Microphone Please ...

Well, I turned 41 this year. Woop De Doo! Of all the things that I am learning, I would have to list them below. Please denote the obvious...

1. Being and staying married and raising a family is by far the HARDEST DAMN thing I HAVE and WILL ever DO! But yet, its also what I feel is my greatest accomplishment.
2. For me physically, crap starts coming apart very quickly. All kinds of things from my blood sugar, cholesterol (spelling ack), pain in my legs and feet if not numbness etc. Its funny to because my mind still thinks I'm 21. I don't feel any different mentally but my brain calls out to my body saying "HELLO! WTF? Whats going on here?"

3. Where I am at from where I have been. What do I mean here... Well its about where I have been in my life, my accomplishments, my moves, my family etc. In the last 20 years or so I have moved about 10-12 times that I can count since getting married. My income has steadily increased, I'm in a much better job or a stage in my career making far more money then I probably could have ever imagined. But yet to a degree it doesn't seem I have changed in terms of my lifestyle or what I have. I had my first mortgage at the age of 22. Not a lot of people can say that. I have always had my house, cars, things and crap. Thats right things and crap.
See there in lies the conundrum. Outside of my wife/family accomplishments, I think the rest is just more crap. Can I say that I am any more or less happier, it wouldn't seem so. Again dont get me wrong, I love my family. But for the most part, I'm still doing the same things. I get up go to work and enjoy my off time with my family. Its probably stupid but I dont think any guy doesnt look back after turning 40+. So am I any different, prob not. I know, "Quitcha bitchin."

4. One thing I can say is an accomplishment for me. I have read a LOT! I mean books. Some of them really good, some of them stunk. But I have read a lot of books. I am amazed today by how many people just don't read.

For the most part its not so bad. I just wish my younger mind would catch up with my older aged body or someone is gonna get hurt.

Jules

Its funny seeing these two in a photo op. They have about as much in common as a turd and a diamond. Ok probably not my best analogy but hey. These guys just don't add up. Here you have a the former head of the KGB (this scares me alone.) and the former head of ..... uuuh.... absolutely nothing. I think the only reason he comes to a visit is to talk with daddy bush who he DOES have a greater interest in seeing. Do you think its somewhat subtle that dad is looking away making sure he shows a lack of interest in the photo op?

Doesn't it bother anyone that the two people running the two largest powers in the world are both from the cold war? And with old slicky Dicky still making sure he's watching Bush Jr. in the background.

Sigh its a sad state of affairs we live in.

I find, more often then not as you can see, that I just don't understand the nature of people. Here is an example. Last weekend I decided to clean up a few things in the house. My focus was the screened in patio in the back of my house that I really wish we could put to better use. Its become sort of a dump storage area that I haven't been to thrilled about in creating. One of the items in the patio is a big screen TV from 1989. Outside of our first home, I feel it was one of the first big purchases in my marriage. Its been with us through over 10 moves from Florida to Texas and was one of the few objects, don't ask me why, that survived Andrew when we were in Homestead. Around 2-3 years ago some of the bulbs started going out and I wheeled it into the patio hoping I would get a chance to ordering some new bulbs and fixing it myself. Well that never happened.
Last Friday I decided it was time to go. In all my wisdom, I put up an ad on craigslist in the free section figuring someone has to want this thing. Maybe some electrician can tinker with it and fix it and make some $$. Within the 2 min of the post, I had over 30+ replies. I went through the list and tried finding someone to come pick it up. It was going to be gone this weekend I thought. I thought.... It would seem to me that most people would understand what the term "big screen TV needs bulbs" means. Its broken and it needs bulbs. Nope. Human nature dictates that everyone is getting a free flatscreen that's working and maybe has some warranty.

Ok right here is where I start reminding myself how incredibly ignorant people really are but I decided Sunday to try one more time only in the post in which I made it very very clear.

"Free BROKEN 46" Pioneer BIG SCREEN TV needs bulbs" . That's exactly what it said in the title and in the subject I kindly reminded everyone it was broken and it was from 1989 and it was a big screen. Now people..... How many flat plasma displays did you see in 1989? Ok how old am I, 41 this year? Some of these people reading this post on Craigslist weren't around in 1989 much less know or can remember what a big screen tv is. I asked people not to ask where they could get the bulbs or how to fix it or what the model number was.

AND YET THEY ASKED. I even called some of the numbers and one guy even asks "IS IT A FLAT SCREEN? Is it easy to FIX? " In the overdroned redneck hick tone. "My truck is broken, can you drop it off?" Ok at this point I am reminded, PEOPLE ARE F*CKT*RDS!!!

Sorry but again I run into the nature of the general populous that can't quite figure what most of us would see as common sense.

As I began reading through the free offers through craigslist and checking the rolling emails coming in with the same stupid questions asked over and over, I can't help but see that I am trudging in the bottom 1% here. I saw one lady offering a beautifull piano that she clearly stated that 3 of the keys were broken and yet she had to keep reminding people over and over that it was as is and that she couldn't deliver it. I would be honest with you, if I had the capacity to get it, I probably would have. It was gorgeous.

Living where I do, it would seem that I am sheltered from much of this. (I don't have a description at this point of what "this" really is.) But between having my small cult of a neighborhood and the shuttling back and forth to work that I do in the safety of the bubble that is my car, I feel comforted in knowing that I probably won't be posting in places like craigslist for quite some time. Its dangerous out there.

This reminds me of the shirt I once saw where Bart Simpson (if you don't know, don't ask) was looking into his crowd of Simpson cartoonies and the caption read "I see stupid people..." .

BTW, the Big Screen TV. It went out with this mornings trash. Lets see if its another battle in getting my garbage people just to pick it up.