Well, I have to admit it’s been a while since I’ve made a posting. But, there’s good reason. . . I had a bad case of the lazies! But when you get to be my age, who cares? The wife and I had a great Christmas with family and end of the year, with family, and a great beginning of 2013. Well, with the exception of a bad cold we caught from someone on the plane to Louisiana, it was good. We, what else, went to see family!
SMART? PHONE
I did have a monumental “life change” experience towards the end of 2012 that I don’t think I’ve mentioned. I believe that I was the last human being on earth to finally break down and get a “smart” phone. Like many other things nowadays, I did it out of desperation, not out of need. I’ve always contended that I didn’t need a new phone. My old “pull to start” model did me just fine. To me a telephone is just that, a telephone. It rings, you pick it up, you say hello, have a conversation, say goodbye and hang it up. Being retired I don’t need a calendar, or an alarm clock, or a note pad, or a word processor or a . . . well you get the .jpg.
But, if you’ve read my About the Author page, you’ll know that I only do things when I’m backed into a corner, e.g. joinging facebook. Now, I find that no one answers phone calls or returns voice mail anymore, they just text you back. I leave a voicemail for one of my kids, they text back:
Them: “Hey, what’s up?”
Me: Nothing, just wanted to say hello. Hadn’t heard from you in a while.”
Them: “Oh, doing fine just watching some tv. What about you?”
Me: Oh, nothing. I’m just being a FATHER!”
But why am I telling you this? You probably do the same thing to your parents! We deserve something better than a text repl. . . Hey, what am I doing? You’re not my kid! Where was I? Oh yes. Well, I played their silly little game for a while, but I got tired of pressing the number 3 key three times to get an “F” and so forth and decided to break into the 20th century and bite the bullet. Now when I get a text message, to reply all I have to do is press the little microphone icon and speak into the telephone like a . . . a telephone. I just don’t get it! That’s all I’m gonna say about that.
LIAR LIAR PANTS-
Let’s see, what else is going on? How about Mr. “I’ll do anything to win at any cost” Armstrong? First of all, who cares that he went on Oprah and came clean? He lied about everything, sued people who told the truth about his doping, lied to his 13-year-old son and all the other stuff. And then he has the nerve to talk about winning seven Tour de France races. He didn’t win crap! He may have placed first, he may have crossed the finish line before anyone else, but he didn’t win anything.
And this BS about “Well, everyone else was doing it!”, I just can’t buy it. My mother used to say “If everyone else jumps off the bridge are you going to jump off the bridge too?” Your mother probably knew my mother and would have the same response. If he were good enough and loved the sport enough and he were honorable enough to enter such an event and lead a team of like-minded people, he wouldn’t have needed to screw himself up on drugs and others processes. Now he goes on tv and answers Oprah’s questions honestly? Wait, isn’t that what he should have done years ago?
His appearance on tv answering those questions in an honest and forthright manner was very moving. “Nice job, Lance.” Now, however, it’s time to pay the piper and I hope his $125M is enough to satisfy all of the ensuing lawsuits that will be thrown at his sorry, bicycle seat wear weary butt! That’s all I’m gonna say about that.
UNCONFIRMED LOVE
How about Manti Te’o? What are we to think about that situation? The question being asked right now is “What’s all the fuss about?” And it is a valid question. Once again who cares about some college football player getting his heart broken by a beautiful young woman? I’m not sure, but I don’t think that he is the first young man to have that happen to him.
For heaven’s sake, how can someone have a romantic relationship without ever meeting their lover in person? If he wasn’t a part of the “hoax”, wasn’t there some sort of clue that might have tipped him off at least after the first few months of never meeting her face to face? Didn’t he see Richard Gere in the movie “The Hoax“?
I guess the biggest question from my generation is “Is this indicative of who will be contributing to our Social Security fund in the next few years?” I guess today’s prospective retirees should be worried also. Guess who is going to be supporting you if you get the chance to call it quits in the labor force??????
The other thing that this whole situation is indicative of is, if he is the typical Obama supporter, you future retirees are in more trouble than you think! That’s all I’m gonna say about that.
THE SUPER BOWL
Who cares? That’s all I’m gonna say about that.
THE SECOND AMENDMENT
In the last two years there have been at least three mass shootings by individuals which resulted in both injury and death to innocent bystanders. All were committed by assailants using legally purchased weapons and ammunition. I am not a gun nut, an avid gun collector or a member of the NRA, but I am a hunter, so I do, sort of, have a stake in the current “argument” regarding guns. I say “sort of” because I use borrowed shotguns and am a lousy shot. Just ask my hunting partners – my son-in-law and grandsons.
I don’t believe that it is an “argument” about guns and it shouldn’t be. Why? Because if the constitution allows us as private citizens to legally possess firearms and ammunition, that should be where the “argument” stops, end of story. The perpetrators of these crimes all possessed legally acquired weapons, and they all had another thing in common . . . they have all been judged mentally disturbed.
It’s not about the second amendment, though some would have you believe it is. It’s about mental health abnormalities detection and treatment in this country. We don’t sue carmakers or distilleries and breweries because drunk drivers kill and maim innocent bystanders. As well we shouldn’t. If that were the case, none of us would be able to be able to afford an automobile or adult beverages. We therefore shouldn’t go after legitimate gun manufacturers, owners and purveyors.
I love the bumper stickers that state “When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns”. How many criminals do you think, think about whether or not the crime they are committing is being done with a legally purchased weapon? What percentage of crimes do you think are committed by felons with legally purchased weapons?
Some will say “Well we have to do something, even if it’s wrong, we can’t allow this carnage to continue!” I agree. But let’s do something that’s going to address the problem, not just put a band-aid on a cancer. Trampling on the second amendment is putting a band-aid on this problem. Addressing mental health issues should be where it starts.
Are we going to eliminate gun violence in our lifetime? I don’t believe so. As long as we have the right to bear arms as guaranteed by the U.S. constitution, we will have guns and we will have violence. Outlaw guns, and you will probably put a dent in the violence. But just remember this, if criminals want guns, they will find them and they won’t be by going to the local gun shop. You think we have a problem with illegal drugs in this country today? Just take away guns from the fabric of America. You’ll wish that smuggled drugs were the only problem we have in this country. That’s all I’m gonna say about that.
AS ALWAYS
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you’ll come back soon. And, no, that’s not all I’m gonna say about that!
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PHOTO CREDIT: J. BOUDREAUX
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