a roach....

I killed a roach in my office this morning. Actually, I have been directed by office management (the wife) not to call it a roach...but a palmetto bug. I hear those things can fly, but ours don't. Turns out.....only poor people have roaches.... middle-class people have palmetto bugs...and rich people don't have bugs. We have rich friends in Fayetteville whose subdivision doesn't even allow bugs outside. Life is good.

This job situation.

Our hearts & prayers go out to everyone unemployed & underemployed. This is a test, not just on the checkbook, but on our core belief in ourself. One possibility that is worth looking at while you wait for that dream job to call....is self-employment. You can go it alone or partner with someone NOT like you, but someone with skills that are complimentary to yours. If you can sell, find a geeky numbers person. If you are that geeky numbers person, you better find someone who can sell something. He or she is looking for you.

A few possibilities....housepainter (in & out), housecleaner (it's hard work but pays good), yard layout,design & maintenance, fastfood delivery (I'm talking about McDonalds, KFC, all of them),caterer/party planner, pickup & delivery of tools & material for the thousands of independent roofers, siding guys and construction guys working today. Look at HireMeNow.com.

Make your lifestyle match your income...not the other way around.

One final thought. When you hit the streets everyday, decide that you will do what you say...this will set you apart. Your honesty and disposition will be tested. You have to see yourself serving Someone bigger than yourself..representing Someone bigger than yourself.

Handicapped parking....

Is there a number that regular citizens can call when we see healthy people get out of a car parked in a handicapped spot...and walk into a store with no apparent handicap ? That ain't right. It's a gutsy thing to do...but people who do this must have been raised to feel SOOOO special and entitled to whatever they can snag in life.

I didn't think of this, but I approve of it's cynical tone.

Our newest Health Care bill...was written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it...passed by a Congress who, having not read it, exempted themselves from it...will be signed by a president who also hasn't read it, and who still smokes...where funding comes from a Treasury Chief who couldn't work Turbotax...overseen by an overweight surgeon general...and financed by a country that's nearly broke. This is a no-brainer...what could possibly go wrong ?

One year anniversary

Sunday, Oct 18, is the one year anniversary of the worse day of my life. A kid in a green pickup turned in front of my wife and I on our motorcycle. I honestly don't know how or why he did it. It was like watching a movie in slow motion...with no sound...no pain...no memory of being in the air or landing in the street. I remember the ambulance ride. I pray for the people inside every ambulance when I see the lights or hear the sirens. There is some serious pain going on inside those things.

I'm very thankful to be alive...to be walking...to be working.

I haven't been able to man-up, as they say, and get back on one. Maybe I should celebrate the day by taking a short ride on somebodys motorcycle. It would make a good story.

A design idea...

This afternoon, after telling my grandson about how Captain Sully landed that airplane in a river, I remembered that one of the engines had sheared off at touchdown. That probably explains why the craft floated long enough to get everybody off the wings. Maybe they should engineer a pin in the engine mounts that can be screwed out at the touch of a button, if the pilot is fully committed to a water landing or a wheels-up landing of any kind. The first contact with the landing surface would slide the engines back in their mounting slots until free of the plane. It seems to me that a hot, heavy engine; full of spinning blades and sparks, needs to be as far away from people and fuel-heavy wings as possible.

Arkansas lottery

Who knew Arkansans were walking around with a million bucks in pocket change, just looking for something shiny ? More amazing....who knew they would belly up to the bar every day...and spend $5 mil the first five days ? Where was that money going before last week ?