These do seem to be CRAZY TIMES indeed...
...it's amazing how much differently we think about things nowadays...

We're ALL in trouble dept.: The war in Iraq drags on. That much we know. Prezzident Bush's approval rating is down. That's only logical. The President is beginning to realize how desperate his case is. I come to that conclusion because now he's stumping around the country, trying to promote the war in Iraq; he himself is doing this, rather than hiding in the White House behind the advisors who've been ill-advising him. How do I know we're all in trouble? Because Bush said today, "I'm your EDUCATOR-IN-CHIEF." I'm sorry, but Prezzident Bush 'educating' someone is similar to an Appalachian hillbilly trying to teach a physics class. Someone throw him a life raft; he's in over his head!

Maybe we're just a bunch of (oxy)morons dept.: I read today that some consultant somewhere thinks that somewhere within the CDA area, there's 5 million dollars laying around, in order to get the building of our proposed "Kroc" center underway. Hmmm...okay. Now all we gotta do is actually raise that money! Plans are one thing; reality is another. Will the "Kroc" center happen? I hope it does. What do I think about $5 million being raised locally? Dubious. (Maybe that's what the "dubya" in George W. Bush's name stands for..."dubious"?)

But I was thinking...if the "Kroc" center is being funded partially by McDonald's, is there something wrong with this picture? McDonald's features greasy food laden with cholesterol, and yet they promote athletic facilities? That's kinda like Philip-Morris corporation airing TV spots which tell you smoking is bad for you. I firmly believe PM corp. airs those ads so when anyone tries to "class-action-sue" them because their cigarettes caused them cancer, PM can rebut by saying, "hey, we told you how bad smoking was! Now, go away!" Philip Morris can tell the courts, "We advised smokers that cigarettes are dangerous. The smoker has lung cancer? It's HIS fault!"

Of course, I'm a hypocrite too dept.: I went out today, bought a coupla cheap loaves of bread and then went down to the lake to feed the flock. Those big geese that swim in the lake, they come right up and take the food right out of your hand. And, the seagulls squawk and battle over a crust of bread, yet they fly so gracefully. (Is there a parallel there between the seagulls and us human beings, I wonder?)

After that, I got dinner from the deli and went home. As I prepared to munch away, all of a sudden, I realized I was a hypocrite. Here I am, feeding the birds, nurturing life, and for dinner I'm eating FRIED CHICKEN? Why do I run into dilemmas everywhere I go?

Bringing home the "bacon" dept.: Evidently there are breeders out there who are trying to breed miniature pigs. And, the pigs are going to get smaller and smaller, so instead of weighing half a ton and sloshing around in the mud, perhaps one day there will be "pocket pigs" which you can actually have for pets. And, you'll be able to take your "pocket pig" with you, virtually everywhere you go. There was actually a story about this on CNN, which featured reporting by a lady correspondent. After hearing the report, host Anderson Cooper remarked that, sooner or later, PARIS HILTON will latch on to a pocket pig. And you know what the lady correspondent said? "Poor PIG!!!" Now, THAT absolutely made my night! HILARIOUS!!! SNORT!!!

Git along little dogies, git along dept.: (or, "it's your misfortune and none of my own") Both of those lyrical quotes come from an old cowboy tune, "The Last Roundup", one of them sing-around-the-campfire tunes. What reminded me of this? I read in the paper today that Silverwood, the amusement park 15 miles north of here, is having a JOB FAIR. Basically, a job fair is nothing more than a glorified "cattle call". Thousands of people show up for maybe 100 jobs; they fill out a bunch of papers, they're all interviewed, and 95% of them are then shuffled out the door, never to be heard from again. I remember when the CDA Target store was hiring its initial crew back in the '80s; I was one of hundreds of people who got rejected. And what I thought was weird, was that the guy who interviewed me walked me out to the exit door. I thot that was downright creepy. Maybe he thot I'd "go postal" or something. I suppose when I left, he thot, "I'm sure glad THAT guy (me) is gone!"

I don't wanna play with you and you can't make me dept.: Doesn't that sound like something you might have said in the schoolyard during recess? Well, Alfonso Soriano of the Washington Nationals baseball team is saying the same thing. He was traded this year to Washington, where he was assigned a position in the outfield. But, Soriano was a second baseman with his previous team. And, rather than play outfield, he decided NOT to show up to play during Spring Training, unless he can play the position he wants to play. So he stamped his feet, threw a tantrum, and stayed home instead. I guess his $10 MILLION DOLLAR SALARY isn't enough to make him want to play a different position. So, I'd like to dedicate a "Dion" song to Mr. Soriano: "DONNA THE PRIMA DONNA." Soriano has been threatened with 'disqualification' if he doesn't come around. He could lose that $10 million dollar salary. Maybe Mr. Soriano should take up tennis; after all, the ball is now in HIS court. My one-word feedback to this mess? "SHEEEEEESH"!!!

Time out now for a "little" humor dept.: Two peanuts were walking in the park after sunset, and obviously some sort of underhanded activity took place. One was "a salted", and the other was "a roasted." And there you have it..."little" humor. Very little. Oh, by the way...according to Ripley's "Believe it or not", a peanut is NOT a nut. It's a bean. Believe it or..."nut".

I guess there are elections happening somewhere dept.: A relatively new trend in political advertising is the fast-annoying phrase, "I'm Seymour Graft and I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE". Obviously, with a statement like this, the "dumbing-down" of America continues. I mean, is a politician going to appear on an ad promoting his campaign that he DOESN'T approve? Huh? What? My version of this? "The President is an IDIOT and I approve this message!"

I think I'll quit while I'm ahead dept.: Well, it might just be too late for that, but I've got another in a series of Coeur d'Alene "Diamond Cup" hydroplane race brochures from years past, when things were a helluva lot more fun around here...

The year was 1960. Rocker Eddie Cochran, of "Summertime Blues" fame, died in a car accident in England. This is the year that "Camelot" started, as John F. Kennedy took over the Presidency. (He's probably looking down at Dubya and shaking his head these days.) I was 6 years old by this time.
During this year, our family moved into a big house on Front Avenue in CDA, which is still standing today. This was also the year I started 1st grade.During, or about this time, sometimes Mom would send me to the store for a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk or some such thing. So, I'd walk three blocks over to Redmond's Thrift Store, which was located in the same building where Ace Hardware is today, there on Sherman Avenue. And sometimes, I'd visit the great toy department at Sprouse-Reitz Variety, located where Burts' Music is located now.
____________________

When a post turns out like this one, all I can say is, I'm having "too much fun". Some weeks, I can barely put a thought together. Other times, I have thoughts, but can't express them. So I suppose this week, I must be "foaming at the BRAIN". Lots of thoughts, however illogical. I resemble that!