Chronicles of Nana

Well, we have groused about all things political lately…perhaps we all can use a good laugh. Let’s look at our vice presidential candidates…we can use a good smile now and then…

INSERT FOOT…

Joesph Biden the democratic choice, what a guy!!  He’s my age but the stuff that falls out of his face borders on alzheimers. It is quite apparent the nuns who taught him in school missed penetrating his brain cells as far as history is concerned. I wasn’t aware Roosevelt and television helped out the depression in 1929. I am sure it was telvised sometime then…somewhere. Historical blunders happen but the several incorrect comments concerning history coming from Biden makes you wonder if he has it “all there” to be veep. Afterall he is just a step away from the presidency. Someone on the Obama campaign ought to be assigned as his keeper and in the least shove a sock into it…Getting the elite candidate Obama to corral this monkey for 4 years will be a sight to see. I am already tired of the Biden loud mouth rantings but I have discovered why he has such a big one…so he can put both his large feet into it!! So much for 35 years experience…perhaps he has hidden talents..

SMILING CLINTONS…

I am sure the Clintons must be silently rolling on the floor with laughter as they see Obama squirm by the display of intellect coming from Biden. Frankly, the pairing of Obama and Biden reminds me of an old Abbott and Costello routine. I thought speeches should be based upon facts..but then again TV commentators cannot seem to do that either. And Abbott and Costello- go look them up! Speech writers need to know their history folks!

SHOTGUN SARAH…

And then, there is the breath of fresh air that blew in from Alaska…Sarah Palin. I am more than willing to give her a benefit of a doubt..motherhood prepares one for all things in life. I think congress needs her to cut up their meat and probably call periodic time outs while the “kids” play. There’s no question that Palin plays a balancing act as mother and governor. It seems she wil fit in right with congress who have been balancing for years.. She seems to get things done.

IT’S BROKEN…

And how about that bailout fiasco..poor congress and the senate having to work the weekend. I feel so sorry for them…not! Have you really noticed how the ’system’ works? The democratic steam roller working overtime with earmarks to “Accorn”…a questionable slush fund under suspicion. There have been several other ‘add ons’ to the deal . Are we wheelin’ and dealin’ here? Politicians are bloated with their own perceived power, don’t you think? I have been more than embarrassed by their antics…

Thank goodness thousands of angry citizens are calling in to make their disgust known. I only wish we could use some pepper spray to get the governing bodies attention. The stock market is going down the crapper as the taxpayers are rewarded with major debt. I have my own debt, thank you…the government is trying to protect the taxpayer? Really….and I have a bridge to no where to sell ya!

DEBATING, ENTERTAINING?

I suppose that this weeks vice presidential debates may end up being the entertainment of a lifetime for the general public. Perhaps,we will be getting a laugh now and then as we hold tightly to our wallets, mortgages and saving accounts.

I don’t know about you but I need a good laugh right about now…Come on Sarah and Joe, give us a show!

I usually do not like to blog when I am depressed or angry…when depressed I am not a pretty picture when I fall on my sword and when I am angry I blow hard and throw things. So, I have been quiet this week as I have tried to collect my thoughts and soak in all the political crap and financial crisis stuff that have been bombarding us all…

SENSE OUT OF CHAOS…

Let’s see, we have the financial gurus lamenting that King Midas’s gold room is bare…we have the president and friends saying “the sky is falling”…we have an democratic congress who wants to add on more entitlements to a remedy that could take away our homes and savings…we have a republican candidate who from sorry experience feels he must suspend his campaign to light the fires under those who can’t get their congressional  heads out of theWashington DC kaka and we have a democratic candidate who says he’s going on with his presidential debate…perhaps alone. And then we have the vice presidential candidates..ahh, let’s just don’t go there!!

AMERICANS TAKING IT IN THE SHORTS…

Natural disasters have punched thousands of Americans in their gut..losing everything. Even the American Red Cross has to float a loan to answer the call and need. We have citizens facing layoffs at work and foreclosures on their homes. Monies have been splashed about so much that we may not get that new car, mortgage or send our kids to college…and so it goes…

Well, perhaps our grown kids should fend for themselves and be responsible for their own education…maybe we will have to settle for the option to hang on to the car a few more years…and it just maybe we will have to downsize and actually consider a budget to make ends meet.

THE EXAMPLE OF THE GREATEST GENERATION…

I am a produce of the “greatest generation.” These people grew up in the great depression and whethered all kinds of personal sacrifice during WWII. They planted gardens for sustaining foods, worked the swing shift at wartime plants and put what money they had in savings bonds. My parents stored their car and made do without it.

Can we and the current generation handle the same?  Have we indulged too much? We have become fat on twinkies and short on guts! These last several years Grandad upon discussing our national character and events has stated “that things are going to get worse.”

I don’t know about you, but I am not liking what I see now and I fear for the future being left to so many incompetent hands. That’s my pessimistic side…my optimistic side tells me that the everyday American will continue to sort these issues out and stoically push forward to turn things around. I get dismayed when common sense and decency seem to go out the window however, I still see human goodness and charity come from the average man and woman.

I would hope that level heads can make sense out of the chaos and that people can educate themselves to be able to pick up the pieces…

May Heavenly Father bless the people..

I call upon the Senator from Illinois and the Senator from Delaware to get their sorry butts back to Washington DC and fulfill their duties as senators of the United States of America!

I help pay your salaries…

A livid taxpayer

It’s no wonder the world hasn’t imploded with all the boys playing with their boy toys…many a time we have seen the male gender who rule the world blow off their big toes with blind ambition and gunpowdered manuvers. We know money is the root of all that is evil, however it stands behind nearly every power play in the game of world domination..

WHAT HAS TRANSPIRED?…

Politically we have had the “pantsuit brigade” who must wait another day and the Edward’s push that was brought down by a hefty libido.  We have the nation’s first black candidate who espouses change who has resorted to the same ole’ politics in order to get elected. And heaven forbid, we have the second vice pesidential candidate who is female who has become fair game in exploitation, personal scrutiny and male gendered bias…we have two other candidates well versed in old time politics who just watch for the moment to strike and yell their retorts…what a pretty picture..the visions of America overseas just boggle my mind.

WHERE’S THE SUPER GLUE?…

Government is broken, the housing business is broken, banks are failing and the prices for every commodity have ski-rocketed. The stock market is crashing on a weekly basis and costomer service has gone down the crapper. Credit is tight, mortgages are hard to obtain and a decent potty for a woman is hard to find at airports…

TIGHTENING THE BELT…

In the meantime, we are forced to have one entree-course meals at home, pulling cable out of the house and forgoing the luxury of an occasional movie in order to pay the bills. Nobody is cutting the American consumer a break nowadays. Grandad’s favorite remark has become “and the hits just keep coming.”

I know to simplify our lives is a good thing, however I would like it to be my idea…To sit helplessly watching government point patisan fingers at each other is pathetic. To witness hearings to get a handle on what has gone wrong solves nothing. The bombast dims the  ability to hear. It just shows governing by committee does not work…it doesn’t work well in business either.

CAN’T MEANS WON’T…

Frankly , what now exists are various governing bodies who can’t talk to each other, who can’t solve or make their way out of a paper bag…can’t usually means won’t!  We have a speaker of the house who turns off the lights in order to promote her book rather than address an energy crisis. We have a congress inadequate to shoot straight with each other, let alone with their at home constituants. All these “servants of the people” lie ultimate blame at the feet of the president.

I”m sorry, but I am no great champion of our current president especially his hands- bound reactions to our nation’s troubles lately. Granted he has had his hands full with unforeseen natural disasters.Then again, the president is usually to be blamed for it all.. but when he is not given the support from those in our governing bodies what else can we expect?

Haven’t you ever wondered what it takes to gather an administration?… how many people?…what it costs? What it takes to down size? Are they competent? Can they write a understandable sentence and speak english? Who writes those horrid tax forms anyway?

Hey, we are being asked to tighten our financial belts.. make major sacifices for the future common good. That’s well and good. The American public usually meets the demand and the need.

But don’t you think the the nation’s capital and white house could use a major cleaning and overhaul?

Just bring that broom and windex to the voting booth this November…

That road runs both ways…

                                            Birthday wishes to…

                      TWO SEPTEMBER BABIES WHO MARRIED MY SONS

                            MAY IT BE MEANINGFUL AND WONDERFUL

                                  LOVE TO YOU,

                                  NANA

I hadn’t been back to New York since my birth…Had never seen the Big Apple. S0..when Grandad gave me the opportunity to accompany him there for a business conference I jumped at the chance. This was many years ago, so we brought in a relative to play nanny to the children and off we went…

A NATION BUILT ON OLD ROCKS….

My first impression was that absolutely everything looks older in the east…and rightly so- da! Big historical stuff happened there. The cradle of the nation and all that. The rocks are old, the houses are old and antiquated industry leaves old soot all over the place. It is expensive…there are toll roads everywhere in the east. I doubt we could afford a stay in the city these days…

EXCITING…

Now…don’t get me wrong NYC is an exciting place…ethnic communities immeshed with crazy cabbies, horn blowing truck drivers and stretch limos. The skyscrapers and famous monuments coupled with what is found in Washington DC truly captures the history of an “American Nation.” The smells, sounds and sites stand alone…

POLITICAL BIAS…

Having said that…my point is that concerning politics the east coast mentality has for a very long time operated and run the federal government. I remember sitting in a stamp size hotel room and listening to the local and “so call” national news reports. I found myself thinking that the only news of any report happens in the east. Couple that with the rude attitudes of the city population and I really thought nothing mattered or happens beyond the Mississippi River!

To put it as I see it, there is indeed an eastern bias…The media had it then and it is ablaze now especially during the current election period. I have heard that McCain is a western cowboy  and Palin is a backwoods gun toting female maverick who is abandoning her family. Obama is a highly educationed scholar from eastern  “the”ivy league schools. Biden lives in Delaware…so what?

PANIC POLITICS…

Never have I heard of an election stress religion as has been racked over the coals than during the primary and candidate nominations. Never have I seen soo much $oney being spent on the technical “spin” that is bombarding the general public. Never have I seem the media be directed by non-objective motivations to weaken or change public opinion. We live in a generation that lives beyond the edge…of decency, common respect and truthfulness…

A WESTERN SURGE…

Perhaps it is time that western newcomers be elected and introduced to old Washington politics. Perhaps alittle western mix would be a good thing in the same ole. Perhaps politics as usual in Washington should get there crusty heads out of the ole rocks and smell the fresh air, attitudes and original solutions from those in the west who can and have cleared their heads in the wide open spaces and beautiful clear skies. Let’s face it, Washington DC is polluted!

Get real Washington…there are great ideas and solutions out there from the western “cowpersons” and their solutions just might not match yours…they might be better…

Cut us a break!

Well…the current week from hell has passed, just waiting for the other shoe to drop. We have survived a baby’s burial and a brutal siege of lay-offs at work. Nasty stuff to say the least. It is time to move on…

BACK TO THE CANE…

I have determined to wean myself off the walker and practice walking with the cane. For almost 3 months I have not been able to go upstairs and it is high time I get back to work. All the full-time workers in my house have had to do their own laundry and maintain cleanilness upstairs. Although I can readily get used to that I am begining to feel guilty and non-productive.

Besides I think of the skeleton crew at Grandad’s work and the challenges they have ahead of themselves after downsizing. Spreading the work load of 5 riffed employees is A major task…more power to them!

PUSHING FORWARD…

So, we push forward. Our daughter, who works with grandad, has received a major communications award and will be presented with it at a conference in Washington DC this coming week. Consequently, she has been asked to speak at another conference in Sun Valley immediately following the previous conclave. We are hoping this honor may open a few more doors for valuable networking…Lucky for her son also…He will accompany her for a weekend in DC running all over to see the sites and museums.

The rest of the family will meet her in Sun Valley and spend the weekend there. We are hoping the fall colors are ablaze and brillant. Getting away for a few days has become very important especially for Grandad and me. I am looking forward to it.

THE MAGIC OF THE KINGDOM…

We have a birthday person in October and she has requested a Disneyland blitz…so we will fly away to the Magic Kingdom. Hense, the need for me to be again acquainted with the cane. Next I must get a new pair of shoes because I cannot get into the ones I wore before I broke my leg…go figure!

HEALTHY OUTLOOK…

I go back for xrays and consuLtation with the orthopedist in October. Hopefully my second fall will not show up there. This fall was likewise stupid, I got in a fight with the walker as I tried to get out of the car. Stupid I know…we have a guy at church who suffered through the same injury last year. However, he was swimming with the whales and got too close to a mother and her calf. She came down with a whap of her heavy tail and broke his leg. My story just is not as exotic…

I am in desperate need of an energy transfusion but I am determined to make lemonade out of all the lemons I have had to suck lately.

And I am hoping my favorite time of year-FALL means only crisp morning and colorful leaves only…

Enjoy the season…

                                                               HAPPY BIRTHDAY SON

                                                              HOPE IT IS WONDERFUL

                                                              I REMEMBER MANY MOONS AGO…

                                                              HUGS, MOM

We had no sooner returned home from putting our great greatdaughter to rest, feeling the pain from a life lost who never would know the joys that can be had on this earth…that great trauma was felt at Grandad’s place of work….

HARD TIMES…

Grandad works in the HR department and was witness to a company down sizing yesterday . It was brutal, painful and exhausting. I do not pretend to understanding the ways of business but I simply sat down and cried. I have been weeping ever since because during the last 10 years we have felt the sting of employee lay-offs personally a number of times…been there and done that.

NOT KNOWING THE FUTURE…

The last time this had happened to us ushered in severals years of uncertainty. Being older, Grandad knew that finding a valued job would be close to impossible. We spent 7 years without health insurance..one major health issue and we could have ruined our entire family financially. I was going through my own personal hell…being diabetic and having to spend so much for medications.

We felt more than fortunate Grandad found his current employment…it was a gift. So, we know the sting of rejection and the prospects of an uncertain future. I feel for every family involved. It is apparent that many companies are having to down size..you hear about it everyday.

BUSINESS TODAY…

We are told business is business…nothing personal. Somehow that does not soften the blow and hurt. Bankers come in and consider the botton line which is money.   In our case, HR took nearly a 50 percent cut. Those that are left are expected to pick up the pieces and assimilate these lost jobs into what they already have to do. So it is painful for all touched by the decisions made.

It is easy to see that times are tough. Perhaps the down sizing is not over yet.

I guess we all have to live with that nowadays…

we mourn the loss of

Jimmy B. and Elizabeth Hope

Until we meet beyond the veil with hugs and kisses

save a seat on the bus for me!

Nana