and his foundation's battle against worldwide poverty. Both of those activities came after his presidency, which I think was weak. He tried to be a 'man of the people,' but his efforts to shed the trappings of power seemed staged; he just could not convey his message in a way that captured the imagination of the American people or the world at large.

Something Carter said last night caught my attention. He said "I wish I knew then (during his presidency) what I know now about world poverty." He then spoke about how utterly insufficient the United States' contributions to efforts to eradicate poverty are. I believe he said the USA contributes something like $0.16 per every $100 of GNP to the third world, which apparently is a fraction of what other developed countries contribute. It was clearly his contention that, if the USA would spend its once-considerable resources on helping the rest of the world break the bonds of poverty, the USA would not be viewed with such violent animosity by so much of the world. I wonder if it takes ALL presidents 25 years post-presidency, touring the poorest nations of the world, to come to that startling revelation. Despite my misgivings about how long it took for Carter to come to that realization, he did say some things that all Americans need to hear. He suggested that the Bush doctrine of preemptive war was unprecedented and irrational and puts the US at far greater risk than did a prospective attack by Iraq. He suggested that Americans were mislead by the Bush administration when Bush was lying to us about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. About 49% of the American people knew that...and voted accordingly in 2004; now, many of the other 51% have come to that realization, though far too late.

This world needs a nation that provides leadership by example. I'd like to see an American administration come to power and take the following steps:

• Admit that the United States made a horrible, tragic mistake in invading Iraq, but commit to seeing the transition to a new government through until the Iraqis can take care of their own security.
  
• Immediately shift the strategy in Iraq away from a purely military one to an approach that engages all legitimate groups.
  
• Divert a large portion of military expenditures in Iraq to civilian infrastructure restoration and training Iraqi personnel to maintain and secure the infrastructure.
  
• Undertake a massive effort to identify, develop, and make available alternative sources of energy; this effort should rival in size and financial commitment all previous national priorities and it should be made clear by the administration that it is the highest priority.
  
• In coordination with the alternative energy priority, undertake a similar effort to identify, develop, and make available alternatives to petroleum products for use in plastics, carpet, fabrics, and all other products that rely heavily on petroleum derivatives.
  
• Announce a policy position that acknowledges the primary role of every nation to behave in a way consistent with serving the interests of the world's population rather than behaving exlusively to serve its own selfish interests.
  
• Realign the budget priorities of the country so that the United States' contributions to international development in impoverished countries is at least equal to the highest levels of other countries in the developed world.
  
• Assert that the internal policies of the United States will be directed toward enabling every American to have access to employment that will enable him or her to raise a family of four at a level above the poverty line.
  
• Become a party to the Kyoto accord.

There's more, but I'm tired of writing.

Today, I go select frames for my new glasses. I'll get plastic ones this time...a bolder look, my wife tells me. It's hard to care about a bolder look, but I'll try.