A Familiar Feeling

I watched the vote in the House yesterday and I watched the stock market go from bad to worse, to a little better than worse, to awful. I don’t know about you, but I think my emotions were somewhat akin to those I felt on September 11, 2001.

Of course no one died, but the anxiety of not knowing what is coming next and not knowing how our lives may be about to change, left me with the same unease and the same feeling of being totally out of control of my life and my future. It was back then, and is yet again today, a time of insecurity for all of us. No one knows what will happen next and I doubt anyone thinks whatever happens will be good anytime soon.

November the 4th can’t come soon enough for me!

The bucket is full again, but what about the leak?

I see our current economic situation as a filled ten gallon bucket. For the past couple of years we have watched as local economies gradually leaked jobs, businesses and homes due to a hole in the bottom of that bucket.

Recently, someone in DC happened to look into the bucket and noticed that the level in the bucket was down from about ten gallons, to about two gallons. In a panic to bring the bucket’s level back to ten gallons, they quickly tried to financially replenish the eight gallons without bothering to locate or fix the hole in the bottom of the bucket.

So now the bucket is full again, but what we have already lost is still gone. Unless they mend the hole, the losses will continue. What will adding seven hundred billion dollars into the economy do for people who have already lost their homes and businesses? Their credit is already ruined, so what are they to do?

You have to stop the leaking from the bottom is you want to keep a steady level at the top.

What I overheard this week at the Pop homestead

I heard Pop tell Mr. Pop that she thinks McCain and Palin are too incompetent to even empty my litter box. Ouch, those two must be pretty bad. If I had thumbs, heck, I could do that chore myself.

I also heard that McCain might not show up to debate Senator Obama tonight. What’s the matter? Is the maverick war hero afraid? I thought war heroes were brave tough people. Maybe I was wrong.

Well, gather up your catnip, popcorn and beverages and let’s see what happens tonight.

Have a grand weekend and do something that makes you smile.

Sincerely,
Fred the Cat (the cat who loves you guys!)

Happy Birthday to My Sweetheart!

Today is the birthday of one of the most wonderful men I have ever met and the most loving man ever in my life. He is kind, understanding and most of all he can always make me laugh. His tender heart is always available for any animal in need of help or any person who needs an extra hand. I’m telling you, he’s the best!

I love you, Mr. Pop
Happy Birthday!

Running around topless

You may have noticed my site looked a little different the early part of yesterday. It was running topless. That’s because my little three martini banner was gone. Where did it go? I have no idea. It was there early yesterday morning and later, it just disappeared. Then around noon, it came up again.

To everyone who offered their help to this clueless Morning Martini writer, thank you. I’m still just as clueless but at least now my site isn’t running around topless anymore. Thank goodness John Ashcroft didn’t see what was going on, he would have put a drape over the whole site.

Sunday Visitor

Sunday afternoon we looked out our kitchen window to see this little opossum looking back at us from the Areca Palm that’s just outside our privacy fence. (top photo) Now I guess now we should call it our semi-privacy fence. He was working his way to the fruit on the palm. (bottom photo) So we had a Sunday visitor who came for dinner.

Thank goodness for the entertainment of nature. These days with all the mental strife and uncertainty, were it not for nature, I’m fairly sure I would lose my mind.

You and I have something in common with John McCain

The government is taking your money and mine to buy up all those risky mortgages. Do you realize what that means? It means that now, just like John McCain, we don’t know how many homes we own either.

Remember over the years we have talked about george bush failing at everything he tried and his dad or his dad’s friends always bailed him out of his poor business decisions. We have even wondered who would save his ass after the debacle he has created these past eight years. Well now we know the answer to that question. Your money and mine has been summoned to do just that.

Three words from me, Fred the Cat

Hey one and all! This feline has just three important words for you today.

Sweet! Sweeter! Sweetest
(click on 'em to see 'em)

Have a great weekend and take some time for fun.

Sincerely,
Fred the Cat (The cat who loves you guys)

Well, this is a pisser!

We have been devout recyclers for years, even before we had curbside pickup by the city. We put our papers in the green bin and our bottles and aluminum cans in the blue bin. We keep the bins in the garage and put them out curbside on Wednesday mornings. We’ve been doing it faithfully for years. The price of the recycling pickup is incorporated into our trash bill.

Yesterday morning our bins were out by the road waiting to be emptied whenever the recycling truck arrived. I just happened to be looking out the window when a guy in a dark blue pickup truck drove up, got out and emptied the contents of our blue bin in the back of his pickup truck. I’m thinking, WTF? He proceeded to take the cans from every neighbor’s recycle bin on my block.

I called the recycling place to see if the guy in the blue truck could do what he did legally. The lady there told me that he can. Then she told me to check with the local police dept. The police dept. affirmed what she said. Seems once the bins are curbside (where they have to be for the regular pick up) anything in them is public property and free to anyone who wants it.

Okay, here’s my problem. Even though the guy who took the recyclables will probably sell them and hopefully they really will be recycled, why the hell should I put them out there for his benefit? I would rather the city receive the benefits and use that money for the betterment of the city itself.

Let me also explain that the blue truck was not some junker truck, it looked to be brand new. This wasn’t some poor soul who needs money to feed his family or something. This was an opportunist of the highest degree.

So now I’m in a quandary. I want to recycle my bottles and cans, but I sure as hell don’t want to go to the trouble of washing out cans and bottles and putting them out in a neat little bin so that some jerk can drive up, take them and make some extra money on the side. Sadly we no longer have places where you can take your recyclables and deposit them.

My argument is, these bins are provided to us by the company that picks up the recyclables and I believe anything contained in these bins would be the sole property of that company. I understand that when I place items in my garbage can and place it curbside, I am relinquishing all possession of these items to the garbage dump or to anyone who wishes to delve into the cans, but I do not believe this applies to the recyclable items in the bins.

The Joey Knuckles of Today

In the old days when loan sharks loaned money to you and you defaulted on the loan, they sent Joey Knuckles out with a ball bat to break your kneecaps. If Joey was caught, he went to jail.

The Joey Knuckles have for the most part been replaced today by a group called the Foreclosure Folks. Today when a mortgage company gets you a mortgage you can’t repay, the Foreclosure Folks kneecap you in a new less physical way, they simply take your house away. But when these Foreclosure Folks get caught, they aren’t punished the way Joey was, today they are rewarded with a government bailout to cover their losses.

My how things have changed!

A Pause for the Taste Buds

Yes, I know that the economy is tanking. I know the nightmare it is to even think about McCain being the next president, and god help us if Palin ever sets foot in the oval office. A whole lot of the news just totally and completely sucks.

But here’s the good news. This is the time of year when you can get Brach’s candy corn and Halloween Oreo cookies. I can set aside all the ugliness in the world for just a moment to pop some candy corn pieces in my mouth or munch on a couple of Oreo cookies with the orange cream inside.

So here’s a bag of candy corn (no other brand but Brach’s will do) And here’s a package of Halloween Oreos. Help yourself. Just for a minute, relax and let your taste buds enjoy some fun. A tall cold glass of milk is available upon request. You didn’t think I would forget that, did ya?

While you are munching on sweets and guzzling milk, try this for fun. If Sarah Palin had named me, she would have named me Bretta Hockey Palin. Check it out and see what she would have named you.

A Moment in My Time

When we arrived on Captiva, the last few rain bands of Hurricane Ike were still hanging around. It was windy and at times rainy. No day at the beach.

By Thursday morning the rain had stopped but the breeziness remained. It was another, not a good hair day, day. After Mr. Pop left for his meetings, I pinned up my hair and walked down to the beach.

I was surprised to see over six foot waves breaking on the beach. It isn’t often you see waves that size on the western coast of Florida. The sky was still dark gray and heavy with clouds.

There were shore birds everywhere you looked, from the beach to out over the open water. I guess the waves had stirred up all sorts of tasty morsels for them because they called and dived and ate to their hearts content.

I looked north on the beach and did not see a single human being, same to the south. I sat down on the sand and just looked and listened. The only sounds I heard were the waves crashing on the sand and all those many birds calling. For that moment, I felt sincerely serene. I don’t believe I have ever felt that sense of serenity more in my whole life. No humans to see and nothing to hear but the sounds of nature. It was a moment I will never forget. I could have taken pictures, but I didn’t want that moment to last as a photo, I wanted it to always remain with me as a memory. My memory of that moment in my time.

After the hurricane, then what?

We’re home safe and sound. I’ll tell you more about that Monday.

Today I want to wish everyone in Ike’s path, safety and patience. Many of those folks are living in a new and horrible situation.

When you live in an area blasted by a hurricane, there are so many problems you never hear about on tv. There are the problems of getting the repairs you need. Everyone is looking for help for the same or similar repairs. Usually the phones are out for some time, so calling repair places can’t be done. When you can finally call, the companies’ voice mail boxes are full. You call and call and become more frustrated with each call.

Meanwhile, the people who own and run those local repair companies, have their own problems and damages to deal with at their own homes and or offices. They too are calling for repairs of the kind they themselves cannot do.

Yes, coming through a hurricane alive and uninjured is the most important thing, but then comes a time of frustration, depression and despair. Life goes on, but it doesn’t happen without a whole lot of diligence, determination and patience.

Bummer and Bonus

Bummer for Mr. Pop. He has to go to Captiva Island on the west coast of Florida to sit through three days of meetings. He’s leaving today and will return Saturday.

Bonus for me because I get to go too. While he’s at his meeting, I will be holding court with the shore birds and seashells down on the beach, reading and basically turning into some sort of vegetable. I hope to god, or whatever, that I do not hear one word about politics the whole time I am away. I am weary of the pundits bickering and pontificating. They don’t know any more than you or I do, but that doesn’t stop them from believing that they do.

So, I’ll wrap this up, close my suitcase and get ready for a few days of doing absolutely nothing, unless I want to. That’s what all life should be about if you ask me.

If you throw a party here while I’m away, please clean up all the beer cans, empty bottles and any underwear anyone should leave laying around.

Be sweet and I’ll see you either Saturday or next Monday.

One More Obama Fan

Friday night, as we often do, we went out for a very casual dinner. Because I was in a very casual mood, I decided to wear my Obama sweatshirt and my new jeans. (Yep, I finally found some jeans that are small enough in the waist and long enough at the inseam.) When were seated and our waitress arrived, the first thing she said to me was, “I love your sweatshirt”.

This young lady looked to be in her early twenties and was as sweet as can be. I told that she too could have a sweatshirt just like it, to which she replied she already had several shirts she had purchased from the Obama site.

I asked her was she going to vote for Senator Obama. I said, Will you actually go out and vote in November? She said, “Nothing can stop me. I registered to vote for the first time just so I could vote for him. She said all her friends are supporting Senator Obama. She was sincerely excited about all this.

So no matter what the pundits say or have said about young people turning out to vote in the past, I think this year just might be a whole lot different. I think they are paying attention and fearful of what four years of a McCain administration might mean for them. Who could blame them?

Fred the Cat, Bites Back at Sarah

Being a cat myself I know something about being catty. Ms Palin you are no cat and being catty is not becoming to you.

I also know that making snide sarcastic personal attacks will not be beneficial to the person who holds the office of vice president of the United States.

When you spoke of Senator Obama and said, “What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet?” Did you think you were being clever? If you did, you weren’t.

American people are looking for more than a person with a handful of snippy remarks. America has had one heartless snide vice president for the past eight years. Having another one would not be a change.

Sure you have experience, who doesn’t? The question is, if you have so much experience that would come to your aid in the white house, why isn’t that enough? Are you slinging mud to distract from the knowledge and experience that you are lacking? I think you are!

Have a great weekend and help us wish Hurricane Ike away.

Sincerely,
Fred the Cat (The cat who loves you guys!)

All Things Sarah

As usual I crashed before Palin’s speech last night so I’ll have to catch it on C-span today.

Did you watch her last night? What did you think?

A Soap Opera

You have to admit with all the characters in the Palin family it has everything for the making of a soap opera. The in-laws are feuding. Palin herself is some macho, moose hunting, hockey mom who according to Fred Thompson, can field dress a moose once she’s brought it to the end of its life. We have the newest character, Levi. It’s just too good to be left alone. So let’s give this a try. Got any good ideas for the title of this, you just can’t make this stuff up, soap?

A Mother’s Decision

As far as I know, no blogger brought Sarah Palin’s name to the public, national or international stage. Ms Palin made that decision when she accepted Senator McCain’s invitation to join him on the Republican ticket.

When she made that decision she brought her family and her history with her. It was also her decision to announce that her daughter was unwed and pregnant. She put it out there for all to see. I have to wonder, did she consult with her daughter before she did this? Did the daughter want this to happen? The young lady is 17 years old and five months along in her pregnancy. If she and the father of the baby are going to be married, why didn’t they get married before this announcement. Had they done that, this would not be talked about anywhere today. Was Ms Palin so eager to get on the ticket that she decided to expose her own daughter?

I agree with Senator Obama that no one should go after family members. However the first person to bring the Palin’s daughter’s condition to the public was her mother. Her mother, it appears, made the decision and was willing to ignore her daughter’s privacy in order to further her own opportunities.

I have to wonder the character of a man or woman who would make a decision like that.

Stormin’ John and Sarah

Hurricane Gustav did not live up to expectations. That’s a good thing! Perhaps having Ms Palin down in Mississippi last week scared some of the strength out of the mighty storm. After all she is a member of the NRA and she knows how to shoot and kill animals, plus as a kicker, she champions saving embryos. So taking on a hurricane should be nothing for this sort of tough person.

Okay Republicans, get your Republican butts back in convention mode. McCain, they won’t be needing your wisdom to save or build back the Gulf Coast so you have no excuse for not getting your party’s convention back on the ball. You have no excuse but to be there Thursday night. We have all stocked up on popcorn and adult cocktails so you owe us some fun, my friend.

Looks like we are in for a few storms and hurricanes in the near future. Think McCain and his trusty companion, Sarah, will drop everything and visit every potential area targeted by these storms? Nah, me neither.

All I Need to Know

This tells me all I need to know about her:

“The state of Alaska will sue the U.S. government to stop the listing of the polar bear as a threatened species, arguing the designation will slow development in the state, Gov. Sarah Palin said on Wednesday.”
(Reuters, May 22, 2008)

To write any more about how I feel about this would cause me to go into a cursing frenzy and I don’t want to do that here.

So McCain is telling us that on day one, she is as qualified to sit behind the desk in the oval office as he is. What does that tell us about what McCain thinks of his own qualifications?

Yesterday, Rudy Giuliani said that Palin is more qualified to be president than Sen. Obama. Yeah, I was shaking my head too. That might have been the most bizarre thing I have heard yet about the person McCain has chosen to run on the ticket with him.