Chronicles of Nana

Grandad is attending his siblings family reunion in July. We had hoped most of the western states families could attend but the lose of jobs, health and money have played the predominate role in the decisions to send a few family representatives instead this year…

FAMILY REUNIONS…

These types of gatherings tend to be the typical reunions where the extended families gather for good food, remembering Mom and Dad and commenting on how much the kids have grown and how bald, fat and aged everyone appears. These gatherings usually last 3-5 days which is just enough time to talk out the past and renew committments of the future.

The old dudes find some shade somewhere or take over the TV to watch the latest sports game. Women in the kitchen or camper putting together a feast that would rival the best picnic anywhere. Children, anxious to outdo their cousins, run freely to win the games being played and new babies oblivious to their surroundings sleep peacefully among the noise…

HOT, SIZZLING SUMMER…

Regardless where a reunion is held it is hot!! And the bugs, mosquitoes and fireflies always come out at night to test the patiences of everyone, except the kids who are still running about in circles. Evenings also bring out the fireside family stories, mulling over genealogies and photographs.

CURRENT PROJECT…

One of the requests this year has been that each family prepare a visual update of sorts of the own family. This project was just up our youngest daughter’s alley. She has produced many…Today she previewed her DVD with me…

Now…I know it has been nearly 50 years since Grandad and I started this gang. But, conprehending the magnitude and size of a growing family is sometimes not realized until one sees it before their own eyes. This was a production that just depicted the current status in pictures of our immediate family. I was blown away….and I cried…

THE GANG…

Where has the time gone…all the mountains we have had to climb, all the heartaches that we still are carrying with us on a daily basis, and all those birthdays and Christmas presents we have had to purchase!

I remember so clearly when Grandad and I first married saying “Geez, the year 2000..so far away; we will be old then.” In reality the year 2000 was just around the corner and now that we are at 2009…”He’s looking like an old goat and I a fluffy cute Nana.” 

THERE IS BEAUTY ALL AROUND…

My point is…I have a beautiful family. All very good people who have had hard times, made mistakes and are still finding those bumps in the road. As I watch their smiling faces, especially those of my grandchildren and great grandkids I must admit their parents nurtured the lovely spirits that live within. They are doing a noteworthy job and I am pleased with their work and sacrifices…

Laughter is the hallmark of so many fine qualities…in darker times we tend to lose our smile and laugh. Being able to laugh even at the most inopportune, maybe inappropriate times, can become the window to a bedrock character that can withstand most anything…

I am a lucky Nana….

There will be many words spoken concerning the deaths of popular celebrities this week. Even though deaths do not necessarily come in threes, it sure seems so…no one is totally prepared for death especially those who must live on who carry the heartache of a lost loved one…

HERE’S JOHNNY…

Ed McMahan’s life flickered out after a long life lived among the rich and famous. A side-kick who road on the coat tails of Johnny Carson, he had known a taste of life that was elaborate, privileged and decadent. He appeared to have grounded himself and it was not until the end that he suffered financial restraints and ill health…

CHARLEY’S ANGELS….

Farrah Faucett was a golden haired Hollywood starlet who made her place in the sun with a TV series that catapulted her into the limelight. Her famous hairstyle and sparkling smile set many a young man’s heart a flutter and many a young girl to duplicate. She had a son and long relationship with another star/celebrity that perhaps lasted long after most Hollywood relationships fade. She, however, will be best remembered by her courageous battle with cancer, her willingness to publically live her struggles with illness and her devotions to her loved ones…

ICONIC ENTERTAINER…

Michael Jackson set the world on fire. He rose from near poverty to become a super human figure that influenced the world through entertainment. His music was original and compelling. His dance became iconic and one of a kind. I doubt there are few in this world who do not know his name…

Propelled into the limelight as a young child he never knew what normal could be. Banded together with his brothers he became the lead singer to the Jackson Five. As his fame and fortune grew he became known for bizaar behaviors and secluded tormented episodes that would color his short life. The old saying Money can’t buy happiness” is true enough. He traveled the world trying to purchase that inter peace and personal contentment. It just wasn’t in his DNA. Mired in ill health and drugs his light flickered out as his body no longer had the stamina to carry on. So, he died way before his time…

As the others may one day be forgotten…Michael Jackson will remain in the memory of most who grew up in his era. His talents and music will be talked about for decades to come. As wide spread that his persona has been displayed I would venture to say no one came to know the man. He had many who gathered about him who struggle with his mounting financial affairs, lawyers who controlled his legal rights and eccentric escapades and relationships, and perhaps he could count on one hand his real true friends. Perhaps his ego had no room for them…

Media will talk to death the many rumors that will swirl around for days. In death his life will be picked apart and analyized to the tenth degree. It is hoped that in death he will at last silence the demons that lived within.

They say power, fame and wealth corrupts like a cancer erroding the very breathe out of you…it would appear that Ed and Farrah may have found a lasting place to rest with some sort of satisfied finality..

One is left to wonder if Michael Jackson ever will….

RIP….

Who does not like Christmas?… even the biggest grinch has got to have a hidden inside smile when the holidays arrive, especially Christmas. It is magical just like Disneyland…

I have spoken fondly of my remembered Christmas’s of my youth. Grandad and I were raised to celebrate this season and when we married Christmas became of special significance to us. Our first Christmas together happened in our little 2 room rental motel unit with a roaster oven and lots of presents that cost less than one dollar each…

HOLIDAY MAGIC…

As the children came there came with them more meaning of a spiritual nature. More gratitude for traditions and values that brought peace, music and happiness into our home. Old fashioned Christmas was a yearly dream we worked hard to create. Even though we lived in California where rain was the closest snow we ever had…Christmas did arrive and bring great laughter and joy.

OH, CHRISTMAS TREE…

We have yet to purchase an artificial tree. We traveled to the mountains and cut our trees down at a tree farm. It was an all day activity…rain or shine. I always packed a lunch and extra plastic garage bags to use as rain coats when needed. We tried tree farms in the Napa wine country and up into the foot hills of the Sierra Nevadas. For years this was our tradition. Then drought hit the tree farms so we settled for local tree lots for a few years. I remember tying our tree to the top of the van and losing it on the freeway on the way home. Never have I seen a family hustle so fast as to retrieve that tree!!

The tree is the centerpiece of our decorating. We all were very particular about it’s variety and shape. The smell of a real pine tree is heaven to the nose…Upon each of the many trees we have found has been placed some treasured ornaments. Some ornaments being over 75 years old now. In recent years we have shopped Ebay for the old reflectors for the larger light bulbs. So along with the old tattered reflectors, we now have the new old reflectors that bring demension and added brightness to it’s beauty. It is different from most trees decorated today but…we value the pure sweet memories it has brought to us…

CHRISTMAS SPIRIT…

We, of course, have purchased new decorations for the house but the tree remains our focal point. We have been known to go over board in purchases for Christmas. Bright packages wrapped with love under a sparkling tree brings delight to the smallest child…no matter how old! Even with the glitz we remember the reason for the season. The Lord always has a place set at our table…

A CAREER EXPANDS….

For a small period of time, Grandad worked from home. He was assigned to create training programs for his company and having a graphic artist (me) at his disposal he spent most of his time at home as we worked to establish a unique training system .

However, there came the day he was asked to move back to the east bay to establish a permanent department for training at the general office in Walnut Creek. So, we took upon us the task of building a new home. Normally we would not reccommend it but Grandad has a skilled uncle who is a fabulous builder so we went head into making plans…

I won’t elaborate the fun and mis-adventures of building the house. But, I have heard many times since that if your marriage can handle building a new house..it can handle just about everything else. I agree…!! We eventually moved in and on with our lives…

30 YEARS WITH ONE COMPANY…

We spent 25 years living…the crowded freeways, the troubles with assimulating the kids into new schools and the office politics we never thought we would have to face. So many ups and down…so much turmoil and pain. Life is truly filled with peeks and valleys. Times were changing. Grandad started with visions of making a difference in his chosen career only to be constantly challenged by controlling executives.

Grandad has always been a people person. He worked hard to establish a means to make the work of main line employees easier and more efficient. He walked his talk and for many of the 30 years he work for his company that was so. However, there came a day when the tide turned…

Family owned companies one day have decisions to make that can break or make a company. We were living in an era of big conglomerates taking over small to mid sized organizations. The top executives turned a blind eye to their employees for the greed of the all mighty dollar. Most of these people left with golden parachutes and millions in their pockets. Grandad was becoming disillusioned and I was afraid he would one day die of a heart attack.

MAJOR DECISIONS…

In the mean time our oldest daughter was back home with us after the birth of her son and a nasty divorce. She was in need of a change and she feared her young son would be unsafe in the current public schools. After a few years with him in a private Baptist school we decided for the sake of everyone we should move. We gave it two years to happened with careful planning. Unbeknowst to us Grandad would soon be forced retired and we left California with many fond memories and no regrets…

MOVING FORWARD….

We came to the cross roads of the west…and it took several years and some very bad experiences and sorrow for us to finally settle in a foreclosed home on south mountain. It is here where I sit upon my perch to the world and watch the storms gather in the skies and see it’s sweeping arm encompass the valley below. It is here where I have watched my grandson grow up into a college guy with a Mini Cooper and Ipod in his pocket. I have watched him thrive by being graduated from a private school where he has found lasting friendships in his peers and teachers…

Although I was born in New York and have always been known as a California girl, I can honestly say I feel I have come home. Most of my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren live close at hand. I can see them occasionally with little effort. I am a lucky Nana…

I will not close Nana’s Wish List because I am sure there will be more chapters as memory serves…

As the world shadow encompasses us I wish more than anything that there be happy, lasting memories for children everywhere. Memories and dreams have there place…

And the world could best remember a better time…!

I have been remembering the old days of my youth wishing my grandchildren someday may realize that old can be good. Waltzing down memory Lane bring flashes of sorrow of days gone by that will never be again but with that come sweet and some bittersweet memories as well. I sincerely hope the kids of today will have their own sweet memories of their past too…

GRANDAD IN HIS GLORY…

Grandad and I met through a journalism and english class we were taking. He was a tall, skinny kid with a progessively deep voice. He was always connected with music, even then. Whatever high school musical that would come..he would be in it. By today’s standard Grandad would be a nerd. He went through his roll n’ roll stage that lasted about 4 months. He was always turned on by classical music. When the musical movies became popular he enjoyed the music in them and would collect record albums.

I remember listening on radio to Elvis when he just became popular. I ended up collecting all of his 45″s records. I had quite a early collection that would be worth a bit of money now. I am thinking the wicked witch of the east throw them away…but that’s another story.

MOM MEETS GRANDAD….

My mother was always a room mother while I was in grade school. She was kind and gentle. When I started dating Grandad she would leave the porch light on for me. Periodically Grandad and I would “suck face” while out in the driveway. I could always tell when she was getting antsy when the porch light would flash on and off repeatedly…

Mom was a baseball freak. She loved the Yankees being a New York girl. She would go to many a game and was at Lou Gerhrig’s last speech and game before he died. She also liked speed racing. Every Memorial Day she would listen to the Indy car races on radio, mainly because her only brother raced cars as well…

fAMILY DAYS….

My most memorable days with my parents were Saturdays. My dad would putter in the yard or be building something. He made me the coolest tether ball station. I recall a birthday party I had and he saw to it the laundry tub in the garage was filled to the brim with ice and bottled cokes and the barbeque fired up for burgers. He built my mom her clothes line out beyond the pump house. He built the pump house over the pump station for water for the house. It housed his tools, a large freezer and shelves full of all matter of fruits and vegetables my mom had canned for the season. He was always fixing something.

Mom enjoyed her backyard. She had a picket white fence around the house. It was there, close to the house, where she planted her beloved Iris, sweet peas and calla lillies. She absolutely loved the orange fruit tree she planted in the front yard. I especially enjoyed her miniature rose bushes. Big bushes but filled with tiny little rose buds that didn’t bloom larger than an inch in size.

The years were not kind to mom and she had demons to burn within. She passed away at the age of 49. I look back at the trauma of her passing and can remember the sting it left in my heart. It just did not dawn on me that she would so soon pass out of my life. Her funeral was tolerable, perhaps lovely to some…beautiful flowers, gracious friends and neighbors but for me I had lost my best friend. When I was married and moved across town, in just a phone call I could tell whether she was having a good day or bad. I regret not asking more questions concerning her past…it didn’t seem that important then, but now…..

Hindsight is a great teacher…and I suppose that is why so many old folks like me keep journals of some sort. Perhaps the words of Grandad and Nana may someday ring true. But, if nothing else it will tell of a time our grandkids will never know.

BECOMING OLD MARRIED COUPLE…

Our married life together started when we were still teenagers. By the time we were at voting age (21 in those day) we had nearly all our children. Grandad and I bought a small post war home for less than 11 thousand dollars. Grandad went back to college at UC Berkeley during the peacenik days of the 60’s. Many a day he would walk over students knee deep into sit-ins and demonstrations. Cal is consider the “Harvard of the West.” But he went there because it was the closest university to where we lived and among the cheapest in the state. With a growing family those things had to be considered. To support us Grandad took on a custodian job at our old high school. Many a night we would take the kids and clean erasers, empty garbage and mop the floors. Classes were know to be hard at Cal….so much so that he had to sing a sob story to one of his professors that he was a struggling father trying to get through to support his family…he passed the class with a D- and was happy to have it!!

I tried going back to college but pregnancies got in the way. Seems my education would be given to me by my children…and as an only child myself I had to learn fast!!

CHEAP FAMILY TRIPS….

 When Grandad finally started his retail career we made it a habit to get away with the kids now and then. In those days gas was really cheap so jumping into the family station wagon was an exciting way to see the sights. We traveled all over California….spent nights up at Tahoe, camping by the Lake. Summers we would head for Utah. Utah is Grandad’s home state so we would revisit family and old haunts of his past. We especially liked all the National Parks that could be seen in such a short period of time there. During these summer we would always make time for Fishlake…

AAHHH…FISHLAKE…

I was first introduced to Fishlake by Grandad’s Uncle. He was a country gentleman who knew just where to drop a line into the water. Since that time we have gone back with our children who have some lasting memories. It was there our kids learned how to kill and gut a fish. It was there they learned that their mom could cuss a blue streak if you crossed her line. And it was there where they roller skated in the grand lobby of the lodge and suffer the mosquito bites from the night before. It was there where one of our son’s caught the “abino” fish that would never die. He even flopped around in the skillet while being cooked. Do you think anyone ate that fish?…..not on your life!!!

It was on one of these trips that the wind blew Grandad’s cowboy fishing hat off into the Grand Canyon and he went over the rail after it. And it was there I had a near heart attack! We have camped under the stars at Verde Mesa among the old indian ruins. Where all the stars shine so bright it is like day. We have made camp in the parking lot of a shopping center in Page, Arizona having coasted down the hill out of gas. It was late at night and no gas stations opened. We spent a sleepless night huddled in the wagon as the bats sang above our heads. There was the time we pitch the tent in Farmington, New Mexico thinking we would have the park to ourselves when deep into the night we heard strange and loud noices. Thinking it was a bear in our food we peered out to see a sea of late arriving campers all around us. And It was on these trips that I would find petrified pickles and hamburgers stuck to the sleeping bags when we arrived home!!

MOVING AND A FAMILY SURPRISE…

As Grandad’s career advanced, it required us to move. We had a hassle in selling our post war home. Bringing it up to code and adding a carport was expensive. We had to borrow money to meet our living costs. Grandad, being Grandad, was sent to the boonies out into the central valley of California. Lodi, known for it’s grapes and mellow wines, became our home for several years. It all ended up being a blessing in disguise. We were truly off on our own and it was here we became a real family. The kids were growing older, could be trusted to bike all over town without harm and it was here our family was cemented with our last child being born.

1967 was not a good year for me. I lost my mom and I had a life threatening pregnancy that nearly killed me. It was then I was told that the possibility of my getting pregnant again was not going to happen. So when we moved to Lodi we all were under the impression that it would be a time of growing up for us all.

Grandad knew I was pregnant again before I did. Once it was made official we told the kids. I suppose the most moving remark that was made was by our daughter who was nine at the time. She said it had better be a girl or she was leaving town…she did that once already! The pressure was on… but on a sweet December morning our second daughter was born. The children anxiously waited her birth and by the time she came home in a christmas stocking everyone already felt that christmas had come….and yours truly beathed a sign of relief!!

Jingle bells are coming and to be continued…

HO-HO-HO…………..

I have been known and teased grossly for my habit of making lists…It started years ago when I realized I was totally out numbered by children and my mind could not think fast enough to keep up with them…

LISTS GALORE…

So I made all sorts of lists…shopping list, groceries lists, hubby-to-do lists and lists for all sorts of things I am sure you can imagine. As I have gotten older, even with the kids all grown, I am still making lists. Has it just become a nasty habit..? Have I gotten so old now I really need to write things down…?

SENIOR LISTS….

The differences between yester-years lists and today’s is that they have become shorter and more urgent. As I have aged I have noticed that making list empowers me to feel like I am still somewhat in charge and useful. My limitations have become such that I must rely upon my family to bail me out on a lot of things. The big difference is that I have raised children who are a lot more easy going than I, whose standards aren’t made of perfection which at times drives me crazy…..but that discussion is for another time.

A NEW LIFE…

Our grown #4 child and wife presented us with a new grandson recently. I took the phone call and delighted to hear the wonderful news and that all was well. Ironically, our Church family was putting to rest a child who sadly passed away and was buried the same day. So, once again I experienced the “sunrise-sunset” part of life. As one grows older the extemes tend to tug at the heart and draw a flood of tears….

A POSITIVE LOOK…

So, it all lends pause to thinking about a new life…it is more manageable, at times like this, to go for the positives in life. I have been thinking about ALL my grandchildren and how much I would like to totally control their lives….oh, not make every decision but be available to put up warning signs that can bring sorrow and pain…or just to be present for a warm, understanding heart and hugs. Hugs are so under rated these days…

My grandchildren run the gambit from 20 something to newborn. Yet, for each one I fear that life stings might leave lasting wounds. We all know how much the world has changed and the future may not give the opportunities to let the spirit soar…

A NEED TO LOOK AT THE PAST…

So much technology and moral laziness has seeped into our daily lives that I wish I could bring back the old days when life seemed innocent and bright with opportunities. I never thought that I would hearken back to my youth and consider those years as “innocent or memorable.”

But the new generations will not know much of the past. They seem so intent in pushing towards the future. As a 60 something I have passed through a life they will never know…so sad.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS…GOOD STUFF…

I remember…living in a podunk town with less that 5,000 people. There was one elementary school and a combined middle high school. I was walked a half mile to the bus stop and traveled through town to that school. Girls did not wear pants or shorts to school. We were always in skirts and dresses. When in high school the coolest things were Pendleton skirts, angora sweaters and white buck shoes. Pony tails, crinoline slips, poodle skirts and sack lunches on the quad were all the rave. A sack lunch consisted of a hamburger, chips and a hugh cookie topped off with cold milk all at the cost of 25 cents. At mid break time it was a large maple bar with a carton of milk…yum!

Friday nights were always fun, even innocent. There were sport games to attend or a dance at the high school gym. Kids were more interested in the old car they just purchased or showing off their new block D sweater they had just earned. My first real car was a ‘58 Chevy white and teal Biscayne…it was more than cool. And yes, I had the white dice dangling from the mirror!!

GUYS….

I was not much as date bait but I had a few. My first real date was to a dance at the Sportsman’s Lodge. It was just a regular dance with current records (45’s) that blared loudly. At date’s end I received a peck on the cheek…

My first real boyfriend was a nice guy who was all hands. You would never want to go to the Drive In with him…really. Drive-ins, now a passing fancy, but in those days considered the cheapest date around. Outdoor movies with a play yard for the little kids, snack bar and staticy speakers that fit unto the window pane.

MORE FOOD THAT TASTED GREAT…

There were Drive-Ins for food as well….really good stuff. The best drive-in around was Hoky’s…the best burgers, fries and shakes. We had a local creamery that seemed to attract all the popular kids as a gathering place for the high school elite. After I met Grandad I would always go to Dairy Belle and get a chili sauced burger, fries and apple pie and drop them off to him when he worked for the Oakland Tribune…

Shakey’s was the best pizza pie place. Grandad and I spent many hours watching them make pizzas and plugging the jukebox with quarters. We would have years going on a pizza run after we were married. When we moved to Lodi we found 3 legendary places to eat. Pizza Garden became our eatery of choice. It was reasonably priced which was great while raising kids but it made it’s own unique style of pizza. Local german sausage, Bruno’s peppers and secret sauce and loads of a variety of cheeses. I can still taste that first bit…

The second place to eat was a local Deli. Howard’s catered to the high school crowd and made the best homemade everything!! Their potato salad riveled mine and the french dipped beef sandwiches were to die for…no skimping and juicy. The best bakery was a draw between two in town. One made the best sandwiches on a homemade roll. The other baked to perfection the old world german delicacies so familiar to the local towns people. The German Chocolate ring and almond coffee rings stand out as our family’s favorites…

Geez…this is sounding more like a menu than waltzing down memory lane. Let’s call this Part One…more later…

I’m hungry…..

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PROUD PARENTS OF

CARSON WENDELL WESTOVER

BORN JUNE 19, 2009 12:10PM

9 LBS.   21″

WELCOME TO THE WORLD DEAR GRANDSON!!!

                                             

Did I hear that once again a US Senator has bit the dust with having an affair..? Yes, the “honorable” John Ensign from Nevada had a clandestine relationship with someone other than his wife……old, old story same old lack of self discipline…. Lately these so called relationships are being confessed to like putting notches on a gun. Forgive the graphic discription…

FOLLOWING THE URGE…

Sexual play times have been in the limelight a lot lately. What puzzles me is the stupidity these men and women exhibit when they themselves are already in the spotlight as government officials. What with the advancement of informational technology remaining a loyal, monogamous spouse would be wise and prudent. Truth and scandals, strange bedfellows indeed, always seem to come out eventually…

Some people are lucky and are long forgotten when an indiscretion is made public. The friendly romps of our forefathers have become legend for some. It seems intertwining sex and government makes no never mind. Moral fiber has become old fashioned. People cater to their urges and desires. Does not this spill over into the work a day world..? Can the mind rationalize and easily bend to demean morality and better judgment…?

I mean if a man or woman cannot be true to their spouse, what’s to keep them from making askewed judgments concerning governing our country..? Once keeping a playmate in the back pocket, what else can be compromised..? I can think of a long list that might qualify…Washington is hypocrisy in action…

WRONG IS WRONG…

Ego, power and libido seem to drive most poor slobs into oblivion, if not dIvorce. I understand government official public confessions are a way to lessen media scrutity and exposure. In other words, get it out there before being publically exposed with the pants down. So admitting to a romp in the hay has become the in thing to do nowadays…

Benignly the public blindly let these episodes pass, along with those lining their pockets with taxpayer monies. We have cheats in Washington…that list is becoming longer!

If one cheats on their spouse, then how willing are they to honestly handle the workings of our nation…?

It’s a sad day to confess of such liasons…and it is sad day that our government is in the hands of cheats of all kinds….

Power corrupts….

Geez..why can’r they just tie a knot in it!!

Shocking but not surprising news out of Washington…ABC television network is giving up expensive and valuable air time to allow President Obama to espound upon his Health care proposal for the people of America. Recently, he met with the doctors and leaders of AMA ( American Medical Association) to preface this coming nation wide purge. He seemed to be received with opened arms…but….

A MAJOR EXPENSE TO START ALL OVER…

The health care program is an ambitious plan to insure that all the nation’s citizen are covered by some sort of health care. As with what has already happened with most of the current administration’s programs…I simply ask where is the plan and the specifics..?

The money aspects are mind boggling…who holds the keys to Fort Knox anyway? The US treasury is printing more money than there is gold to back it up. “Charge it” has come to Washington DC. And these credit cards are mounting up trillions in debt that have been sold as bonds to China…our friend..? America has sold its soul to foreign interests…

FREE AIR TIME..$$$PROGRAMS..

But, this is old news…what is newsworthy is the mainstream media sources and television networks who are bending over backwards to accomodate the Obama agenda. Having a television network donate free prime time to allow the President to “informerialize” his health plan is new and puzzlingly awkward. ..

Even more alarming is the decision NOT to let opposing views to this plan to be aired. Now this is news…Not to allow opposing views seems somewhat unamerican to me. I find it shocking and offensive. I have seem with this administration programs initiated without the full support of the voting public. I have seen bias, manipulation and blatant disregard for the individual freedoms we have all been given. There has been a “hurry up before they fully know” attitude in Washington. The White House and Congress seem to have caught this nasty bug!

TELLING LIKE IT IS…

I know that there are those who say this is such a little thing compared to the major problems we now face…

But revolutions are started with the mounting little things. After decades of evolving “the American way” why can’t we work within the system that has been already created…?

Why can’t we sweep out the waste, streamline the efficiency and mold a winning formula that would enhance what already exists. It is not impossible…There are knowledgeble professionals available who can weed out the government garden. When Obama ran saying the government was broken I was not aware he meant disbanding the whole system…

It reminds me of California…instead to renovating old communities California just plows them under and starts anew.

Look where California is today….it’s not working folks!!!

I feel a counter rant coming on and I supose it best be said on my blog than in person where I can get yelled down and possibly hurt….

LETTERMAN IS OBSENE…

I am incensed by the display of bloated ego and male chauvinistic rants from David Letterman concerning Sarah Palin and her family. The election is over and frankly I am tired of the same old news being revisited now that the dems control everything. It’s not only beating a dead horse but casts long shadows of what it will be like in four years at election time again.

WOMAN IN A ‘MAN’S WORLD’…

I get it, the democrats are in control of Washington D.C. and they aren’t about to lose the traction they have gained by the miracle guy Obama. But, Sarah Palin has been the blunt of every joke and smearing comments since the past election. It was hard enough to take during the campaign…so give it up already!

GETTING BACK TO BUSINESS…

As a female governor it would behoove talk show hosts to show alittle more respect. She has proven to be a woman of considerable clout destined to continue to draw crowds and supporters. But the constant bashing is indicative of a competition afraid to meet on an equal footing.

That being said…what disgusts me more is the intrusion into the sanctity of her family life, particularly with her children. Children of politicans should be off limits…after all it was not they who chose to be in the public spotlight.

Letterman and his program writers knew very well how tasteless his remarks and joke would be and all decided her to be worthy of a laugh. I have trouble with a man who, himself, ;knocked up” his girl friend and did not marry her until five years later. I have trouble with any man who is so sexually oriented to feel he has the right to freely express his sexual fantasies, or whatever, at the expense of another human being…particularly female. 

SAME OLD TUNE…

Women have carried this burden for centuries…and some men seem to think it is a right of gender to show their ignorance and blatant vugarity towards women. This is testosterone run amuck! And I, for one, resent it…

David Letterman not only should apologize to the Palin family and females everywhere but also donate a substancial amount of money to a worthy female cause.

He is the poster child of what women should run away from..

May Viagra not work for him!!!

I have remained silent concerning the political waves and changes transpiring within our country. I have done so to give some needed time to the current regeme in Washington D.C. to settle in and form a strategy. I am concerned about a few things…

LET ME COUNT THE WAYS…

Bopping into the White House is a new democratic guard who seems to be gun hoe to initiate change now…like I mean yesterday! Why is it the American nature is to “ready, fire, aim…?”

With every new “reform” comes the urgent need to get it done. The stimulus dumped us all into a financial abyss that will indebt our children and grandchildren for decades. Coming from this has been the “sudden” demise of nearly all the car industries, housing mortgage firms, banks and state governments until we are left wondering how we got to this mess….could be the new bills passed should have been thoroughly read first…duh!

MOVE FAST AND BAILOUT….

So the power chiefs in Washington feel the only way out is to “bail the way out” for all these mega companies and state leaders who have their hands out for more taxpayers cash. Washington has become the sugar daddy to the nation’s incompetents. What ever happened to individual responsiblity and accountability..? Congress has become bloated with self importance and has long forgotten the voting public…

So now we have the stimulus slowly in playwith no immediate miraculous results, mortgage companies are lending to just a select regulated few and the states are cutting measures within their states that could be opening pandora’s box to an ever ending slide into oppression and distruction.

CONSEQUENCES….

The President, since taking office, has been on national television more than any other president that I can remember…almost daily. This is perhaps, his only transparency and visibility. He uses support group audiences at his town meetings where he is surrounded by thunderous and accepting applause. Does this obviously staged event affect the attitudes of the general public..? You bet it does…it becomes a free televised “attitude adjustment session.” It is as if he has become the attractive front man to a new government  organized to brashly push through an unknown agenda.

THE WASHINGTON ZOO IS OPEN….

I am not concerned his support group (Pelosi, Dodd, Frank. Geitner and Holder and many others)know how they come across to the average joe. I am thinking the average joe could and would do a better job. We elected these people and it would do us well to stay in touch with the current workings in our nation’s capitol. I know that politics seem to be the sum total of resurrected stuff from our past… but the new order is not making strides in convincing me that they are much different either.

Regardless…we are stuck with the situation as it is now. The American public is reeling in disbelief with the startling changes being made. I personally find it distasteful that men and women who have served so long as public officals can continue to plunder for their best interests. Yet they still function without any sanction or accountability.

I have heard that there are many in public office in Washington who have the attitude that the general citizen is not concerned with the daily workings of their government. That the average citizen is mindless and must be lead and told what to do and how to do it…perhaps we have been too trusting. Perhaps we have assumed honesty and integrity still mean something that holds honor and committment. Perhaps those times are gone…and public scrutiny is needed in the confusing shell games being played.

Judging by what I read with our tax return forms, forms and forms the confusion has imminated from Washington D.C. inself…

Let’s face it Barney Frank and his cronies are cartoons with way too much power!!