As the day ends, Fluffy is posted beside me as I write.  He, the little dog that he is, feels the need to watch over me.  Today he has been bothered by a cat on the back porch, two cars passing the house, a pup howling in the distance, the washer getting one-sided in the spin cycle, and food he wants to eat from my hands.  He sleeps when I sleep and roams when I roam.  He expects Guy to feed him at six and for me to get up at seven.  I am a prisoner to my Maltese. 

Snow Tease

This snow tease is killing me.  I long for a knee-deep snow that will not stick to highways for the safety of those who work on the weekend.  I don't want to play in it or walk in it, I just want to look at it.  Many years have gone by without a "good" snow.  A traffic stopping snow.  I've almost forgotten what one of those was like.  Weather channels tease us about a snow, but the flakes usually move on to the east.  Just this one time I wish I would wake up in the morning to the silence of a "good" snow.

What Would You Do?

The cynical would call me foolish and too trusting.  Maybe so, but what you you have done.  I pulled up to a gas station with a friend of mine and she put the hose in the tank and jumped back in the car.  A young man came to our window from the car at the next pump.  He need to get home and didn't have any gas money.  He looked like a clean-cut boy who hated to ask.  Old car, no gas, no wallet, had taken baby to mother in Glasgow, needed to get to Danville.  (We were in Russell Springs.)  What did I do?  Gave him $6 to buy enough gas to get there. (The only other option was a $20 and I wasn't that nice.)  What would you have done?  

The Price of Silence

How can we Americans live with the idea that there are tent communities springing up across our land where people like us have no home, no jobs, and no money...lost it all to this economy.  What to do?  I don't know.  Here I am with a retirement check -although not a large one- that is guaranteed, a home that I am not in danger of losing, and a way to pay the bills.  I am lucky, but I should not be so blind to others.  Surely we that are somewhat safe and secure can find a way to help those who aren't (that doesn't require money).  No one I know has extra money; just extra time. Seeing those tent communites rattled me. Any ideas?

Out Of The Mouth

The President doesn't use the right pronoun when he says "give it to Michelle and I."  The TV preacher doesn't use the right verb when he says "I learnt".  I seen, I done, I blowed, I have gave, it was froze, he has spoke, the pilot has flew, and he has went (and many others) DRIVE ME NUTS.  Anyone who graduated from high school knows better.  If people know better, then why don't they do better? Why is it important?  Your intelligence is judged as soon as you open your mouth. Kentucky gets a bad rap because of those who find the camera and speak like they went to the third grade.

  I am a grammar snob; I know that, especially when it comes to public speaking or public signs.  Dr. Phil's show yesterday was entitled, "How to not get scammed."  (Split infinitive)  Surely with the staff he has put together, someone would know that "not" should have gone before the "to".  A sign in town reads "Year's Gone By"  Years not year's.  Some mistakes are so small they go unnoticed, but the flagrant ones are as bright as a neon sign.  It is never too late to change bad habits.  For the sake of not being taken lightly, we all need to be aware of how we speak.  Dialect is one thing; bad grammar is another.  I'm stepping down off my stump now.

Who Is In Charge of Happiness?

Every woman I know is in the business of pleasing.  I have been tempted to answer the phone with, "Hello, this is Carol.  What can I do for you today?"  We want to please our children, of course, because if they are happy, we are happy.  We want to please our spouses or boyfriends because if they are happy, we are happy.  Who tries to please us?  When is the last time you were first?  When was the last time you ate first?  When was the last time you were first to sit in the chair while someone else prepared a meal?  Someone else cleaned the house?  Someone else drove the kids to activities all over town?  Someone else put the kids to bed so you could go soak in a tub?  

As long as we live we will be trying to keep everyone else happy.  We know that if we don't, the atmosphere around us will not be a good one.  Who is in charge of happiness?  Women.  Not all women, but most.

The Winner Is.

I am an Oscars follower.  Deep down I always wanted to win one myself.  In order to do that, I would have had to have been in a movie.  In order to do that, I would have had to have been an actress.  In order to do that, I would have had to have left Edmonton.  In order to do that, I would have had to have been an orphan with no ties.  I guess that is why I am not nominated tonight and why I will never get to Hollywood.  Too many ties.