Hats Off To You, Phyllis

The 'rents and I just got back from a very fun overnight trip to the Glory Of Rome.  We had a blast.  Even though we were just gone a little over 24 hours, it still seemed like we'd been gone for a week.  I guess that we just know how to pack alot of fun and excitement into one day.  I think it's something in the gene pool.

We got home this afternoon, absolutely worn out from all of the walking and the "press here to spin" button on the slot machines.  Oh, and from the eating.  Especially the eating.  One of our favorite things to do at the Glory Of Rome is to eat the breakfast at the Villa Buffet.  It rocks.  And it's downright cheap.  It cost us $8 per person - and that includes coffee and all the juice you can drink.  If you've ever eaten breakfast at any restaurant, whether it's McDonalds, Denny's or any other place, then you already know that you'll pay $2-$3 for a small Dixie cup sized glass of juice.  At the Villa Buffet, you get the juice in a tall 16+ ounce iced tea glass.  That in itself is worth the $8 price you pay. 

Besides the juice, the other big draw to the breakfast at the Villa Buffet is the omelet station.  Every time we've been there for breakfast in the past two years, we've had an awesome omelet prepared by Phyllis, the omelet chef.  The first time we had one of her made-to-order omelets, we wanted to ask her if we could hire her to come cook breakfast for us at home.  Yes, they were that good. She wears the very cool white chef's coat, but unfortunately she doesn't wear the tall chef's hat.  I guess she draws the line somewhere.  But I've never tasted an omelet like that before.  It's well worth the half-hour trip to get there just for the omelet. 

When we arrived at the Villa Buffet this morning, Mom and Dad went on their merry ways through the huge buffet, while I got in line for my omelet.  There were 12 people in front of me.  No, I'm not exaggerating.  The 'rents and I aren't Phyllis' only fans. And she was raking in the tips, too.  Everbody that got an omelet left her a buck or two, but this morning I noticed a five and a twenty in the pile of tip money. Evidently they won more then we did. 

On a side note, I'm sorry to report that I did not spot any mullets at the Glory Of Rome this trip.  Maybe they were all hibernating, or all at Wal-Mart. 

Sorry, Pamela Anderson

Kentucky governor refuses Anderson's Colonel Sanders request

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — With a bust in the balance, Kentucky's governor is siding with Colonel Sanders over Pamela Anderson.   Gov. Ernie Fletcher wrote the Stacked actress to say a bust of the KFC founder will stay in the Kentucky Capitol, despite Anderson's claim that Sanders is a symbol of cruelty to chickens.

"Colonel Sanders remains a Kentucky icon," Fletcher wrote last week. "His success story has been an inspiration to many. The industry he began has employed hundreds of thousands of workers over the years. His business and his legacy have been good for Kentucky."

Anderson has been involved in a public relations campaign with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to raise awareness of what she calls abuse of chickens in processing plants that supply poultry to the Louisville-based chicken chain.

She responded to the governor's decision in a letter Tuesday, saying Sanders' chief legacy is a company "that mutilates God's creatures."

In her letters to Fletcher, the 38-year-old actress has detailed alleged abuses of chickens by KFC suppliers. Among her claims, she said workers in a slaughterhouse in West Virginia have been filmed tearing the heads off live birds, spitting tobacco in their eyes and boiling the chickens alive in tanks of scalding water.

KFC has called Anderson's attack on Sanders a misguided publicity stunt.

Fletcher was courteous in his letter, thanking Anderson for her comments. "I hope you will feel free to contact me any time an issue is important to you," he wrote.

The white-bearded, bolo-tied Harland Sanders, who died in 1980 at age 90, began the Kentucky Fried Chicken empire more than six decades ago from his own kitchen in rural Corbin, serving a few hungry travelers who stopped in his service station. Now, KFC restaurants serve more than a billion chicken dinners a year around the world.

 

I'll admit that I haven't been a huge Fletcher fan since he's been in office. I know that's harsh, since he is the leader of my state, but I'm being honest.  The straw that broke the camel's back was a year and a half ago when Fletcher's plane was almost shot down by Air Force jet fighters when it flew into restricted air space during Ronald Regan's funeral.   But I've gained new respect for Governor Fletcher for standing up to Pamela Anderson and her PETA crew.  In an interview on one of the local news channels, I heard Governor Fletcher say that if they decided to do anything with the bust of Col. Sanders, they would make it bigger.  You go, Ernie.  I like you again.

Link Of The Week

In case you didn't already know, I love disco music.  To me and my fellow Diva, Donna Summer will always be the Queen of Disco.  I don't have many regrets in my life, but I do regret that I wasn't over 21 during the Disco Era - I was just a young teenager and couldn't get into the cool discoteques .  (I bet you haven't seen that word in about 30 years, have you?)  I still listent o disco music, and keep holding onto hope that one day it will make a comeback.  Until then, I have my albums and a great site like http://www.discomusic.com to check out.  It's the number one site for disco music- past and present. Please check it out.  And while you're at it, dust off those Donna Summer albums and give them a spin.

This Week Gets Better And Better

This has been the week for dreams coming true - first I finally joined the Ladies Auxiliary, and as of today, I am the proud owner of a generator.  When we had the tornado outbreak the week of Memorial Day in 2004 and lots of friends and co-workers were without power for over a week, I decided that we needed a generator.  But things and other expenses got in the way, and we just kinda forgot about it.  But a few weeks ago, I decided that action must be taken.  So this morning, Dad and I went up to the local Pep Boys and brought home a Coleman Powermate 7500.  The selling feature on the unit was the fact that we can plug the genterator into the receptacle on the side of the house, and have power go to the entire house.  So in the event of a power outage at The Compound, no need to worry - I will be able to use either the desktop or laptop computer and will be able to publish TWIT on a daily basis.  Of course it means that I'll have to use dial-up, provided we still have phone service.  But as long as I have power to the house, I will be happy. 
With the addition of the generator, I think we're pretty well covered for anything.  We've got the new snowblower that has yet to be used, and now we've got the generator.  We're ready for anything now.  Bring it on.

It's Official

I can't think of a better topic to write about today, my birthday, then to say that I am now officially a member of the Mill Creek VFW Post 5421 Ladies' Auxiliary. It took awhile, but it was fitting that a life-long dream came true on my birthday week. 

 The initiation ceremony took place Wednesday evening.  It was a short ceremony, but was very structured, and followed Robert's Rules Of Order and the official Ladies' Auxiliary by-laws to the letter.  In a nutshell, I raised my right hand and swore my allegiance to God, the U.S.A, the flag, and the veterans and their widows and children.  I was given the official By Laws book to read and follow, and they presented me with a gold Official Seal Of The Ladies' Auxiliary pin.  I was almost weepy.

Then the meeting portion of the evening started.  It was interesting to say the least. When the lady in charged banged the gavel down on the podium and gave the orders "At Ease", I went to join the other members.  I migrated immediately to the table with the oldest member.  You know how I love the cool little old ladies. This little old lady had her portable oxygen tank with her (in a very cool quilted carrying bag, too), and she would turn off the oxygen every 20 minutes so she could light up and smoke.  Great, I thought; we're going to get blown up during my first Ladies Auxiliary meeting.  But Isa there any way. 

The president wasn't there, nor was the senior vice-president, so that left the junior vice-president to conduct the meeting.  She was scared to death, but she did a great job.  The meeting was short, but it was not without drama.  There was a major disrepancy with the date of the special Sunday afternoon bingo next month; the secretary read in the minutes of the previous meeting that it was going to be February 5, and everyone else in attendance yelled "No, it's the 12th."  When I say everyone yelled, I truly mean everyone yelled.  Well, everyone except me; being the new member, I just sat there and observed, even though I, too, knew that the bingo was the 12th.  The treasurer spoke up over the chattering and told them "Look - the gaming license is for the 12th and that's when we're having it."  Nuff said.

Like I said, the initiation and the meeting only took about an hour, but it was an interesting hour.  I was disappointed - I'd hoped for at least a couple hours worth of stuff going on.  Maybe next month.   

 

More IRS Drama

This has been the week for IRS drama.  As if our 1996 Corporate Income Tax Final Return issue wasn't bad enough, now Richard Hatch, the first "Survivor" winner is in some deep do-do with the IRS.  Hatch has been found guilty of two counts of tax evasion.  He evidently forgot to report the $1 million he won from "Survivor" on his 2000 income tax return.  And in another oversight, he forgot to report the $321,000 he received from a Boston radio station on his 2001 return.  

I know that we had some issues with the IRS, but I'm not exactly living in a glass house and I can throw a few stones at Hatch on this one.  I could see someone maybe forgetting to report $100 that they got for housesitting or something like that, but how could you forget to report getting a million bucks?  He seemed like a fairly intelligent man to me - he was able to out last, out wit, and out play the other contestants on the show to win the big prize; how could someone that smart think that they could get away with not reporting over $1.3 million dollars?  Did he think that the IRS wouldn't find out?

According to the news reports and eye-witness accounts from inside the courtroom, Hatch's big excuse/reason/justification was he thought that CBS would pay the taxes on the money.  This is where it gets kinda strange.  During his time on the witness stand, Hatch didn't offer any explantion as to why he didn't pay the taxes on the money; at the end of the trial, his lawyer said that during the "Survivor" show, Hatch caught other contestants cheating, and struck a deal with the show's producers to pay his taxes if he won.  Needless to say, Hatch's contract he signed when he was chosen to be on "Survivor" stated that he would be responsible for paying the taxes on any money he won. 

Apparently, winning the money made Hatch become stupid.  When he was caught red-handed for tax evasion, prosecuters made him a deal: plead guilty to the two counts of tax evasion and they would recommend less than the maximum 10-year sentence.  He turned it down, and went on the morning news show circuit, claiming his innocence.  Well, we see where that got him, don't we?  He now faces up to 13 years in prison.  Hatch also kinda fibbed during his trial, and will have to deal with some nasty perfuryissues.  His sentencing will be April 28. 

Note:  I'm glad that the news people are distinguishing this Richard Hatch as the Richard Hatch that won the first "Survivor" show.  I would hate for people to get him confused with Richard Hatch of "Battlestar Galactica" from back in the day.

You Gotta Love The IRS, Part II

When we last left our heroine (me), she was all nerved up over dealing with the IRS.  I wasn't quite satisfied with the answers I got on Monday, so I called back.  After talking with 3 different people (one of whom I could not understand due to a forgeign accent) I finally got someone that could help me get this straightened out. A friend in the income tax business had told me to write down the name and ID number of every person I talked with, and as I was being shuffled from person to person, I kept feverishly writing down names and numbers. Finally, IRS agent # 217856 was able to help me.  After hearing many horror stories about the IRS, I was pleasantly surprised.  She was great.  I explained to her what was going on, and read her the letter I received.  She listened, and then assured me that she would help me get this fixed.   When she explained why this happened, she didn't come out and say "You probably didn't mark your final return as 'final return', you idiot."  She actually said that sometimes the "final return" box that is checked on a return is sometimes overlooked.  Wow - the IRS almost admitting they made a mistate.  At any rate, she put me on hold for only a minute or two, and when she got back on the phone she said that she went into their system and marked our 1996 return as being the final return, and said that we should never hear anything from them again about the cleaning business.  I sure hope so.  It was a bummer way to start out Birthday Week. 

You Gotta Love The IRS

I didn't sleep worth two cents last night; I was all nerved up.  I tossed and turned all night long. When the alarm went off this morning, I felt like I hadn't had any sleep at all.  My stomach was in knots all day long, too.  You see, the reason for my anxiety was a gruesome letter from the IRS.

Most of you probably don't know this, but my parents had a cleaning company in the late 80's.  We were incorporated (first big mistake) and I was in charge of keeping the books and filling out all of the tax forms.  After I practically developed an ulcer over all of the income tax forms, and after Mom and Dad got fed up over all of the hassle with the taxes and such, they disolved the corporation and closed the business in 1996.  We paid all of the taxes, and never heard anything from the IRS until Friday, when we got a letter from them saying they hadn't received our corporate income tax return for the year 2004.  "WTF?" was Mom's, Dad's, and my first reaction.  We closed the company, filed all the appropriate forms and paid all of the taxes that we owed.  Yet ten years later we hear from the IRS asking how come they didn't get their returns for 2004.  

I called the toll-free number listed on the letter, and was surprised that I actually got a live person on my first attempt.  She only put me on hold once before telling me that the IRS "probably" didn't notice that the last return I sent them said "Final Return" and told me to just send in a copy of the final return.  I thanked her for her time and hung up, not telling her that all of the tax papers and everything connected with the cleaning company were destroyed in the Great Basement Flood of 2003.  Actually, it was only 3 inches of water in the basement, but it was enough to ruin some boxes of papers that were on the basement floor.  Quick Thinking Puddin called the Kentucky Revenue Cabinet, and simply asked if they could send me a copy of the company's final return. No problem, they said.  So now all I have to do is wait till I get that information, and then call the IRS back and see if they can send me the proper forms from 1996 to fill out.  As Bernie Mac says, pray for me, America.  I'll keep you posted. 

I've Got A Headache

I had an annoying headache since Friday afternoon. I wasn't trying purposefully to cut back on my coffee intake, but it just happened, and the lack of caffeine gave me a slight but annoying headache.  On Saturday, I thought I would drink a couple more cups of coffee and it would go away, but I only drank one cup, and got preoccupied with other things and didn't drink any more.  By Saturday night, the headache was still there.  I didn't want to drink any Coke or have a cup of coffee at 9:00 at night, so I just bucked up. Thanks to Extra-Strength Tylenol, I was able to get rid of the headache and yesterday morning, had an extra cup of coffee for good measure.  Well folks, the headache has returned.  I know what you're probably thinking; "Maybe you should go to the doctor, Puddin, and make sure everything is ok."  I'm just fine, faithful readers.  But if you ask any other person at ZCO who works on the first floor of the office building, chances are they, too, have a headache right now.  Today, painters did some heavy-duty painting of the walls on the first floor of the office building, and we all have headaches from the paint fumes.

At first, we joked about how we all had a nice buzz going on from the fumes.  But as with all buzzes, it quickly wore off, only to be replaced by irritated eyes and an annoying headache. No amount of Tylenol nor Excedrin helped, either.  We just had to tough it out until quitting time when we could run outside and breathe fresh air. 

I took some more Tylenol as soon as I got home, and was outside for a few minutes before supper, taking deep breaths and filling my lungs with fresh air.  I'll be fine. Until tomorrow when we have to go back into the office building.

Mullet Watch

Our latest mullet sighting is brought to us by my friend, co-worker and faithful reader JMc.  I think I need to start hanging out with his wife and him - they've spotted some very good mullets so far.  Here's his sighting, verbatim: 

The wife and myself went out to the Easy Rider Bike Show this past Saturday.  Now this shows attracts a whole bunch of critters from the underworld, and the sighting happened right before we left.  It was a nice dark brown mullet with, get this, snake skin boots.  Couldn't tell if it was a fake print or the real deal though.

Mullet count: 8

Link Of The Week

The 'rents have been in an experimental recipe mode the past few weeks. They've made a couple of dishes in the very cool Kraft magazine that I get every quarter.  The current fave recipe from the magazine is for awesome enchiladas.  After having them two times, we all agreed that we would like to experiment and try some different variations.  The first place I looked was online.  While searching for some other enchilada recipes, I came across a very cool site called Foodie View that will help you with your online recipe searches.  This site searches for the recipe, ingredient, or type of cuisine, and it searches through tons of other sites.  Visit http://www.foodieview.com/index.jsp and try it for yourself.  And if anyone would like the enchilada recipe, here it is. 

Better-Than-Ever Beef Enchiladas

1/2 lb. extra lean ground beef 
1/2 cup chopped green peppers 
1/2 cup chopped red peppers 
2 cups TACO BELL HOME ORIGINALS Thick 'N Chunky Salsa, divided 
1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat Sharp Cheddar Cheese, divided 
2 Tbsp. KRAFT LIGHT DONE RIGHT! Zesty Italian Reduced Fat Dressing 
8 corn tortillas (6 inch) 
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro 
 

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Cook meat and peppers in large nonstick skillet on medium heat until meat is no longer pink, stirring frequently. Add 1 cup of the salsa; simmer 3 to 4 min. or until peppers are tender. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese. 
SPREAD 1/4 cup of the salsa onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish. Brush dressing lightly over both sides of tortillas. Stack 4 of the tortillas on large sheet of waxed paper; wrap tortillas in waxed paper. Microwave on HIGH 20 to 30 sec. or just until warm. Immediately spoon 1/3 cup meat mixture down center of each warm tortilla; roll up. Place, seam side down, in dish. Repeat with remaining 4 tortillas and remaining meat mixture. Spoon remaining 3/4 cup salsa evenly over filled tortillas; cover with foil. 
BAKE 20 min. or until heated through. Uncover; top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake an additional 2 to 3 min. or until cheese is melted. Top with cilantro. 
 

Tammy Fest III Review

As with the previous years, I have bittersweet emotions - Tammy Fest III is a memory now.  And what a memory it is! This year's Tammy Fest was bigger and better than last year's.  We decided that it will always be like that - just like how every year they say that Thunder Over Louisville will be bigger than the previous year, even if only by a few fireworks shell.  Plans are already underway for Tammy Fest IV.  We've already narrowed the choices down to two pictures to use for the Official Tammy Fest Photo, and this morning over breakfast we brainstormed some ideas for next year's festivities.

My favorite recently acquired memarobilia item that Stacy got this year was a 45 record inside a very cool cardboard foldout sleeve.  Her favorite item that I added to my collection this year was a page out of an old Billboard magazine from 1969, congratulating Tammy on winning her Grammy Award.  I think that if our collection of memarobilia keeps growing at its current pace, we might have to end up renting a hall in a few years for Tammy Fest. 

In keeping with the tradition of two-of-a-kind collectors items that we have specially made for Tammy Fest, this year we proudly wore t-shirts that Stacy made using the official photo of Tammy Fest III.  We had some photographic issues last night (re: I forgot to bring my digital camera) so I don't have any photos to post today.  But we did find one of the kids' disposable cameras and took some pictures so as soon as we get those developed I'll scan them in and post them.

In the words of Tammy Wynette herself, it sure was fun. 

Farewell, Wilson Pickett

TWIT is sad to report the death of soul music pioneer Wilson Pickett.  Pickett died Thursday of a heart attack.  He was only 64 years old.  Pickett had been suffering from health problems for the past year.  "Wicked Pickett" was best known for his classic hits "Mustang Sally" and "In The Midnight Hour."  Those two songs are must-haves for old school cover bands still today.  He also had a hit with the very cool old school song "Land Of A Thousand Dances."

Aretha Franklin said "A fellow Detroiter, Wilson Pickett was one of the greatest soul singers of all time.  He will absolutely be missed."  That's a pretty big compliment coming from the Queen of Soul.

Pickett was defined by his raspy voice and passionate vocal delivery.  Like so many of his musical counterparts, he got his start singing gospel music in church.  Pickett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Even though he didn't appear in the movie, Pickett's invfluence could be found in the 1991 film "The Commitments." 

When I had my band, the first song I added to our list-of-songs-to-learn was "In The Midnight Hour."  I've always thought it was one of the coolest songs.  It was also one of the most fun songs to play on the guitar, too.  I'll never sing that song again that I don't think of the great Wilson Pickett. 

Happy Tammy Fest Day

TWIT is pleased to wish you, my faithful readers, a very happy Tammy Fest Day.  The festivities will begin promptly at 7:00 this evening, and will last until no Divas are left standing.  The refreshments have been purchased, decorations will be set up, memorabilia will be placed on display, and as always, the concert DVD of The First Lady Of Country Music Miss Tammy Wynette will be playing on repeat.  Nothing will keep Tammy Fest III from happening tonight - not even new threats against the U.S. by Osama Bin Ladin.  If he's going to attack us here in America, then he'd best not do it tonight or else he'll have to deal with The Divas.  He's bad, but he's not that bad.

 

Tales From Shively

Today's post is brought to you by my friend, co-worker, and faithful reader GS.  He had a very interesting experience yesterday in lively Shivley that he wanted to share with you, my faithful readers.  I couldn't begin to describe his experience, so he was kind enough to write about it.  I think he might need to start his own blog if he keeps on writing blog-worthy material like this. It's a bit longer than your average TWIT journal entry, but it's worth the read.

I thought I would share with you an experience I had yesterday, January 18, 2006.  To tell you about my experience with humanity or the lack thereof, I first have to give you a little background information.  As some of you may already know, we recently purchased a new(er) car to replace the old car I had for 13 years.  Before purchasing said newer car, the dealership we bought it from agreed to repair or replace an inside trim piece and the stereo.  The day that the dealership fixed these things was on the day of my almost downfall into the gutters of society.  The day was going swimmingly.  My job was busy and the work day went fast.  Then, a most gracious co-worker agreed to drive me to the dealership after work so I could pick up the car.  Actually, I had two other co-workers offer to give me a ride as well.  The dealership had my car waiting for me when I arrived and then didn’t even charge me one cent for the repairs.  After these displays of love and self-sacrifice from my co-workers and the dealership people, I was feeling all warm and fuzzy inside and proud to be an American

As my co-worker friend was driving to the dealership, we noticed that the gas stations we passed had all raised their prices from the day before.  As you have probably seen today, gas has gone up around 30 cents.  Fortunately, one of the gas stations we passed was still posting the low price they were showing two days ago.  My co-worker friend and I agreed that it would be a good idea to get some gas before going home.  Anyway, we proceeded to the dealership and I picked up the car.  I left the dealership with that warm fuzzy feeling still glowing on my face.  After leaving the dealership, I decided to not waste any time and drove straight to the gas station still showing the low price

It was about 4:45PM when it started.  As you can imagine, the gas station was very busy but there was only about a two car wait at each pump.  Still feeling the love, I got in line and waited just like everyone else.  When it was the older gentleman’s turn in front of me, he realized he was facing the wrong way at the pump.  His gas cap was on the other side of his car and the fuel hose wouldn’t reach.  Being in such a good mood, I motioned to him that I would save his place at the pump if he got back in his car and turned around.  He smiled, mouthed the words “thank you” and proceeded to do just that.  Here is where things started going downhill

By the time the older gentleman turned around and started pumping his gas, it was 5:15PM.  As I’m sitting there looking at the clock on my car stereo, I notice a car pull up behind the older gentleman whom I had so graciously let turn around so he could pump gas into his car more easily.  At this point, my blood pressure started to rise a little bit.  Then, as the older gentleman finishes up and pulls away, the new car behind him proceeds to squeeze up to the pump I’ve been waiting at for over 30 minutes.  Still trying to hang onto my warm fuzzy feeling, I got out of my car to inform the new car’s driver he had just cut me off.  As I’m talking to this guy before he puts the hose in his car, our voices start getting loud.  Within about 3 seconds, we are both yelling at each other.  I tried to tell the guy calmly that I’ve been waiting for over 30 minutes to get gas at this very pump and that he should let me get some gas first.  He starts yelling some crap back at me that he’s been waiting longer and he accused me of just pulling up to the pump.  As we are yelling at each other, another car pulls up behind this guy.  I look at the second car and it has a lady driving it.  Shifting my focus to a different person, I decide to plead my case to the lady and ask her to just let me fill up quickly before her.  All I received from the lady was a dagger death stare and refusal to comply with my request.  By this time, the gas station is completely packed.  There were also cars waiting out on the street to turn into the gas station.  This gas station is located on Dixie Highway and for those of you who know how busy Dixie Highway is, you can imagine just what all the stopped cars were doing to the traffic.  Dixie was now becoming a death trap around the gas station due to all the cars in line.  I’ve heard that price dictates demand, but this was getting ridiculous.  Mustering up all the warm fuzzy feeling that was left in me, I looked back at the car the lady was sitting in.  After I got her attention I told her, in the most syrupy/sarcastic voice I could muster I told her, “God Bless America, ma’am.  I’ll see you in church on Sunday morning.”  As I was walking back to my car, I could literally hear her screaming something at me through her car windows.  The guy that cut me off also said something obscene at me as I was walking away.  By now, I was lividly mad but quite aware how close I was to ending up on the 6PM local news.

I get into my car and drove off.  By now it is 5:30PM and 45 minutes of my life have been wasted by idiots.  I needed to go someplace to pay a bill before 6PM and drove to that place immediately.  As I’m driving, I start calming down.  The Third Day CD playing on the stereo kicks to the next song, “You Make Me Mad.”  I start laughing at myself and the situation I just left.  By the time I get to the next place and pay the bill, I’ve basically calmed completely down and even had regained some of the warm fuzzies.  I decide to stop at a different gas station on the way home because I really did need gas.  As I’m driving home from Louisville, every gas station I pass has already changed their prices.  Now, the warm fuzzies are starting to flee again and I become obsessed with finding at least one gas station that is under $2.30 per gallon.  You see, every gas station that I passed up on Dixie Highway in favor of the one I wasted my life at was showing $2.29 a gallon.  By golly, I wasn’t going to settle for anything more than that.  Once I crossed the Kennedy Bridge, I stopped at three different gas stations that I know to be a little lower priced than all the others.  Each one I stopped at was showing $2.39.  It’s as if as I was driving to each one, the previous gas station was telling the next one, “Hey, Greg’s on his way!  Jack your price up before he gets there

After driving by the third station, I had basically lost hope of finding a decent priced gallon of gas.  I decided to just settle for whatever the Marathon station in Sellersburg was showing.  My house is close to that station and I could just slip home quickly and quietly after I finished fueling.  As I pulled up to the Marathon, I looked in disbelief at their sign showing $2.49.  Now this was just way too much.  The Marathon was so quiet; I had my choice of all 10 gas pumps.  I pulled in and stopped my car next to the end pump.  I sat there muttering to myself about what I should have done to those people back on Dixie Highway. I was going over all the different possible things I could have said and done and basically mired myself in my own self-pity.  After sitting there for about 5 minutes by myself, I decided I had to try to salvage as much dignity as I could.  I was going to drive through Sellersburg to see if I could find at least one gas station that was even one penny less than $2.49.  I had a choice to turn right or left when pulling out of Marathon.  I decided to turn right and drive toward the local JayCee food store.  Then, on the road up ahead, just like the song, I saw a shimmering light.  It was like a desert oasis with the palm tree and everything.  I had to rub my eyes to make sure I wasn’t seeing imaginary things.  Hanging from the top of the palm tree was a sign that said “Swifty gasoline, $2.18.”  I couldn’t believe it.  I was in shock and there were only a handful of cars waiting in line.  I got in line.  Surrounded by the local country folk, I started to get the warm fuzzies back.  The people in line were cordial, even with the customers that pulled up to the gas pump the wrong direction.  I was feeling so good; I even helped an older lady pump gas into her car

Within just a couple of minutes, I had filled up my gas tank and I was driving home.  As I was driving home, I started wondering what God was trying to tell me.  That Third Day song kept ringing in my head.  Without getting to philosophical, I’ve come to the conclusion that it just doesn’t matter what people do or say to me.  No matter what people do or say (unless they actually stab me or something), I’m still going to be breathing and the world isn’t going to come to an end.  Does it really matter if someone cuts me off in a line?  Of course it doesn’t.  From this point on, I’ve decided to pursue having as oily of a back as a duck.  For those of you that really know me, that’s a really big hurdle for me.  Hopefully I’ll have that Third Day CD playing the next time I’m trying to pump gas.

Update Wednesday

First snow of 2006
I was very happy this morning when I woke to two and a half inches of snow.  It was bittersweet - there was no snow on the driveway nor roads, so once again we didn't get to christen our snowblower, but at the same time it was nice being able to pull out of the garage without having to clear off the driveway.  This is just the middle of January, so there's ample time for us to use our snowblower. 

Tammy Fest III
Yes, faithful readers, it's that time again - it's time for The Divas' annual Tammy Fest.  In case you've forgotten, it's our annual tribute to The First Lady Of Country Music, Miss Tammy Wynette.  Tammy Fest III promises to be bigger and better than Tammy Fest I and II.  This year's extravaganza just might be bigger then the first two combined.  I think Diva Stacy would agree with me on this one.  The big event will be held this Friday.  You can expect a full report this weekend.

Happy Birthday Wishes
TWIT would like to wish Tom, Diva Stacy's Dad, a very happy birthday today.  Tom is one of the coolest guys you will ever meet.  He's also one of the biggest Cincinnati Reds fans, too.  He and I had a great time this summer on the bleechers at the ballfield watching G's baseball games.  It didn't take too many games for us to come to the conclusion that we should be doing the umpiring and not the PATs that Beechmont Little League uses.  Happy Birthday, Tom, and let me say thanks for not kicking us out of your basement for playing our music too loud when we were teenagers.  You rock.

Sympathy and Prayers
Please remember my friend, co-worker and faithful reader PW this week.  His grandmother passed away last night, plus he had more back luck this afternoon than any one person should have happen to them. Our thoughts and prayers are with PW and his family.

Those Wacky Parrots

Tell-tale parrot exposes cheating girlfriend
Report: Ziggy squawked, ‘I love you, Gary,’ but his owner’s name was Chris

MSNBC Updated: 9:17 a.m. ET Jan. 17, 2006

LONDON - Chris Taylor, a 30-year-old British computer programmer, grew suspicious of his live-in girlfriend when his pet parrot began to imitate her saying, “I love you, Gary.”

Ziggy, an 8-year-old African gray parrot, would also make kissing noises whenever the name Gary was mentioned on TV and would mimic Suzy Collins saying, “Hiya, Gary,” every time she answered her mobile phone.

Confronted with the evidence, Collins admitted to a month-long affair with a coworker named Gary and moved out of their shared Leeds apartment that same night.

“I wasn’t sorry to see the back of Suzy after what she did, but it really broke my heart to let Ziggy go,” Taylor, 30, told the Times of London in its online edition Tuesday. “I love him to bits and I really miss having him around, but it was torture hearing him repeat that name over and over again.

“Ziggy was one in a million; he was a loyal friend, and I have no doubt he was looking out for me.”

Taylor said Ziggy, who was named after a David Bowie song, has found a new home thanks to a local parrot dealer.

Collins, 25, told the newspaper she was staying with friends and said she shed no tears for the tell-tale bird.

“I’m not proud of what I did but I’m sure Chris would be the first to admit we were having problems,” said Collins, a call-center worker. “We had spoken about splitting up several times and I think it was inevitable.”

She added: “I’m surprised to hear he’s got rid of that bloody bird; he spent more time talking to it than he did to me. I couldn’t stand Ziggy, and it looks now the feeling was mutual.”

 

I sure am glad that my donkeys can't talk. 

Mullet Watch

This episode of Mullet Watch is brought to you by my friend and co-worker JZ. He was out and about this weekend with his wife S and spotted the mullet at [none other than] Wal-Mart. (Do you see a pattern developing here, faithful readers???) As was the case last weekend with the first female mullet, this weekend brought us another first for Mullet Watch - JZ said that this mullet was a dye job.  He reports that it was bottle brown. 

While JZ was telling his about his mullet sighting this weekend, another co-worker made the comment about how since we've been keeping track, we all seem to see more and more of them.  I think he's right.

Mullet count: 7

Parking Lot Watch

By now, you're familiar with Mullet Watch - an idea that evolved from lunchroom conversations at ZCO.  News of TWIT's Mullet Watch has spread, and we now have mullet watchers outside of the company.  Within our company, another watch has just been issued: Parking Lot Watch.  Not, this isn't a watch to see when [much needed] repairs and repaving will be done on our gravel parking lot; it's a watch to see when new cars will appear in the parking lot.  For you see, last week we got our bonus checks, I mean, profit sharing checks. 

The first few months of the year is a very exciting time at ZCO.  It's not that we're nosey; we just like to see who uses their bonuses toward a new ride.  It doesn't have to be a new-new car - we look for new-used cars, too.  A co-worker buying a used car is new to them, and to our parking lot.  We're not by any means jealous or bitter. On the contrary - I don't think I've been around any group of people who are happier for each other when somone gets a new ride like my co-workers.  I still recall how happy my co-workers at ZCO were for me two years ago when I was spotted in Parking Lot Watch just after I got my new-used BMW. 

I've even heard of a few co-workers who have bets on who they think will be the first to pull into the parking lot with a new car. As much as I would love for it to be me this year, I'm sorry to say you won't see me rolling up in a new Chrysler 300.  Maybe next year. Or the year after that.  Or the year after that. 

Link Of The Week

I'm not a doom-and-gloom person - I try to find something positive about everything seemingly bad that happens.  I try to stay upbeat, and try to keep a positive outlook on life.  For example, the current talk about the possible bird flu pandemic.  On the positive side, there have been no confirmed cases here on our side of the pond, thank goodness.  More and more people are talking about the bird flu these days, thanks largely to the media attention.  With more people being aware of a possible pandemic in the future, a positive outcome is the fact that more people will be prepared if a bird flu pandemic should occur. 

Once again, our government is on top of things.  They have put together an entire website about a pandemic, and what people like you and I should do to be prepared.  Just go to http://www.pandemicflu.org and take a few minutes to surf the site. There's all kinds of information that we need to know so we'll be prepared. They have checklists of items that we should have on hand, not only in the event of a pandemic flu outbreak, but for any type of emergency that might cause us to be unable to get out of the houseor neighborhood for an extneded period of time. The website is basically common sense - they talk about plans that you and your family should already have made in the event of an emergency, and they give you lists of items that every family should have on hand.   You are probably thinking "Come on, Puddin - now you're talking doom and gloom."  Au contraire.   Nobody thought our city would ever be shut down a week like were were just about this time back in 1994 when we got an unexpected 18-inch snow.  We could easily get another snow like that, or flooding since we're right here on the Ohio River.  Better safe than sorry, I always say.  Please take the time to check out the site, and get prepared just in case. 

No Snow

I'm bummed this morning.  Even though yesterday was pay day (aka Distribution Day) and even though those of us at work that had unused personal time from 2005 got paid for those hours, I'm still bummed this morning.  We didn't get any snow last night.  Not a dusting like the weatherazzi predicted; not even a snowflake.  So much for the old wives tale about the thunder and snow corrolation. 

I don't know what happened - when I went to bed at 11:00 last night, I checked Dopplar radar and the big snow front was knocking on Louisville's door.  Maybe the white on the Dopplar radar screen at the WLKY website was a smudge or something. I bet I'm probably the only person in the city who is disappointed because we haven't had any snow this winter. 

On a related note, this is the year anniversary of having a snow blower.  I bought our snow blower this week last year.  A year has come and gone and we still haven't gotten to use it.  After a quick check at the Weather Channel, there is some snow in the forecast for this Thursday and Friday.  I'm not getting my hopes up.

File Under: WTF?

We've had some bizarre weather this first two weeks of January.  The month started out with bigtime storms, tornados and 70+ degree weather, and twice this week we've had thunder storms with lightning.  The temperatures have been all over the thermometer; pretty much everyone has either been sick or are sick.  Today started out with thunder and lightning and temperatures in the low 60s and right now it's in the low 40s and they're calling for snow tonight.  WTF?

Tuesday at work when it was storming, my boss mentioned an old wives tale that I had heard years ago but had forgotten - she said that in January, when you hear thunder, it will snow two weeks from the day you heard the thunder, give or take a few days. Based on those calculations, the Farmer's Almanac, and the Weather Channel, I think the tale might be right.  We had hellacious storms on January 2, and they're calling for snow tonight.  We had storms again today, and they're calling for snow next weekend.  Tomorrow morning, we'll know if the old wives tale was right nor not. I'll keep you posted.

One weather-related note: at the bank this evening, I saw an interesting sight.  The weather was cold and rainy.  A guy had on shorts, with a big parka and gloves.  Go figure.   

Things I Want To Do In 2006

1.  Go back to Las Vegas
2.  Trace my family tree
3.  Win a karaoke contest
4.  Finish the book that I started writing in 1989
5.  Grow an herb garden
6.  Deposit something into my savings account every week
7.  Play the guitar more
8.  Keep my New Year's resolutions
9.  Not lose so many things
10. Blog every day

Mullet Watch

Today's episode of Mullet Watch is brought to us by my friend and co-worker GN.  He spotted this mullet on Sunday at church.  He said the mullet was long and gray, and was pulled back in a ponytail.  GN said that the mullet was singing in the choir, and from the congregation's viewpoint, it looked like he had short hair with it pulled back in a ponytail.  At lunch today, we grilled GN for more info about the mullet - specifically, if he strutted around like a banty rooster.  He said probably not, since he was sitting in the choir loft wearing his choir robe.

Mullet count:  6

File Under: WTF?

Flaming mouse torches tormentor's house

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
January 9, 2006

FORT SUMNER - A mouse got its revenge against a homeowner who tried to dispose of it in a pile of burning leaves. The blazing creature ran back to the man's house and set it on fire.

Luciano Mares, 81, of Fort Sumner said he caught the mouse inside his house and wanted to get rid of it.

"I had some leaves burning outside, so I threw it in the fire, and the mouse was on fire and ran back at the house," Mares said from a motel room Saturday.

Village Fire Chief Juan Chavez said the burning mouse ran to just beneath a window, and the flames spread up from there and throughout the house.

No was hurt inside, but the home and everything in it was destroyed.

Unseasonably dry and windy conditions have charred more than 53,000 acres and destroyed 10 homes in southeastern New Mexico in recent weeks.

"I've seen numerous house fires," village Fire Department Capt. Jim Lyssy said, "but nothing as unique as this one."

 

Maybe it's just me, but this story sounds like a demented Looney Tunes or Merry Melodies cartoon.  I'm getting a vision of Speedy Gonzalez running through a house so fast that his little straw sombrero catches fire and burns down the hacienda. 

Another Customer Service Horror Story

From reading TWIT, you already know that I usually try not to name-drop too much, unless it's something cool I've bought or a product mentioned in our New Product Review feature.  But an unfortunate incident has occurred, and I feel that I must warn you, my faithful readers, lest you fall into the same trap that I did.  I urge you to think twice before you purchase a Memorex product that could possibly require you to call their customer service department. Don't do it. 

Last week, I purchased a very cool portable karaoke player by Memorex.  I had read a bit about this model online, and the price was right so I bought it.  Imagine my frustration when I attempted to play karaoke CDs in it this weekend, and none would play.  No problem, I thought; I would simply call Memorex on Monday morning and talk with their customer service people, and they should be able to help me.  I called at 9:00, and after being disconnected 8 times, I finally got through only to have a recording tell me that the customer service department didn't open up until 9:00 PST.  So at 12:00 noon EST,  I called back, only to once again be disconnected 7 more times.  On the 8th attempt I got through, only to be put in loop of the same recording over and over again, no matter what number I would punch. I tried again a few more times, this time changing my plan of attack by pressing 0 as soon as I heard the recordings start.  I was in luck - I actually got a live person.  It was only the receptionist, but after explaining to her that I'd called almost 20 times and kept getting disconnected, she offered to take my name and number and assured me she would have someone in the customer service department call me within an hour.  Well, if I'd stayed on the phone I'm sure she would have also told me the story about the tooth fairy, too; nobody had called me by the time I left work at 4:30, nor did they call me back today.   By the time I left work yesterday, I had decided that I would box the player back up and take it back to Target and get my money back; if it was this hard to get help with their product, then I wanted no part of it. I fooled with the player some more last night, and after experimenting with the 4th different CD/DVD burning software, I was able to make a CD that would play in the karaoke player.  So I guess I'll keep it after all.  But I will think twice before I purchase any Memorex electronic products in the future. Let the buyer beware.

 

Mullet Watch

Now that TWIT is keeping an official count of mullet sightings this year, it seems like we're seeing more and more of them.  It's like they all know that TWIT is looking for them, so they're coming out of the woodwork.  I spotted two more this weekend.  The first sighting was about 11:30 Saturday night at the convenience store up the street from The Compound.  I was on my way home from visiting some friends when I decided to stop and get a bottle of ginger ale.  Boy, I'm glad I did.  The mullet was inside the store buying a dozen day-old doughnuts.  That fact, in and of itself, is blog-worthy - buying a dozen day-old doughnuts at 11:30 on a Saturday night.  I've had this store's doughnuts before, and let me tell you they're not all that fresh at 7:00 in the morning, much less at almost midnight.  I just hope they gave him a good discount.  Anyhoo, back to the mullet sighting.  I didn't get a good look at him below the torso, so I don't know if he was wearing the customary fake animal-skin cowboy boots or not.  Bu his mullet was in plain sight from across the store.  This wasn't just any mullet - the top of the mullet was short and spiked, a la Rod Stewart. 

The second sighting was Sunday afternoon at the Ladies Auxiliary fundraiser.  No, the mullet did not belong to one of the members of the Ladies Auxiliary.  But it did belong to a woman.  Not only was it the first female mullet of 2006, it was also the longest mullet I've personally sighted.  It was past her waist, and I'd venture to say she was at least five and a half feet tall. It wasn't spiked like the mullet the night before, but it was a mullet nonetheless.

Mullet count: 5

Link Of The Week

In case you haven't seen anything on TV or in the newspaper this weekend, today is a very historic day; it is the day that Elvis Presley was born 71 years ago.  Yes, faithful readers, if The King was still alive, he'd be 71 years old today.  That means he would be senior citizen, and he, too, would have to deal with deciphering the Medicare info on the new Precription Drug Plans.  But I'm sure he'd have one of the Memphis Mafia take care of it for him.

In case you'd like to get a good look at Graceland, and see some cool pictures of The King, or maybe even get some merchandise officially licensed by Elvis Presley Enterprises, just visit http://www.elvis.com and you can get your fill of all things Kingly. Thank you, thank you very much.

Things Overheard From The Interesting Couple Behind Me At The VFW Bingo

Did you salt these yourself?

On my birthday, I'm gonna give you money to buy me a ruby diamond.

Awww, Keith, you dumbass

I need to win so I can stay home from work tomorrow.

That pink looks good on you.

She put all of our shit in one cabinet.

I don't want anybody in the room this time.

That refrigerator is too cold.

I ate off that spoon and she's supposed to be sick.

You need to keep it plugged in.

Happy Birthday, Lenora

The 'rents and I are worn out from hosting a raucus birthday bash tonight. It was a birthday supper for our dear friend Lenora.  She's 92 years young today.  We were able to keep the dinner and party a surprise from her until she got here.  We had it all planned out, and darned if it didn't all come together.  Some friends called her earlier this week and told her that they wanted to take her out for her birthday tonight, only they didn't tell her where they were taking her.  Her eyesight is not what it used to be, so she truthfully had no idea where they were going, even though she's been out to our home dozens of times.  Anyhoo, she didn't know anything was up until they pulled into our driveway. 

I spent 3 days and put over 100 miles on the car going all over town in search of a U of L blanket for Lenora, and finally found one on Tuesday.  As soon as I saw it, it didn't matter what it cost - I only knew that Lenora had to have it.  She even got a bit misty when we unfolded the blanket so she could see it.  When I took her picture, she asked me "Are you going to put that in your blog?"  I told her that I sure would.

A good time was had by all, and we can't wait till her 93rd birthday to celebrate again.  Someone gave her a CD player for a birthday gift; I think next year we'll get her an iPod.

Happy Birthday, Lenora.  We love you.

Ladies Auxiliary, Here I Come

This is a historic day in the life of yours truly.  Tonight, I will be turning in my paperwork to join the Ladies Auxiliary.  It's a day I've been waiting for since I was a kid. Before going to work this morning, I got my special Mont Blanc pen out of the drawer and filled out all three copies of the form.  Dad received his membership card in the mail two weeks ago, and with the holidays, last Thursday was the first time I was able to get to the VFW since then.  As soon as I walked through the door, I was greeted by a two members of the Ladies Auxiliary, saying they've been waiting for me.  They even invited me to sit with them at THEIR table during bingo. How cool is that, I ask you?  The President might as well have asked me to join him for dinner.  They gave me the paperwork to fill out, and said that if I decided to get the lifetime membership (which, of course, I will) they will pay $50 of the fee.  What a bargain.

My first meeting will be in a couple of weeks - the last Wednesday of the month.  I can hardly wait.  We'll be planning the first fundraiser of the year - a special Sunday afternoon bingo in mid-February.  Maybe they'll let me call the numbers. 

It Was Soooo Windy . . .

It was so windy today . . . I saw a woman on Fourth Street get her wig blown off her head.

Yes, it's true.  I've always heard amusing jokes and stories about it being so windy that people get wigs blown off their heads, but it wasn't until this afternoon that I actually witnessed the event firsthand.  I was on my way back from the U of L campus, when I saw a woman, probably in her mid-60's, get off of the bus and walk down Fourth Street to the parking lot.  A gust of wind came along and her gray wig blew right off.  I was startled, to say the least.  I didn't laugh at first; I felt sorry for her because I thought she might be a chemo patient and didn't have any hair. But when I saw that she had a full head of hair, I thought it was OK to laugh. 

The wind didn't blow her wig very far - it just merely blew it off of her head. So it's not like the lady had to run down the street trying to catch it.  She just bent down and picked it up and put it in her briefcase bag and continued on her way to the parking lot. She didn't even look around to see if anyone was watching her, either.  She just picked up her wig and went on about her business.  It was like something from the old "Candid Camera" TV show or "America's Funniest Home Videos" only this wasn't staged.

Mullet Watch

First of all, let me say I had no idea I would be posting so many Mullet Watch entries.  Faithful readers, we've got another one.  This one is brought to us by my friend and co-worker C.L.  This mullet was spotted Sunday morning (New Year's Day was very popular with the mullets) at the Dairy Queen up in Corydon, IN.  This mullet was gray-to-the-point-of-almost-white, and very long.  She said that the mullet got out of his vehicle and strutted into the Dairy Queen.  C.L. and I decided that mullets are a very proud lot, with the way they strut around. 

Mullet count: 3

So You Wanna . . . Jailhouse Tattoo?

I look forward to my lunch break every day; not just because I can eat or because I don't have to work for a half an hour, but because I get to visit with my co-workers.  As I've repeatedly said before, we have such interesting and stimulating lunchtime conversations.  Today's was no exception.  The conversation quickly went from co-workers asking me where my pizza came from to the topic of jailhouse tattoos.  But not JUST jailhouse tattoos - the topic was how they MAKE jailhouse tattoos. 

One co-worker and faithful reader explained that the inmates save up the ashes from their cigarettes and they mix them with a little bit of water to make the "ink."  Then, using a smuggled-in pointed object, they use the ash ink to make the tattoo.  I had no idea he was such an expert on jailhouse tattoos. 

I did some research on jailhouse tattoos, and my co-worker's information was correct.  Here's what I found:

A jailhouse tattoo gun is constructed of found objects. For the needle, a guitar string or paper clip is sharpened to a fine point on a rock or cinderblock. It is run through the hollow shaft of a ball point pen and the tip protrudes slightly from the writing end. The string is attached to a small motor, usually from a Walkman, and hooked up to the batteries. The apparatus is fortified for stability by being taped to popsicle sticks or a plastic eating utensil. The pen remains stable while the point jumps.

The ink of choice is waterproof black ink but it’s rarely available in prison and very expensive. Convicts invent a myriad of concoctions - scrapings from soft pastels, charcoal pencils, and carbon paper - the ash of burned books, lightweight paper preferred. The flying soot lands on a shiny magazine cover, is scraped off, and mixed with toothpaste and water. Green ink is produced from green toothpaste ("Crest is best") or Prell shampoo - blue from Head and Shoulders or Selsen Blue - red from Robitussen cough syrup.

After discussing this a bit more, I raised the question "What could we use here at work to make our version of jailhouse tattoos?"  My lunch companions from the Engineering department had the answer right away - cast iron dust from the Grinding Room.  They sure are a resourceful bunch - I guess that's why they work in Engineering. 
 

Mullet Watch

My friend and faithful reader JMc contributes today's mullet siting.  Mullet count: 2

Twilight Zone theme please,
Imagine if you will, a family on a New Years Day outing to a red neck Mecca, Wal-Mart on Preston Highway, they spot a creature from the past thought to be extinct...dun

                          dun
                               dun
                                    daaaah.  A MULLET, the once famous haircut by the Achy Breaky Heart fans from the holler.  It looked that old too, being gray in all it's glory, like a big horned buck strutting around the forest saying "You ain't cut me yet, man!"  My wife wouldn't let me show the rarity to my children for fear of them saying "that's cool".  I could only conclude that an El Camino waited in the parking lot with a "Ain't Skeared" confederate sticker placed across the rear glass to convey this creature and it's host.

 

Congratulations, KGRamone

TWIT would like to congragulate my fellow blogger KGRamone on winning the ZCO fantasy football league.  He overcame an embarassing first game loss to a chick (yours truly), and battled his way back to win the league. 

I finished 6th place, which made me happy; I just didn't want to be in last place.  I'll get 'em next year. 

WTG, KGRamone.  You've got bragging rights till this September. 

Mullet Watch

At the start of the new year, we will begin a new regular feature in TWIT - a little something I like to call "Mullet Watch."  A co-worker and faithful reader JMc and I came up with this idea a couple of weeks ago.  We'll report to you each time we spot a mullet during the year, and if possible, we'll give you an actual photograph of said mullet. We will also keep a running count of all of the mullets spotted in 2006.

Faithful readers, it didn't take long to spot the first mullet of the year.  I saw it yesterday afternoon over at Caesar's.  It was stereotypical, to say the least.  The guy had a long brown mullet, and was wearing circa 80's jeans that snapped around the ankle.  He had on generic snakeskin cowboy boots, and was wearing a NASCAR jacket.  I'm sorry I wasn't able to get a picture of him, but I'm sure from my vivid description you get the picture. 

Mullet count: 1

Link Of The Week

After a year and a half of sharing my life, habits, likes and dislikes with you, my faithful readers, you all know by now how much I love eBay. Hardly a week goes by that I don't bid on at least one thing.  So far, all of the items I've bid on and bought were things that I: a) wanted; b) needed; or c) thought I wanted or needed.  I've not been disappointed with anything I've gotten so far, and I hope that trend continues in the new year. 

If you've spent any amount of time looking on eBay, you know that you can find practically anything on there.  I've come across quite a few things that made me wonder "Who on earth would want that?"  Well, someone has taken the time to put together a site dealing that that very thought.  Go to www.whowouldbuythat.com and see for yourself.  People like us that shop or surf on eBay have posted items for bid on there that will make you wonder "Who on earth would buy that."  My current favorite item on the site is a sequin and bead water bottle holder.  I just might have to bid on that.