The Insight of the one and only Lucian...

Lucian and I were sitting here talking today, about work, life, family, past, present, future, pain, happiness, sorrow, regret- just all things. He said " it's all just too much on you, just give it to God, ask Jesus to take it over. God is the one that will never turn away from you, he will never leave you, God is the past, present and future, let God carry your troubles and maybe you will be free" I said " you think? " He said " that's what I did and look where I am today, right where I should be "
Lucian never fails to make me feel better, I love that guy, sweater vest and all:):)

Giving it all to God and becoming free on the insight of Lucian then listening to some Motown because we like it:)

Bubble jacket dude vs. Chicken grease dude...You decide...

One hot August day a big, shirtless black dude comes into the branch wearing shorts and a bubble jacket. He rode up on a bicycle, it's hot, he's sweaty, and very polite. He is asked for identification and upon that request politely produces a baseball card, a white dude's baseball card. When he is told that he needs to show ID he again shows the baseball card, after doing this several times he is told that the dude on the baseball card isn't even him. He again shows the baseball card and says ID, finally he is told sorry we can no longer accept baseball cards as a form of ID. He very politely and quietly leaves. He leaves the bike behind and walks away. Because it is considered an " incident " the police are called, they find him at a nearby restaurant trying to use his " ID " to order food. The bike sat outside for a couple of weeks and then one day was just gone, never saw him or the bike again.
Today a dude walks in covered in chicken grease ( I mean covered-even in his hair ). He walks up to the front counter where I am sitting I start to speak to him but he walks away, he is touching everything. We have a donation jar with money in it on the counter that we are collecting for the March of Dimes, he's all over that jar, the whole time staring at me. The manager and I are the only people in the branch, she says " Sir, can I help you? " He leans in towards me and says " I'm a ma'am not a sir and I'm a virgin " I didn't say a word, really what do you say? Good job, thanks for the info? What would have been the correct response? He walks to the managers desk where he proceeds to say terrible things about his own mother ( who we do not know ) calls her all sorts of names ( which I will not repeat ) then says " God rest her soul she was a sainted woman " The manager asks him his name he says " my name is biblical, and holy and you better put the fucking hyphen in there because it should have a hyphen" he goes on to say so many strange things. His name was about 5 names long one of them being Paris as he said " Paris like the fucking capital of France ". I believe at this point that he may be dangerous so I attempt to pick up my phone, he didn't like this, he stared at me while talking to her. I managed to get Lucian on his cell phone via text from mine. Lucian calls the office phone, yep, the office phone because he doesn't understand the text. I answer but say very little because chicken grease dude is staring at me, and I don't want to anger him. He is already angry he slammed his fist on the managers desk told her she was doing it wrong that it wasn't true and on and on. She asked him if he owned a car he said " yes, a classic car " she said what kind? he said " a 1987 Ford escort". I have to admit it was hard to keep a straight face when that info was given. Lucian got the gist of what was happening and called the police. When I hung up the phone I saw a customer of ours getting out of his car, I didn't know what to do,when I stood up chicken grease dude again whipped his head around and just glared at me. Our customer ( a man ) walked in, that changed the tone of the situation, chicken grease dude got up and walked out. He stopped just outside the door and was standing there when I locked it, just staring at me, kinda eerie. The police show up and sort of act like it's funny, now I can see some of the humor in it but not then, he was a lunatic the only thing missing was the aluminum foil hat. The male cop says" okay we'll look around for him." I said kinda hard to miss, covered in chicken grease, dogs will probably be following him. He said " well if he comes back just tell him to leave " I said ya know it didn't feel quite that simple this mother fucker is gonna hurt somebody so maybe you ought to right this down. He says "we'll call you if we find him so if you don't hear from us we didn't find him" and then the cops leave, that's it. And no we never heard from them.
So...in my opinion chicken grease dude beats bubble jacket dude...hands down... but hey, you decide... I'm busy trying to get a gun permit.

Boo...without Liberty...

Is very, very happy. It's kind of sad just how happy she is, she must have been miserable before. She runs all over the yard like a puppy, she brings me the ball over and over again for me to throw it so she can race after it and bring it back to me over and over again. She is happy. When I came home ( alone ) the day I dropped Liberty off I swear Boo was smiling. She ran into the yard and picked up all the toys that Liberty had hoarded for herself and would not let Boo have. She has not once ( that I have noticed ) looked for her. I thought at first she just enjoyed being an only dog but when I went home to NY she loved playing with Ripley and Neena- she just didn't like Liberty. But then again neither did Ripley and Neena and for Ripley to dislike anything or anyone there must be something not quite right. Poor Lib she was the smelly kid in school that all the other kids stayed away from.
So... Boo without Liberty is one happy canine.

Gas...Prices... Driving vs. Flying...

I forgot to mention in the previous post the fuel cost to drive from NC to NY- $22.00- yep that's right $22.00. That little Hyundai is amazing :) Round trip with tolls approximately $85.00, I spent just about as much on tolls as I did on gas. People keep telling me that in the long run flying would be cheaper, somehow I just don't see the logic in that. First off if I flew I would have to TRY to board Boo- she wouldn't be happy neither would I and I highly doubt I could find a kennel that would take her. Then there is the Airport, long term parking, the cost of the ticket, the Airport, the take off & landing, the lay overs, the Airport, the take off ( again ) and landing, the Airport, having someone pick me up, gas for that person to & from the Airport, having someone bring me back to the Airport, then doing it all over again for the return trip, and did I mention the Airport?
When Jesse flew back to NY from here the last time took him 7 hours just to get to the Airport in NY, not to mention the trip from the Airport to Middletown. When Dar flew I think the flight took her about 4 hours ( she had a better flight after the puddle jump from J'Ville to Charlotte ) then she had the trip from the Airport to home. My way, yes, there is that drive 10 -11 hours but didn't cost nearly as much and there was no AIRPORT to deal with, no arrangements for a ride to make and I had my car the whole week to do what I wanted without putting anyone out.
Call me illogical call me crazy but I just believe driving is better.
Ask me after a bad trip with a ton of traffic and see if I change my view point, but for now driving is the way to go.

Easter...in New York...

I suppose I should start this by writing that Liberty doesn't live here anymore. I had been looking for a new home for her for sometime, she was just too bored, alone too much and neither of us was happy with the situation. She went to a rescue place and I imagine she is happy in her new place, I don't know because I chose to not have any new contact info, no joint custody for me. It was a difficult decision because I don't give things up easily but it is for the best for all of us. I have been trying to simplify my life situation, to have less stress ( in places that I do have some control ) and to make traveling a viable option. With that said- I went to New York Easter week. It wasn't my original plan, I had an original plan which is why Liberty left when she did but that plan changed. I guess the saying Life is what happens while your making plans is true after all. When the original plan didn't come off I went to New York to be with my kids, to be with family for Easter. Boo and I left here at 3 am the Friday before Easter, we went in the Hyundai accent. Yep drove 11 hours in a Hyundai accent ( 5 speed hatchback ) with a 90lb Rottie breathing on my neck. As uncomfortable as that may sound it was a great trip, better than any of the trips in that Trailblazer. One incident, at a gas station in MD the female attendant stuck her hand in the window ( right behind my head ) to pet the pretty Rottie, she won't be doing that again any time soon. Boo let her know in no uncertain tones that nobody puts their hand that close to me. Fortunately no innocent people were harmed and the attendant apologized and said it was her fault that she knew better than to put her hand inside a car window at a strange dog. Boo didn't bite her but man o man did she let her know that when it comes to me she has extreme personal space issues. It all happened so quick I pulled up to a pump with no line all the other pumps had long lines well that was because the pump with no long line was full service, I did not know this when I pulled up. The attendant walked over and just stuck her hand right in the window while I had my head turned getting out my card- prepared to get out and pump. She startled me and apparently startled Boo who then startled both of us. Boo calmed right down when she realized there was no actual threat and was a nice good girl while the attendant and I had a conversation- but the attendant did not attempt to pet the pretty Rottie again.
We got to NY at about 2pm, Luke got off at 6pm, Jana got in at 6:30pm and Jesse flew in from Louisiana that same night, we were all together for Easter week, it was great. Jana cooked Easter dinner and the food was wonderful. I spent the week with the kids, visited with everyone, saw Ethan's little league game, spent time with Annette, Nicole and Arlene and just had a great week. The following Friday Boo and I made the trip back only took 10 1/2 hours for the return trip and it was uneventful. Left NY at 3am got home at 1:30pm, Boo took a nap while I mowed the lawn ( a dog's life:) ). It was a really great trip. I loved being in NY and I love being back in NC. Back to work on Monday then Jesse and Neena should be here in about a week, he will be working in SC only about 5 hours from me. Family Christmas plans in NC are in the works, won't be Christmas Day because Jana is on reserve and she has to be within traveling distance to the NY airports for the month of December, so we are going to do family Christmas a bit later but Jesse will be here, all is good. My kids are happy, healthy terrific human beings:) I am happy, I am blessed, I am thankful.
Easter...in New York... turned out to be a really good plan.

Pay It Forward...

On a Tuesday might a couple of weeks ago my Trailblazer broke down on the way home from work. I only drove it to work because I had the oil changed that morning and didn't have time to take it home and get the little car. I worked late, didn't leave work until after 7pm and started the hour long drive home. Halfway into the drive the car bucked, then I lost the use of the power steering, I coasted it off the road and then for fear of being hit on the busier highway I coasted it off to a side road, took alot of muscle that steering wheel was locked. The side road I stopped on was Jesse Williams Road, in the middle of nowhere, very desolate, and just a bit scary at 7:40 pm, it had just started to get dark. After the car was stopped and I knew it was not going to go anywhere with out help- I instantly regretted my decision NOT to pee before I left work. I called my roadside assistance plan and for about 2 hours got nowhere, the woman on the phone had no idea what she was talking about, where I was, or how to get me help- so much for that plan. She wanted me to wait 8 1/2 hours for a tow truck to come down from the mountains- because they were in my plan- again so much for that plan. I called my friend Angela, she has lived in that area her entire life, without hesitation she came right over and parked her Honda ( with it's four way flashers on ) right behind me so I didn't get hit in the rear end. I was about 3/4 of the way still in the lane because this side road has no shoulder at all, just lane and ditch, deep ditch. Angela's sister works for a car dealership so she called a tow guy that they use, Victor, well Victor said he would be right there, Victor lied. Angela sat with me because she didn't think it was such a safe place to be sitting alone, and she didn't want me to ride with Victor. As we sat there a guy drives by, just a random stranger, he stops and asks if we are okay, we go into complete he may be a serial killer mode and both shout " someones coming ". Random guy drives away, only to drive back about an hour ( yes still no Victor ) later. He tries to show us his ID thru the half inch I have the window cracked, but we're not buying it. We again tell him " someones coming " this time we add " thanks anyway ". He said he wouldn't feel right about leaving 2 women out alone in the dark on that road, he said he drove home and told his wife and he has sisters he couldn't imagine them being in our place, so if we didn't mind he was just going to pull ahead of us and wait while we waited for Victor, and waited and waited for Victor. We called Victor several times and yep he would be right there, each time Victor lied. The last time we tried Victor at 11:30pm a woman answered his phone and said " Victor's busy ". At midnight Victor called and said " are you still walitng for a tow? " I said yes Victor we're waiting for you. He said ' I don't think I'm gonna make it better try somebody else ". Well there wasn't anybody else that we could get in touch with. By this time random guy ( yes he was still there ) had come up to the window numerous times, we had all his ID's saw pictures of his daughter and felt convinced that if in fact he was a serial killer he was very patient, so I thought if he really wanted my body parts for his freezer he had put in the time. His name is Corey and since I am here to write about that night he was not a serial killer, he was a nice guy. Angela's Honda had sat there for so long with the four ways on that her battery died, Corey gave her a jump start. He hooked a tow rope to the back of his brand new mini van and pulled my Trailblazer down to his house which was about a mile down that road, then he called his buddy, Jake, Jake is a mechanic and he has a flat bed and Jake said if I didn't mind leaving the car at Corey's over night he would bring it to my house the next day. At this point I felt like just lighting the damn thing on fire but Jake said that would be messy. So I left it at Corey's and Angela drove me home at about 1:30am. Corey sat there for about 3 hours, pulled my car ( with his brand new mini van ) to his house, then got out and pushed it ( by hand ) into his driveway so that Jake could get it in the morning, he jumped Angela's car, he offered us food, water a bathroom ( all of which we declined but still ) He called Jake and got the whole tow situation taken care of and he called me twice the next day to make sure we got home okay and to tell me Jake had picked up the car. I said Corey I can't thank you enough, saying thank you doesn't seem to be enough, I asked if I could pay him he shook his head and said it was nothing " no big deal " then as we were leaving he said " Pay it Forward ".
Jake did get my car, he did tow it to my house, parked it just like I would have in the RV parking spot out of the way. Sight unseen, he didn't know me at all, had no clue if I was going to pay him or not, I was at work when he dropped the car off. I called him when I got home, thanked him asked where I could bring the money, he said " nah you had a rough night and then worked all day I'll swing by your house and pick the money up" He came over only asked for $50 and we had a really nice conversation in the driveway, super nice guy.
Kicker to all of this is neither Corey or Jake are from down here, not one southern gentleman stopped. Corey is from Long Island originally came here with the military and stayed. Jake is from PA right on the NY border, same thing military then stayed.
When Jake was here I mentioned how great Corey was, he said " he's a great guy and he's got faith " I told Jake I wanted to do something for Corey he said " He doesn't want that just do what he always says- Pay It Forward".

GRITS...

Think Grits are a breakfast food? Think again! I find out that the word Grits is also used to denote: Girls Raised In The South-AKA GRITS! So when some Southern guy says " I love me some grits " he's not talking about the breakfast food! Well he probably loves him some breakfast grits as well but...
Learn something new everyday:)