Link of the Week

For alot of us, the scariest thing we'll see this Halloween will be our checkbook balance or the stack of bills on the desk.  Some of us might have visited one of the many haunted houses where you paid ten or more bucks to walk through a special effects filled house, hotel, morgue, or forest.  Personally, the scariest thing I saw this Halloween was the wad of losing tickets in my purse after my visit to opening day at Churchill Downs.

One of the scarieest places that I know, besides my office, is the old Waverly Hills Sanatorium.  Today, it's empty but still scary.  It was built in the 1920s, when Louisville had the highest tuberculosis death rate in the country.  Waverly Hills was the most advanced TB hospital in the U.S.. While some patients survived, the majority died at Waverly; during the peak of the TB epidemic, the death rate was one per hour.  In order to keep the patients from freaking out from seeing the constant stream of hearses hauling off the bodies, a tunnel was built from the hospital to the railroad tracks down on Dixie Highway. The tunnel is commonly referred to as the "body chute."  Dead bodies were placed in the tunnel and were mechanically lowered.  This tunnel was also where the hospital workers entered and exited.  As a kid, we heard stories of the huge blocks of wax that they used to grease the tunnels to make the bodies slide down the hill. 

In between handing out candy to the kids, or scaring the neighborhood children, please check out this site that tells about the Waverly Hills Sanatorium, http://www.prairieghosts.com/waverly_tb.html.  You can read about the primative treatments for TB used at Waverly.  It's a miracle anyone survived TB at all.  You can also read about the many freaky ghost sightings at Waverly, and about some fo the wild paranormal things that happen there. 

I've been to Waverly Hills a few times in the 70's.  From 1961 until its closing in 1982, Waverly Hills was a nursing home.  I went there with one of the bravest people I know, my Mother, and some of her friends from church. They would visit an old man named Dan Granville once a month.  The only thing I really remember about the place was that all of the walls were dark hard wood.  Very spooky.

Waverly Hills was even featured a couple of years ago on Fox Network's "World's Scariest Places", which you can read about on the site. 

 

Trick Or Treat

Yesterday was a fun day at work.  It wasn't payday, but it was a good day nonetheless - we were visited by about 40 trick-or-treaters.  It's a tradition that started with a couple of my co-workers having their husbands bring their kids to work on Halloween so everybody could see their costumes. It's snowballed to where they will plan weeks in advance who will bring their kids or grandkids to the office.  The kids love it - they get to trick or treat twice.  And when Halloween fals on a weekend like this year, they get to dress up twice.

My vote for best costume this year was for little blonde 5 year old Wonder Woman, complete with the magic lasso and bullet resistant bracelets.  She told her grandmother she was worried because nobody would be able to see Wonder Woman's invisible plane.  Other standout costumes were a miniature Kansas City Chiefs football player and a baby in a green pea pod outfit.  We also had Superman, Spiderman, Piglet, Dorothy from Oz (who was wearing awesome sparkling ruby slippers), a fireman, a pirate, several fairies with wings, and a cow. 

Out of all of the 40+ kids that we saw, not one of them had on the costumes like we wore on Halloween - the outfit with the thin plastic mask, held on your face with a rubberband.  They came in a box with a clear lid so you could see what the mask looked like without your mother having to fool with opening the box.  The masks were uncomfortable to wear.  The eye holes didn't match your eyes, and the nose holes never lined up with your nostrils. You had to push the mask up if you wanted to see, or pull it down if you wanted to breathe; you couldn't do both without some modifications.  I would end up having Grandpa cut the nose holes bigger so I could breathe.  Even then, the mask was still hot and sweaty.  I would end up going back to Grandpa 5 minutes later to have him staple the rubber band back on after I pulled it out. 

The costume part of the outfit never fit right, either. You wore them over your regular clothes. They were flimsy, and just tied in the back, much like the modern day hospital gown.  I don't think they had any sizes for tall or petites - they just had small, medium, or large.  If you were too tall, you looked silly because you had about 6 inches worth of pants legs showing at the bottom; if you were too short, you had to roll up the pants legs of your outfit.

I'll never forget my mask-in-box costume - for 4 years in a row, I was Cinderella.  I liked the mask because Cinderella had blonde hair, like I did, plus she there was a tiara on the top of the mask. Through a small miracle, one time we managed to salvage my costume and use it the next year.  I remember how Mom carefully folded the outfit and put it back in the box with the mask, and put it in on the top shelf of my closet.  This was strategically placed, so I wouldn't be able to climb up and get it and wear it during the year and tear it up. 

I love Halloween, because I still get a kick out of seeing the kids dressed up in their costumes.  But it's a disappointing because we only get about 6 kids, and all of them are a neighbors' grandkids and their cousins.  Maybe one of them will surprise me and have on a mask-in-the-box costume. 

Happy Birthday Bill Gates

Let's all take a moment and wish Bill Gates a very happy belated birthday.  At the young age of 49, he's a billionaire.  Bill attended Harvard, when he dropped out in his junior year and followed his entrepreneurial dream by starting his own software company.  You might have heard of it - it's called Microsoft.  I wouldn't be able to have my journal if it weren't for Bill.  I'd say he's done pretty good for a college dropout, wouldn't you?

So what do you get a billionaire for their birthday?  Somehow, I don't think he would be thrilled with a gift card from Lowes like most men would.  And I don't think he'd enjoy a gift card for Texas Roadhouse, either.  I think we could cross off tools and clothes while we're at it.  Bill gave away $27 billion to philanthropic organizations and charities, so I really don't think he's strapped for cash.  So that rules out tucking a twenty dollar bill inside the birthday card.  I read that in his spare time, Bill Gates likes to play bridge and golf.  So maybe he would like a few decks of cards or some golf balls.  Or maybe a few of us could pitch in and we could buy him a new card table for his bridge games. 

The Curse Has Been Broken

Way to go, Boston.  We believed and you delivered.  Now I can get back to my normal 10:00 bedtime.  I'm worn out from the past weeks of extra-innings games going till past midnight. 

The Sox made history by battling back in the playoffs with four consecutive wins over the Yankees.  They were down 3 games to none when they opened a big can of whoopass on the Yankees.  I think the moment that turned the tide in the playoffs was when superstar Alex Rodriguez overtly and purposefully smacked the ball out of th Sox player's glove as he was running to first base.  I was shocked when all they did was call him out - if it had been a pro football or pro basketball player that pulled a stunt like that, they would have been fined and the team would have been slapped with a technical foul or some other sanction.  But at least they called A-Rod out and didn't count Jeter's run. 

It's hard to pick one stand-out moment from the world series, though; all of Johnny Damons home runs qualify.  But for me, THE moment was Johnny's homerun in the first inning last night on his first at bat.  That set the tone for the rest of the game.  It was a hoot to see fans in the stands wearing wigs with long hair and black shaded makeup on their faces a la Johnny. 

I was impressed with the big-name singers that they got to sing the national anthem and God Bless America.  Hands down, my favorite moment was when Donna Summer belted out God Bless America in the 2nd game.  I half-way expected to hear her break into "Hot Stuff."  It would have been appropriate last night.

 

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

I officially completed my 2+ year treatment plan today at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry.  I'm almost ashamed to admit that driving back to work, I had the urge to stop at the convenience store and get a cup full of ice and a bag of candy to chew.  Just kidding.  I didn't even want to eat my lunch because my teeth were so clean and polished.  But I managed to down an awesome Ollie's Trolly burger and fries with extra seasoning.  And yes, I brushed and flossed immediately after eating.

Driving downtown to the dental school isn't nearly as traumatic as when my parents would take me to the dentist as a kid.  The trip was 30 minutes of anxiety.  I think it was the start of my ulcer.  I'm sure it wasn't any easier on my parents, either.  I know they dreaded it as much as I did, if not more.  We would travel on the Watterson Expressway, aka I-264, and when we would pass by certain landmarks, I knew we were getting closer to the evil Dr. Lester's office; the airport meant we were halfway there.  But when we passed by the Kaden Tower, I knew danger was eminent.

When we passed by the pink and white Kaden Tower, I knew that I only had about 5 minutes before I met my doom.  Oh how I dreaded seeing that building.  During that period (the late 60s/early 70s) it was the tallest building in the east end of town, so the height combined with it's pink and white design made it really stick out like the proveribal sore thumb.  Oh how I hated to see that building.  And today, I'm still not that crazy about it, either. One of the nicest, priciest restaurants in town is on the top floor of the Kaden Tower - Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.  I've only been there once and that was only because someone else paid for the meal.  And even then, I was hesitant to go.  I still can't stand to see that building - I have flashbacks that make me break out in a cold sweat.

Interestingly enough, the Kaden Tower is quite famous in the architectural world. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's firm in the 1940s, but wasn't built until 1965.  The design was originally for a hotel in India - they decided to keep the lacy white grill work, which would have been very practical in India given the fact there's no air conditioning. I'm not the only one in Louisville that can't stand the building -  we call it "the concrete Kleenax box" or "the pink monstrosity", but it still stands today along I-264, a reminder to me to brush and floss.

Final Jeopardy

I used to love to watch Jeopardy with my parents.  I now that sounds lame, but it was a nightly ritual at home - we would watch Wheel of Fortune first and then Jeopardy.  But since Ken "I Can't Lose" Jennings has been on his ultra winning streak, I've refused to watch it.  I've been boycotting it since Ken's third week.  Ten consecutive wins was all I could stomach.

I'll start watching again in a couple of weeks just to see him lose.  News has leaked out that Ken will lose after his 75th win and when his winnings hit $2.5 million.  The magic 75 show should hit the air waves on November 16.  But we need to have a one day margin for error, given the strong possibility that the election coverage will preempt all tv shows on November 2.  So I'm making my prediction for November 17.  I think I'm going to start planning a "watch Ken Jennings lose" party for that night. 

It's ironic that his losing show will air during the November ratings sweeps.  You can't make me believe this wasn't planned.  It's as planned as my beloved All My Children airing the baby-swapping mystery resolution that week, also.  The dates for the big episode to air has been planned for a year, according to the head writers for AMC; I'm guessing the producers have had this Ken Jennings winning streak and eventual loss planned as well.  It's interesting that the ratings for Jeopardy were in the toilet until this summer when Ken started winning, when ratings skyrocketed.  It will be even more interesting to see if their ratings drop again when Ken is gone. 

The first time I saw Ken Jennings on Jeopardy, I thought he looked like one of those little creatures from "Lord of the Rings."  Just before I quit watching, Ken told Alex Trebek that he had to borrow dress clothes to wear on the show because he didn't own any.  That's pretty sad.  By that point, he had won ten times, and his winnings were over a quarter of a million dollars.  You would think they would have given him a few bucks of his winnings to buy new clothes. 

Soap Opera Oddities

1. Woman carry small, thin purses - their keys wouldn't even fit in the purse.  All   they seem to carry is a cell phone. 

2. Soap operas are seasonless - the women wear sleveless tops, the men wear turtleneck sweaters, and the fireplaces are lit year round.

3. Women wear high heels all the time.  In an episode from my beloved All My Children last week, Kendall was playing basketball on the concrete while wearing high heels.

4. Nobody ever finishes a meal - they only eat a few bites.  I guess that's why the women stay pencil thin. 

5. Nobody ever finishes a drink - in fact, they usually take a couple of sips and leave the rest.  The exception is scotch or bourbon which they gulp down.

6. Alcohol is usually in a gorgeous crystal decanter - they don't leave it in the bottle like the rest of us. 

7. Characters never watch tv.  The exception is when they watch a blackmail video or watch the news about another character's arrest or murder trial.

8. Nobody eats candy.  I've never seen a character sit down with a bag of miniature Reese Cups.

9. You never actually see characters shopping - we only see them coming back home carrying packages and shopping bags. 

10. Characters' cars always start. The exception is when their car stalls during a natural disaster such as a flood or fire. 

Link of the Week

Have you ever wondered what causes a hangover?  You're probably thinking "for a degreed person, she's pretty dumb."  Well duh.  We all know that too much liquor causes a hangover.  But do you know anatomically what causes a hangover?

How you ever wondered how a high definition plasma television works?  How can they fit all of the stuff that is in a regular tv into a tv just a few inches wide and have the picture be clearer and sharper? (I guess we DON'T have to ask why the HDTVs are so expensive - I think we figured that out.)

Have you ever wondered about military snipers?  Do you think that all they do is just get their target in the scope sight of their high-powered rifle and just pull the trigger?  Do you wonder how they can lay in the same position for hours, sometimes days, waiting for just the right moment to shoot?

The answers to these and other questions can be found at www.howstuffworks.com. HowStuffWorks is one of the most informative sites I've visited lately.  It's divided into categories - electronics stuff, auto stuff, science stuff, entertainment stuff, etc.  (I'm sure GoalieGirl will especially enjoy the science and medical sections.)  Take a minute to check out the page about "How the movie 'Shark Tales' works" - it was almost as interesting as the hangover article. 

This Really Blows.....Not

If your neighborhood is anything like mine, there are Halloween decorations everywhere.  If the decorations keep growing at the current pace, Halloween will rival Christmas. 

When I was a kid, the only decorations out were pumpkins.  I would pester Mom for a month to buy our pumpkin.  But we usually got it a week before Halloween.  We wouldn't carve it and set it out until the day before Halloween, for fear some PAT would smash it on our front porch.

Now the current Halloween decoration rage is those inflatible things.  I know you've seen them in front yards - ghosts, witches, Frankensteins to name a few.  A few weeks ago I even saw a big inflatible Shrek.  I think these inflatible things are a scream; they're funny because they are usually deflated.

Last year, a house up the street had a big inflatible Homer Simpson as Frankenstein.  I passed by that house every day going to and from work, and it was only inflated a few times; the rest of the time it was in a big pile on the ground.  I guess the people just got tired of blowing it back up and just left it there.  I know I wouldn't fool with it. 

Zealots, Be Damned

In keeping with the political theme, I need to vent about something else that bothers me; it bothers me way more than people who drive around with campaign bumper stickers on their cars two years after the election.  At least that is just annoying to look at; what's worse are the overzealous people who try to cram their poltiical beliefs and ideas down our throats. 

It's like these people are just out looking for a fight; they act like it doesn't matter what anyone else believes because their belief is the ONLY belief.   Most of these zealots that I come in contact with can take an innocent question like "How's it going?" and twist and turn it until you're smack in the middle of a presidential candidate bashing.  To them, there's not one thing right/positive/good about the opposing candidates; they're all the spawns of Satan. They always seem to have an answer - I think they must spend every spare minute online reading site after site about political propaganda. 

I know this will only get worse - in the days leading up to the election they'll be more vocal.  And heaven help us all after the election.  I don't know what will be worse - if their candidates win or if they lose. If their candidates win, then they were right all along and everyone else was wrong; if they lose, then it was rigged and the people that voted for the opposition are complete morons.  I think I might take a vacation day on November 3 and stay in bed all day, just so I don't have to come into contact with any of these people. 

Those of you who know me well know that I don't talk about my political beliefs;  I just with that others would do the same.

They're Sticking It To Us Again

Let me preface by saying that That's What I'm Thinking does not endorse any of the candidates running for office.  I just urge you to vote - I don't care who you vote for.  Personally, I think they're all shiesters to some degree.  Just take advantage of your rights and vote. 

Something is bothering me about this election.  No, it's not the mudslinging; it's not the dissing of candidates' family members; it's not the debates that cut into my network tv shows; it's all of the election bumpter stickers. 

I'd venture to guess that every other car you pass by on the road has at least one election bumper sticker on it.  I can't remember an election when people were this passionate - I've even seen homemade signs in yards and stuck in the rear windows of cars.  I give the people props for caring enough about the election to make a sign to display.  I've also seen alot of people that I know with bumper stickers on their cars - people who a few years ago, would not be caught dead with a bumper sticker on their car. 

But the part about the bumper stickers that bothers me is this: I'm afraid that all of the people won't take the bumper stickers off of their cars when the election is over. This year, I've seen more of the stickers on the actual car instead of just the bumper.  Maybe they're afraid that the stickers will tear off the paint when they take them off, so instead of risking a bald spot on the back of their cars, they will just leave them on the car.  I've also seen bumper stickers on brand new cars, too.  There's a couple of cars in our parking lot here at work, that are just a couple of months old, with election stickers on the back bumper.  They'll be running across the street to the body shop asking for some degreaser or something to get the sticky off. 

of Fashion Disasters of the 80s

The 80s produced some interesting things. Fashion wasn't its strongest point. As trends are recycled and decades revisited we can only hope that the 80s stays in the 80s, and spare ourselves from the embarrassment of oversized clothing and blinding colors. Here are just a few of my favorite fashion memories (and disasters) from the decade that was the 80s.  I found some of these on an MSN Fashion page. It was too hard to rank them, so let me just say they are in no particular order.

1. Shoulder pads  Maybe it was the armor for us busting through that glass ceiling.  Or maybe we were trying to fit into the male-dominated workplace by looking like linebackers.  Whatever the reason, shoulder pads (the kind that added an inch or more of height, like Linda Evans in her "Dynasty days) were wrong, very wrong. 

2. Neon   Our eyes are still recovering from this one. Neon was everywhere. I'm not ashamed to say that I loved my neon pink 100% cotton t-shirt.  The return of tie-dye added to the nausea by encouraging people to mix their neon.  Let's cross our fingers that this fashion crime never happens again, for the sake of vision everywhere.    
 
3. T-shirts with clips on the side   Oversized t-shirts were big. Clipping them up on one side with a chunky plastic clip (make it neon, even better) was even bigger. I have no idea about this trend.  I sure didn't do that with my cool neon pink t-shirt.  Maybe it was to keep your giant t-shirt from overshadowing your awesome three-quarter length leggings?

4.  Acid-washed and ripped jeans   There's nothing like a pair of comfortable, worn-in jeans.  But this worn?  In the 80's, your choices were jeans that looked like bleach had been spilled on them or jeans that looked like you shredded them.  Nothing really looked good with them, especially not a mullet. 

5. The dancer look    Most of us are not professional dancers.  So why did we once insist on dressing like them, complete with leg warmers, ripped sweatshirts, and braided headbands?  This trend also included the sleeves-off-the-shouder look.  But I will say that it worked for Jennifer Beals in "Flashdance."  The worst case scenario of this trend was when girls wore the leg warmers over their blue jeans.  Equally bad was the layering of 3 or 4 pair of legwarmers.  We can blame Olivia Newton John and Jane Fonda for this one. 

6.  Jellies sandals   They were plastic. They were noisy. They were hot.  And girls that wore jellies didn't stop with just one pair - they had them in a rainbow of colors.  But they had to be careful not to wear them when walking anywhere outside in August, for fear they would melt.  I've bought other shoes that were borderline questionable, but I'm proud to say that I never owned a pair of jellies. 

7.  Parachute pants   I don't think we could have loved them any more if they had been made from actual parachutes.  I proudly wore my pair of Bugle Boy khaki-colored parachute pants.  Mine snapped at the ankle, a feature I thought cooler than the dozen zippers on the pants. I wore them with my very cool red Reebok high-tops.  Merry Go Round was the only retailer for Bugle Boys; it's scary to hear that they sold 10 million pairs in 1984. 

8. Mullets, mousse and rat-tails   In recent years, the mullet has been lambasted as the classic tacky 80s hairstyle.  In fact, the term "mullet" didn't come into usage until 1994 in a Beastie Boys song called "Mullet Head."  But nonetheless, the style was still there.  Big hair was also the rage.  Mousse was introduced to the U.S. in 1984 by L'Oreal.  It became an overnight sensation.  My friend Karen Hunt has a picture of me, reportedly locked away in a safety deposit box so no one can see, with big, perfectly moussed and styled hair.  (Side note: in the picture, I'm wearing a white blouse with ruffles on the front and collar, a la Prince.)  And we can't forget the rat-tail, a small strand of hair, usually braided or bleached, at the back of the neck.  We have New Kids On The Block to thank for this one. 

9. Jeans worn with dressy shoes   I will confess that I fell victim to this fashion crime.  It was the summer of 1984 - I was flying to California for vacation, and was going to meet my parents, who had driven there, in San Francisco.  I wanted to be extra cool for this trip- it was thefirst time I was flying by myself. With my hair expertly styled and moussed from a trip to the salon (see above), I chose the perfect ensamble for the trip:  very straight-legged jeans (Gitanos, to be exact) mauve plaid Liz Claiborne short sleeved blouse, pastel pink cotton Liz Claiborne v-neck sleeveless sweater, AND pastel pink mid-heeled pumps.  I was all that.  Looking back now, all I can say is "What was I thinking?"

10. The Don Johnson look     As if "Miami Vice" wasn't bad enough, it had to spawn a fashion trend. I cringe when I think of the pastel-colored jackets worn over t-shirts and baggy linen pants. To top off the ensamble, the outfit called for slip-on shoes without socks.  I'd like to have a dime for every high school senior picture taken in the 80s with the boys wearing this outfit.

You Pay Your Money And Take Your Chances

I came across this interesting article on Lachlan's blog, and had to post it. 

Wal-Mart yanks crane games from Mississippi stores

Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has removed crane games from its Mississippi stores pending an attorney general's opinion on whether they are legal.

Crane games are those curious and frustrating games where you pay a quarter and try to use a toy crane to capture a stuffed animal or toys locked in a glass box. The crane games can be found primarily in supermarkets and large chain stores, such as Wal-Mart.

Karen Burk, a spokeswoman from Wal-Mart's headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., said: "Due to an issue regarding these machines that made it unclear as to whether they were within the law. The machines were removed until response from the Attorney General's office is received stating that they are approved for use."

The question is whether the crane games are gambling devices.

In 2002, the Mississippi Gaming Commission redefined gambling games to protect children's arcades, such as those operated by the Chuck E. Cheese pizza chain, from being classified as casinos. The definition excludes any game that awards tickets or tokens, redeemable for toys, based upon player skill.

Chuck E. Cheese's parent, CEC Entertainment of Dallas, had asked the Legislature to approve a law that would make its kids' arcade games legal as long as the coupons dispensed were redeemed for merchandise with a wholesale value of $40 or less. Lawmakers did not consider the bill.

Amusement company owners believe they - and the games they put in convenience stops, truck stops and bars - have been unjustly targeted by Mississippi regulators. The Gaming Commission's crackdown on gaming devices located away from licensed casinos had resulted in Mississippi Supreme Court decisions that found such arcade machines illegal under existing law.

The Mississippi Supreme Court has held that amusement machines that dispense something of value upon the insertion of a coin are illegal slot machines. The justices said the issue of payoff under state law is not limited to tokens and coins. They said there was no practical difference between a credit awarded to a player and a token dispensed from a machine.

Leigh Ann Wilkins, spokeswoman for the Gaming Commission, said Wal-Mart acted on its own. "The MGC did not tell Wal-Mart to pull their crane games out of their stores. Chuck E. Cheese's games became an issue and that is why regulations were set to draw a clear line," Wilkins told the Starkville Daily News. Wal-Mart officials said the Gaming Commission regulation appears to make illegal.

"The law is very vague. I saw it blatantly the first time I looked it up on the Internet," said Bo Shell, general manager of the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Starkville. Shell said the regulation provides that the amount of consideration required to play the game or operate the device or machine is not more than 25 centsThe crane games at Wal-Mart require 50 cents to operate.

When asked about crane games falling under the regulation, Wilkins had no comment."We chose to pull the machines and we won't put them back until the law is clear," said Shell.

 

If you ask me, every time you go to Wal-Mart to buy something that was listed in the Sunday sale papers it's a gamble.  Because odds are, they won't have it. 

I've never played one of these crane games - I would rather put my quarters in the temoporary tattoo machines. Unless the machine jams up, it's guaranteed that I'll get something for my quarter.  As many times as I've passed by one of those crane games and seen people shovelling in quarters, I can honestly say that I've never seem someone win a prize. From my vantage point, the crane game is indeed a gambling machine, and I'd say the house is raking in the bucks. It truly is a game of chance, just like the lottery.  But we all know the lottery is legal because the state gets a very hefty cut of that action. 

I don't know if the stores or bars rent the machines, or if they get a cut from the hefty take; but I would venture a guess that the crane games generate as much income per square foot as the store displays and shelves. 

Let's Be Frank

I had an epiphany this weekend at Papa John's Pizza on the U of L campus.  I was there Saturday to get pizzas for those of us working down at church on clean-up day.  (Side note: our church is in the 'hood, and none of the pizza places will deliver to us.) The second I opened the door at Papa John's, I was greeted by the manager, Frank.  He was over behind the counter making pizzas.  I was surprised, not because they were friendly to me, but because the manager was doing work that his workers would normally be doing. 

While I placed my order, I mentioned something about places not delivering to church, and Frank gave me a hefty discount.  I took a seat right in front of the pizza making area so I could watch.  As I mentioned before, making pizzas is one of my dream jobs.  As I watched Frank expertly roll out the crust and carefully place the toppings on the pizzas, I envied him; he was doing something I'd always wanted to do.  As I talked with Frank about his job and watched him make pizzas, I envied him even more; Frank was happy doing his job.  

Don't get me wrong - it's not that I'm unhappy here at my job - I have a great job, I enjoy it [most of the time] and work for a great company.  But honestly, I can't say I sit here and smile like Frank does whenever I get a problem call from the factory, or when I'm rushing to get out new schedules.  While Frank was making my pizzas, he got interrupted a half a dozen times with questions and problems, but I noticed he was still smiling. Frank is my new hero - I'm going to try to be like him.

Link of the Week

It's Sunday again, and not only does that mean it's time for the Link of the Week, it means it's time to sharpen those pencils and get ready to work the Sunday paper crossword puzzle. 

If you're anything like us, working the puzzle at our home is a group effort. We don't cheat and look up the answers online, but we do use all available resources: various dictionaries, trivia books, enclyopedias, online searches, and relatives and friends who are movie experts.   

Every Sunday you can always count on about a dozen movie-themed questions - stars, directors, producers, movie titles to name a few.  Other than Cecil B. DeMille, we are usually clueless about directors and have to research.  I found an awesome site for helping with the movie questions in the crossword puzzle, and for satisfying your curiosity about movies - the Internet Movie Data Base, IMDB for short.  You can find it at the easy-to-remember link of www.imdb.com.  The coolest part of IMDB is their search engine - you can search for movies by stars, characters, directors, plots, and even quotes.

Now back to the puzzle.  Let's see...where was I?  Oh yes, 27 across. Best blog on the web.  That's an easy one, "That's What I'm Thinking."

Who's benefiting from the benefit?

I'd like to introduce today's post, written by a Guest Writer, my dear friend Stacy. She worded this much more eloquently than I would have.

It seems every time I’m at a stoplight or driving down the road, I am staring at the back of someone’s car plastered with yellow or red, white and blue “Support Our Troops” ribbons.  This made me stop and think, “Someone’s wallet is getting fat off these things.  I wonder who it is?”  So yesterday I stopped at Walgreens for some greeting cards and as I’m checking out I notice a large display of said ribbons at the check out.  First observation; they are magnetic.  I was wondering why people would glue a sticker to the paint of their SUV or mini van (which incidentally, seems to be the vehicle of choice for these ribbons?)  Then I proceeded to read all signage around the display.  I even flipped the thing over to see if there was any indication that the troops’ families or some worthy cause would benefit from me buying one of these things…..nope….nothing….nadda

So I’m back to my original thought.  I’m sure the people buying these things think they are helping someone out.  Who is that person exactly?  My guess…some shady entrepreneur.  Maybe not even an American.  Something to think about, eh?

. 

 

File Under: WTF?

I was in Walgreens last night looking for a birthday card, and came across something very bizarre in the greeting card section of the store.  I was looking at the cards for National Boss's Day, and was going to buy one for my boss but I didn't want to seem like a suck-up.  Then in the section next to the Boss's Day cards was a selection of cards for Diwali.  My immediate response was WTF?  I'm usually hip when it comes to holidays, but this one threw me for a loop.

The first thing I noticed about the Diwali cards was that they were in multi-packs of ten; they weren't sold individually.  I thoujght "Maybe Diwali is such a big holiday that you will want to send out lots of Diwali cards."  I picked up one of the packs and read the front of the card - "From our house to yours on Diwali." Innocent enough.  Then I flipped the pack jover and read the inscription on the inside of the card - "We hope you have a prosperous Diwali."  I grabbed another pack and looked at the back and it's inscription was "Wishing you a wealth of blessings on Diwali."  Ooohhh.  I get it now.  Prospeous....wealth....blessings....Diwali must be a gift giving holiday. Of course they sell them in multi-packs because you'll want to send/receive lots of cards.

After consulting my friend Stacy (who had called about another pressing WFT moment, which I will discuss tomorrow), we decided that Diwali sounds like something that the Divas will celebrate this weekend with a champagne toast. 

My curiosity was still aroused this morning, so I looked Diwali up online.  Here's wht I found:

This is perhaps the most well-known [ooookay] of the Indian festivals: it is celebrated throughout India, as well as in Indian communities throughout the diaspora. [diaspora: The Indian Diaspora is a generic term to describe the people who migrated from territories that are currently within the borders of the Republic of India. It also refers to their descendants.] It usually takes place eighteen days after Dusshera. [another Indian holiday] It is colloquially known as the "festival of lights", for the common practice is to light small oil lamps (called diyas) and place them around the home, in courtyards, verandahs, and gardens, as well as on roof-tops and outer walls. In urban areas, especially, candles are substituted for diyas; and among the nouveau riche, neon lights are made to substitute for candles.[cool - just like in Vegas!!] The celebration of the festival is invariably accompanied by the exchange of sweets and the explosion of fireworks. As with other Indian festivals, Diwali signifies many different things to people across the country. In north India, Diwali celebrates Rama's homecoming, that is his return to Ayodhya after the defeat of Ravana and his coronation as king; in Gujarat, the festival honors Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth; and in Bengal, it is associated with the goddess Kali. Everywhere, it signifies the renewal of life, and accordingly it is common to wear new clothes on the day of the festival; similarly, it heralds the approach of winter and the beginning of the sowing season.

Happy Diwali, everyone. 

Leaf Me Alone

Maybe I'm biased, but I think there's not a prettier place in the country than the Ohio Valley in the fall.  Not meaning to sound sappy, but it's as if God painted all the trees and flowers in brilliant red, orange and yellow; instead of trees and flowers dying in the colder weather, to me it's as if they are just now coming alive.  Our neighborhood is no exception.  Mom, Dad, and our friend and neighbor Beverly have spent the last few days working in The Compound (aka Beverly's, Rosemary's and our yards) - raking leaves and mulching them in Dad's new chipper/shredder, planting mums, and decorating.

Here's some pictures taken the other day in The Compound.  You can see firsthand the gorgeous colors of the trees and bushes.  In the pictures of the fall scene, you can see the beautiful brown dead grass, due to no rain in over two months.  And last but certainly not least, included for your viewing pleasure is a picture of our dear friend and Beverly's four-legged son, Rocky. 

If You Can't Lick 'em, Join 'em

My co-worker Adrian and I were discussing the Planet Lunch Points on his individually packaged bags of Frito Lays products. The Planet Lunch Points can be redeemed for merchandise. We decided to try and save enough points to get a $25 Pizza Hut gift card.  This discussion led us to the topic of the frequent flyer miles and old school trading stamps.  When I was growing up in the 60's (damn, that sounds old) stores and gas stations in our area would give their customers Top Value stamps.  Some stores here gave out S & H Green stamps, but in keeping with the family tradition, we only saved Top Value.

When Dad would put gas in the car, the attendant handed him Top Value stamps.  When we bought groceries, the cashier would give us stamps from a dispenser that sat beside the cash register.  When Mom and Grandma changed purses, a few Top Value stamps would fall out, stuck to a Kleenax or a Certs wrapper. When I would go with my family to get gas or groceries, if I behaved and didn't act up in the store, I would get the stamps.  That was incentive enough to be on my best behavior.  As soon as we would get home, I would run and get the cigar box from underneath my bed that held the priceless stamp books, and the pasting would begin.  I still remember what was at the top of each page - "Paste one single stamp in each of the fifty blocks on this page or paste one Top Value 50 here."  The coveted 50's!! I usually had singles, but they all added up.  I remember how if I didn't move fast enough, the stamps would start to dry after I licked them, and then I'd have to get the glue. You had to be very careful when using the glue, because it would seep through the little perforations on the stamps and before you knew it, you'd glue the pages together. 

When I thought I had "enough" books, Mom and Grandma would take me to the Top Value catalog store, where I could buy something with my books of stamps.  The store clerk carefully inspected the books, counting points per page to catch any attampts to defraud Top Value.  I still have one item I bought with my books of stamps - a shiny copper cookie press. 

Shopping with stamps wasn't the only way to acquire sixtie's era stuff without paying for it.  We had a set of drinking glasses from the gas station whose value rested on the number of gallons purchased.  At today's prices, they should hand out Bacarat crystal.  And we owned quite a few towels that were included in boxes of Breeze detergent, so happily advertised by Dolly Parton on "The Porter Waggoner Show."  People went after this stuff the way kids paw to the bottom of a box of Cracker Jacks looking for "the prize."

I like remembering that I was once so young that my most immediate goal in life was to fill five books of Top Value stamps.  I'd like for things to be that simple again, even for just a little while. 

Special Request Tuesday

This weekend, my friend (and our resident scientist) GoalieGirl asked me a very pressing question: why do you put salt on the margarita glass or lick salt when you drink a shot of tequila? Not wanting to let down my faithful readers, I assured her I would do some research and find the answer for her.

I learned that both alcohol and tobacco use in American can be traced back to the Mayan civilization.  Pulque, which comes from the Mayan words "octili poliqhui" is derived from the fermentation of sap from the maguay cactus, a direct ancestor of tequila.  Alcohol was used by the Mayans for the wide-spread practice of divination.  This use has taken a less serious turn in modern day America, in that praying to one's god is usually reserved for the hangover after drinking alcohol.  Ritual use of alcohol is still seen today - it's a part of weddings, communions, birthdays, and college activities.  Though alcohol consumption today is recreational by nature, the rituals involved with the consumption of tequila are rooted in Mayan tradition.  Mineral salts, collected from lakes and ponds, were eaten and then chased by the pulque.  This is similar to the act of licking salt before taking a shot of tequila. 

This habit was passed down through generations, and according to the informed ones there was a reason for it. When tequila production began in the 1800's, the process to obtain the liquor from the sugars of agave made it extremely strong in alcohol content, and for that reason it tasted very strong when putting it in the mouth. To make it more "abocado" (palatable), two additional ingredients were used: salt and lemon. Indeed, when they placed the tiny amount of salt inside the mouth, this produced more salivation which served to diminish the strong impact of the drink. When the drink was passing down the throat, they sucked up a lime, so the citrus juice made the throat feel better.

Back in the 30's, there was a terrible epidemic of influenza in the north of Mexico, and this was worst in the state of Nuevo Leon and Monterrey. Thanks to a doctor in Monterrey who had the healthy habit of drinking tequila with lime and salt before lunch, he seemingly resisted the attack of the epidemic, and he attributed it to his habit of drinking tequila. He prescribed to his patients this medicine, and as a resultthere was a quick decrease of the sickness in his community.  With the flu vaccine shortage this fall, maybe we'd all better invest in a bottle. 

Farewell, Christopher Reeve

When we turned on the tv or radio this morning as we were getting ready for work, we expected to hear the usual news - campaign mudslinging, Rumsfeld's visit with the troops in Iraq, and Mount St. Helen getting to erupt again; we didn't expect to hear that Christopher Reeve had died last night.  He was just 52.

Reeve was best known for his portrayal of Superman in his early career.  After a tragic 1995 horseback riding accident left him a paraplegic, his career turned into a public crusade for spinal cord research.  His advocacy for stem cell research helped it emerge as a major campaign issue between President Bush and John Kerry.  Kerry even mentioned Reeve during this Presidential debate this past Friday night.

Christopher Reeve's widow Dana is to be highly commended for her dedication to her husband.  They had only been married for 3 years when Reeve suffered the near-fatal accident.  From what I've read, she fought and worked almost as hard as he did, never leaving his side during thousands of therapy sessions.

Christopher Reeve's attitude and his will to survive shows he was truly the Man of Steel. 

Link Of The Week

Saturday Night Live has always been one of my favorite tv shows.  But not so much in the recent years - the 70's and 80's shows were the best.  Those years gave us some of the funniest, brightest comedians - Gilda Radner, Dan Ackroyd, Chevy Chase, Dana Carvey and Eddie Murphy to name a few. 

One of the funniest sketches from SNL aired during the 1987 season.  It was an episode of "Church Chat" starring Church Lady, as played by Dana Carvey.  On this particular Church Chat, Church Lady's guests were Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, portrayed by Phil Hartman and Jan Hooks.  The expression "laughed until I cried" does not even come close to describe how funny I thought this sketch was.  My good friend Michael and I would repeat lines from the sketch for years after it first aired, and we still laugh about the sketch today.  As I write this, I'm seeing visions of Jan Hooks as Tammy Faye, wearing a big blonde wig and having streams of black mascara running down her cheeks as she shrieks "We have a payment due, partners." Michael and I have photographic memories when it comes to lines from tv shows and movies (side note: "Knots Landing" starring my idol Donna Mills is another favorite we like to quote).

If you'd like to walk down memory lane and reminisce about older (and newer) Saturday Night Live episodes, I've got the perfect site for you : http://snltranscripts.jt.org.  This site has transcripts from every episode of Saturday Night Live.  Yes, that's right - every episode.  They even have last night's episode posted. They also have great photos from the sketches, too.  They list the original air date, the host, the musical guests and the songs they performed, and every sketch and who performed the sketch.  It's an awesome site.  If you're an SNL fan like me, be prepared to spend hours on there reading. 

That's the news, goodnight and have a pleasant tomorrow.

Race For The Cure

I just got home from walking in the Race For The Cure.  I was very overwhelmed, as were alot of others - they were expecting about 6,000 to participate, and there were over 10,000 people there.  Pretty awesome.  I was very proud to be walking on the team of two cancer suvivors - Susan Williams and Kathleen Lucas.  Susan is currently going through her chemo treatments.  I'm ashamed to say that Kathleen, aka Granny Katie, kicked all of our butts and finished the walk long before the rest of us.  The most awesome thing was seeing so many people together, united for a cause. 

Before the walk/race, they urged people to wear a sign bearing the names of breast cancer survivors and victims.  I know, the word "victim" has negative connotations, but they honestly are victims.  On my signs, underneath my lucky race number 4632 (which I will play tonight in the the Kentucky Lottery Pick 4), I had a sign for survivors that listed Kathleen and Susan, and my friends Jerri Fleming and Paula Stearns, and one of my favorite singers Melissa Etheridge, recently diagnosed with breast cancer.  Underneath that I had pinned to my shirt the "in memory" sign, and proudly listed my Grandma's favorite neice, Dorothy Elliot and one of my Mom's best friends, Nancy Barkley.  Almost everyone I passed along the route had a pink sign pinned to the back of their shirts.  That was the most overwhelming part. 

Sure, we complained and whined about getting up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday to go downtown and walk for almost 4 miles, but it was well worth it.  As I walked, I said a short prayer of thanks for my Mom who had a breast cancer scare about 10 years ago.  She underwent a lumpectomy, and the lump was benign, thank the Lord.  But I never will forget the tension and fright we experienced in the few days before we would find out the results of the biopsy.  She is truly one of the lucky ones to be spared. 

I'm very proud of my fellow Louisvillians for participating in today's Race For The Cure.  We rock. 

Just Loafing Around

I've had an epiphany in my life; call it a conquest, if you will.  I've solved the mystery and urban legend about color-coded twist ties on bread. 

Since the introduction of mass production, manufacturers have used code dating systems that allow them to track when a product was produced without overtly revealing the product's precise age to the consumer.  Such is the case with bread.  Bakeries use different color twist ties to indicate the day each loaf was baked.  The visual cue makes it easy for delivery people to rotate stock, putting the older bread toward the front and the newer toward the back.  But there is no universally accepted twist-tie code system; each bakery has its own.   I called the Butternut Bread Outlet in my neighborhood, and according to Marie, a long-time employee, here is the code for Butternut, Wonder, and Sunbeam breads:

Monday - Blue
Tuesday - Green
Wednesday - Orange
Thursday - Red
Friday - Yellow
Saturday - White

So if you go the store today, ideally you'd want bread with a red twist tie, since it was baked yesterday. 

Take a good look at the shelves the next time you're in the store.  I bet you won't see any one brand of bread with more than 2 different color twist ties.  Most store pull old bread after 2 days, making sure you get the freshest bread possible.  Now go have a sandwich. 

Orange You Glad?

I was royally duped at the grocery store the other morning.  I went there in search of orange Hi-C.  The McDonalds up the street carries orange Lava Burst Hi-C, which tastes almost like the old school orange Hi-C.  So when I saw the small drink box version of Lava Burst, I bought a package.  I couldn't wait to get to work to open a box.  Imagine my surprise when I poured the drink into my glass and saw that it was clear; it wasn't the deep orange color like the Lava Burst at McD's.  Surprise turned to disgust when I took a sip and discovered that it tasted nothing like how I thought it should taste.  After discussing this with some co-workers, I figured out why orange Hi-C doesn't taste as good as it used to: they don't package it in the metal cans any more. 

The first time I remember having orange Hi-C was in kindergarten.  For those of you doing the math, I'll save you the effort and say the year was 1968.  We would get either orange or grape Hi-C for our snack.  I guess we were easily amused, because we were fascinated when the teacher, Mrs. Johnston, would get the small metal can opener out of her desk and poke the 2 small triangular holes in the top of the can. 

Someone had a plastic bottle of orange Hi-C here at work in the refrigerator, and they were kind enough to let me have a glass so I could conduct a taste test.  It was just as I suspected - it still didn't taste like the old school version from the metal can.  But at least the bottled version was orange-colored.  I still say that the metal can had something to do with the awesome taste.  Maybe our resident scientist GoalieGirl can explain this for us.   

Farewell, Rodney Dangerfield

I'm sad to post news of another celebrity death; comedian Rodney Dangerfield died yesterday at the age of 82.  He fell into a coma after undergoing heart surgery.  I saw his widow on the morning news - she looked about 40 years younger than him.  But the news story said they had been married for 11 years, so I'm hoping she really loved him and was not just along for a ride on the gravy train. 

I think there should be a display in the Smithsonian honoring Rodney Dangerfield - they could have pictures of him at various points in his career, along with a recording of him saying "I don't get no respect."  My favorite Rodney joke, and probably my favorite one-liner will always be "When I was born I was so ugly the doctor slapped my mother."  It cracks me up every time. 

Rodney appeared on "The Tonight Show" 70 times.  That's impressive.  It must be a Tonight Show record.  He also appeared on "Saturday Night Live" 6 times.  One of my all time favorite SNL sketches was one that featured Rodney.  It was from an episode that aired in 1987.  "The Pepsi Syndrome" was a parody of the movie "The China Syndrome" and the Three Mile Island accident.  A nuclear engineer spills his cola on the control panel and causes a meltdown at the fictitious Two Mile Island nuclear plant.  There was a big sign in the background that said "no soft drinks allowed in the control room."  Too funny.  Later on in the sketch, after President Carter (wonderfully played by Dan Ackroyd) is exposed to the radiation and becomes 100 feet tall, Rodney Dangerfield is called in to deliver one-liners on how big the President is. 

We'll miss you, Rodney - maybe now you'll get the respect you deserve. 

Farewell, Janet Leigh

I was sad when I heard that actress Janet Leigh died.  She was only 77.  Janet's shocking murder in the classic thriller "Psycho" made us all think twice before stepping into a motel shower.  Her daughter Jamie Lee Curtis was at her bedside when she died Sunday.  Leigh had suffered from vasculitis, an inflamation of the blood vessels.  Janet's murder scene in "Psycho" set the standard for the scream and slasher movies, a lot of which starred her daughter Jamie Lee.  I found some interesting and true trivia about the famous shower scene. 

• The blood in the shower scene was actually chocolate syrup.  Since the movie wasn’t in color, the red wouldn’t show up any way, plus Alfred Hitchcock said the syrup was the only thing with the viscosity of real blood when mixed with the shower water.
• The shower scene was only two and half minutes long, but it took over a week to film.  It was shot in 2 or 3 second increments. 
• Hitchcock admitted to punking Janet Leigh by turning the water ice cold in order to get her best scream.
• Psycho was the first movie to show a bathroom with a toilet; it even showed the toilet flushing.
• Since the filming of Psycho, Janet Leigh did not take showers; she said she felt safer in the bathtub. 

Pink Ribbon Challenge

It's time for another public service announcement.

Please bookmark this site in your favorites and visit it every day: http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/CTDSites

Your click on the "Fund Free Mammograms" button helps fund free mammograms, paid for by site sponsors whose ads appear after you click and provided to women in need through the efforts of the National Breast Cancer Foundation to low-income, inner-city and minority women, whose awareness of breast cancer and opportunity for help is often limited.

Nuff said.  Now get to clicking.

Life In The Big House

Unless you've been living in a cave for the past few months, you know that Martha Stewart was convited of lying to investigators about the big $60,000 stock sale, and this week she begins her 5-month sentence at Alderson Minimum Security Prison in West Virginia.  Martha has to report to Alderson by Friday morning.  Had it been you or me, we would have been tossed in a jail cell 5 minutes after the judge read our sentence. 

When she arrives at the prison, Martha will be treated like any other convict.  First of all, she'll be strip searched, procedurally witnessed by prison guards.  From my research about prison strip searches, a guard will tell her to squat and cough.  This will probably be one of the most humiliating things that Martha has been through.  It wouldn't surprise me if the prison officials searched the guards Friday morning to make sure none of them tried to sneak in a camera. 

Martha will then get her cell assignment.  She'll sleep in a bunk bed in one of the large dormatory-style rooms that house between 50 and 90 inmates per room.  Martha, 62, will be guaranteed a bottom bunk because it's prison policy not to put women older than 50 on the top bunk.  The walls in the room are plain concrete, much like a garage, and can't be decorated.  Martha can personalize her locker, however, by hanging up no more than 4 pictures.  The homemaking guru who advises visitors to her web site to search out bed linens with high thread counts will be sleeping under government issue sheets.  Martha will be allowed to bring a few personal items, such as one pair of earrings worth less than $100, a Social Security card, a limited amount of cash, and a religious item approved by the warden. 

Martha will have to wake up at 5:30 a.m., and will have to stand by her bed for a head count.  After breakfast, she'll work for about 12 hours.  Inmates can request certain jobs, such as plumbing, electrical, or maintenance work.  But new arrivals are usually assigned to the kitchen.  Martha's household talents could prove valuable; in some parts of the prison, inmates with the cleanest cells eat meals first.  She could probably have a very profitable side business doing cell block cleaning.  If that doesn't pan out, she can always rely on the 12 cents an hour she'll make for her kitchen work.  That's some pay cut when you consider in 2003 she made approximately $1518.27 an hour. 

Alderson has housed some other famous inmates: Squeaky Fromme and Sara Jane Moore who both tried to kill President Gerald Ford; Billie Holiday, sentenced on a drug charge; d recently Susan McDougal, who served time for refusing to testify against the Clintons in the Whitewater investigation.  Squeaky escaped from Alderson on Christmas Eve 1987, but was captured the next day.  Maybe she can help Martha plan a big jailbreak. 

Don't worry about Martha not being able to make ends meet on 12 cents an hour; Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia will continue to pay her salary of $900,000 a year, plus a hefty bonus of $500,000.  She won't receive her salary nor the bonus while she's in prison, but she'll get it all when she is released.  Not to worry about her retirement, either; she'll continue to be covered by Martha Stewart Living's benefits plan while in prison. 

Link Of The Week

I hesitate to say my Blazer is a lemon, but since it rolled off the General Motors assembly line in 1996, I've received 6 recall notices.  Sometimes it was for minor things, like a bolt on the rear windshield wiper motor; other times it was for something major, like an axel or gas tank shield.  Other than getting these things fixed and replacing the air conditioner compressor, I really haven't had much trouble with it.  But last summer, I had an unexpected $$$ repair; I had to have the manifold gasket replaced.  I forked over the money for the repair, and after whining about it to a friend, they suggested I check online to see if there was any information about a recall about this problem.  Knowing full well I wouldn't take the time, they looked it up for me, and found some information at a great site, AllData.com.  Not only can you find reacalls and warnings issued about any automobile ever manufactured, you can also find out aboue appliances and other equipment.  The specific link is www.alldata.com/recalls/index.html.  It's a great place to look if you're thinking about buying a used car.  Best of all, the site is free.  Alot of other sites charge you for information like this. 

Now for the rest of the story about my manifold gasket problem.  While there was no official recall from GM, there was an "issue."  After researching some more online, I signed an online petition started by other Blazer owners who had this "issue."  Six months later, I received a registered letter from a Detroit law firm who was handling a lawsuit against GM about this "issue."  All I had to do was fill out a form they sent me, and send them a copy of the repair bill, and just sit back and wait for the check to come in the mail.  I'm still waiting. 

America's Walk

While I'm still up on my soapbox, I'd like to publicly thank my family and friends who sponsored me in today's American Diabetes Association's America's Walk.  Thanks to your genorisity, I raised almost $400 this year, an increase of approximately 10% over last year's total.  Last year, I was in the top ten indivudual fundraisers, an impressive feat if I do say so myself.  I'd also like to thank the Lord for giving us a cool, rain-free morning, and for giving us 1,000 walkers the energy, ability and capability to walk for our family and friends to have diabetes.  I walked in honor of my mother Minnie, who was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes last summer.  Thanks to doctors and research funded by donations from you all, her diabetes is under control and she only has to take medication for it.  She's already said that next year, she wants to walk with me.  I'm sure with the engergy she has, she'll probably cross the finish line first. 

Each $50 raised today will fund 1 hour of research.  Your donations will pay for over 7 hours  - who knows?  During one of those hours, a cure for diabetes might be discovered. 

Thanks again for supporting me monetarily and spiritually. 

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

In case you haven't heard, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  I'm jumping up on my soapbox today to urge you to get up off of your butts and do something about it. 

Women (and men) can start by doing a self-exam the next time you're in the shower.  Doctors recommend doing a self-exam every month. 

Us gals 40 and older need to get an annual mammogram.  Yes, it's not the most pleasant experience, and it's downright painful, but the discomfort is well worth it if it can save our lives.

If you're in the Louisville area next Saturday the 9th, you can participate in the Race For A Cure.  If you don't want to run or walk the 3 1/2 miles, you can email me and sponsor me.  Just give me money and I will walk for you.  How easy is that?

You can buy specially marked bags of pink and white M&Ms.  For each bag sold, M&Ms/Mars will donate 50 cents to the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.  Who doesn't like M&Ms?  This promotion will only be available until the end of November.  So buy early and buy often.

Here's some celebrities who are breast cancer survivors, and thanks to doctors, researchers and organizations like the Susan B. Komen foundation, they are still entertaining us today:

Shirley Temple Black
Dihann Carroll
Edie Falco (star of The Sopranos)
Jill Eikenberry
Linda Ellerbee
Peggy Fleming
Betty Ford
Nancy Reagan
Kate Jackson
Jaclyn Smith
Ruth Handler (creator of the Barbie doll)
Patti LaBelle
Rue McClanahan
Olivia Newton John
Lynn Redgrave
Cokie Roberts
Richard Roundtree (Shaft)
Carly Simon
Gloria Steinham
Suzanne Sommers

Others weren't as fortunate, and lost their battle to breast cancer:

Julia Child
Bette Davis
Minnie Pearl
Linda McCartney
Dusty Springfield
Skeeter Davis
Ingrid Bergman
Erma Bombeck
Jill Ireland

Let's all take good care of ourselves; I want us around for a long time. 

There's A Chill In The Air

You know summer is over when the sandals you bought in the spring are starting to stink.  Yes, that's a bit gross, but it's the truth.  As sure as the will be an autumnal equinox, your "new" sandals will stink after 4 or 5 months of wear.  It has nothing to do with the cleanliness of the wearer, nor does it matter what your sandals step into; they will start to stink when summer is over.  As a rule, I throw my sandals away on the first garbage day in October.

You know fall is here when you see the older women wearing their fancy sweatshirts.  By "fancy" I mean the sweathshirts with things embossed, embroidered, or painted on them.  These sweatshirts usually have a fake collar sewn in, to give the impression of the layered look.  These can usually be seen at bingo halls, flea markets, and bowling alleys after the end of September.

You know winter is almost here when you see the coats at the bus stops.  Not just at school bus stops, but at bus stops for public transporation as wel.  I don't mean just jackets; I mean big coats - big, puffy down-filled coats.  Keep in mind that the majority of these coats will never make it home the first day they are worn; they will be left hanging on coat racks and on the backs of chairs by their absent-minded owners.