derf...

Sorry to say and sad to report, I've never seen any intelligence from them...of any sort!

The Declaration was written by Texans, right before they moved to our state....really, I have it on good authority.

derf...

Honey, you labor from a false pretense... You presume these yamn dankees can learn......

Poor dears, sigh.......I guess everyone can't be a Texan.

Topic??? We don't need no stinkin' topic.... LOL! eom

Sorry, derf, couldn't resist.....

midas98.....you're very perceptive........

ncmark...

"I don't want to be a trouble maker"

With all due respect, bullpuckey. You came here, started this fight, and now you back up, hands in the air, yellin' "whoa!"

This ain't my first rodeo, cowboy.

Now, wanna drop this discussion here and now to prove your honorable intent?

Amen, sarals, amen...eom

Well,ncmark...

Do you want the clinical reasons? Or are you wanting the ethical/moral reasons?

Or, are you, as I suspect, just a troublemaker and I happen to be your mark, today?

If the latter is true, I suggest you read my tagline......and take it to heart....

ncmark..yep..eom

You betcha, ONEBGG...

I've no quarrel with freedom of choice, and in fact, have no personal opinion on helmets for adults. For kids, that's another story - they depend on us for protection.

I'd no more ride a motorcycle than try to swim the English Channel...not worth the inherent risks, IMO.

Right, ONEBGG...even if only for a little while, puts it all in perspective.

Thanks, big guy! Yes, it was sad, but as I told hubby the last thing they were doing was having fun. No better way to go, IMO.

ncmark...

Wow, where do I begin......

It was a stupid remark, because it was insensitive? Or...

It was a stupid remark, because it was ill-informed? Or...

It was a stupid remark, because you appear to be coldhearted? Or...

Take your pick, or I can think of many others.

sarals...

It used to be, but the law was repealed.

Stupid remark, ncmark. eom

Yeah, makes all our petty bickering seem pretty...well...petty, doesn't it?

This day went terribly wrong.....

The day was this past Saturday, and it didn't go wrong for me. In fact, it didn't go wrong for any one I even knew. But, in the end, two young people lay dead,almost at my feet.

Hubby and I are season ticket holders to Texas Motor Speedway. This past weekend we had the Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday night, and the IRL race on Saturday night.

The weather was, in a word, fabulous. The temps were only in the low 80's and there was a light breeze. Amazing for Texas this time of year. Perhaps it was that, and the excitement of attending an event where the participants "cruise" around at 200+ mph, that caused such reckless behavior. I suppose we will never know.

After the race, and the visit to the pits, hubby and I headed for the parking lot. We, being veterans of TMS, knew we'd have to wait out the traffic before heading home so we were in no hurry as we moseyed on back.

When we go to our truck we noticed a lot of activity, police, fire, ambulance, etc. some 50 yards from our parking space. Through binoculars, we really couldn't make out any more than just a crowd standing around something.

Finally, our curiosity got the better of us-and I really wish it hadn't. We walked down to where the activity was.

On the ground, separated by a few feet, lay a man and a woman. A barely damaged motorcycle was standing off to the side, and a dented van was parked behind it - evidence of the collision. I used to wonder just what "massive head trauma" meant when I read about it in the newspaper. After that scene, I understand all too well. The paramedics were frantically and feverishly working on both victims. The man, with vital signs, was loaded into the back of an ambulance and it raced off. The woman would get a heartbeat, only to lose it, over and over again. The crowd was intently following each peak and valley.

Hubby asked a nice lady next to us if she knew what had happened. She said details were sketchy, but it appeared the two of them were riding the motorcycle too fast and with no helmets on when the van crossed their path. The end result was, literally, the end for two people.

As we walked back to our truck, I cried. Hubby was silent, but when he saw my tears he put his arm around my shoulder. All I could think was here were two people, having fun, and a moment's bad decision ruined the lives of everyone they knew or were related to - not to mention their own. Before getting into the truck, I turned around to look one last time. They had covered the woman with a sheet. The head was already soaked in blood, her tennis shoes and one hand stuck out from under the sheet. I thought how utterly silent and motionless death is.

Sleep was difficult and fitful that night. I kept seeing her body, lying there, and it was so sad....so final.

This morning, a paragraph in our paper detailed the accident. The police estimate the victims - both in their 30's - were traveling at 60 to 70 mph when they collided with the van. The man died on the way to the hospital, and the woman was declared dead at the scene. That's all, the end, but those of us who were there know it was so much more profound than that.

Profoundly sad.........

Hi Big Guy! Wow, you have been a-hoppin' over here! Trying to get back into the top 10?

Give 'em hell!

Wow, y'all sure have been busy over the weekend. Poor Matt.

Thank you, sarals....enjoy. eom

ergo, eom

ONEBGG...the e-mail link is on the home page, on the left, below the navigation tabs.

Your sites are waaaaaaaaaaay cool!

Anytime, Big Guy! Glad you are feeling better. Take care of you!

sarals..

I've written a lot...check it out.....


http://violetlenora.topcities.com/home/index.html

BnB....Shhhhhhh...it'll be our secret.

Thanks, sarals. Sometimes, when I relay some of the stories of a life well-lived I think to myself...you ought to write that down........oh, wait, I just did!

Thanks for letting me trip down memory lane, excel! eom

Well, as usual, I'm a day late and a dollar short...

Baseball? Ahh....the boys of summer.......

As a child, I'd go to games with Dad - sit in the bleachers, eat cotton candy till I wanted to puke, and invariably fall asleep right after the highlight of the night - the seventh inning stretch.

The Cardinals are the only team I ever thought existed. I remember The Man, I remember Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, the Mad Hungarian, and most of all I remember Jack Buck and Harry Carrey (sp?). My mother worked for KMOX radio, and I got to be pretty good buds with Jack. If I promised to be real quiet he would let me sit on his lap for half an inning while he broadcast. I also got to go into the big control room and watch him record promos for the station.

That is until one day....

On this day, I had come to work with Mom as I did from time to time, and Jack was recording some commercial. As usual I wandered into the control room - actually followed someone in as they kept those doors locked from the outside while they were recording - and proceeded to satisfy my long-standing curiousity about all those pretty lights and switches on the sound board. The resulting cacophony of sounds sent me (and Jack) into fits of giggles. I was thoroughly admonished, but for the next three or so takes Jack could not keep it together. Me, either. Eventually, I was ushered outside the room and Jack finished. After that, I was never allowed inside the control room while anyone was recording.

I also got to hang out with some of the ball players, even getting an invite into the dugout once that I remember, and I remember the heat, the dirt, and the size of those men! I was, very young at the time you realize, so they looked like giants.

I had, for years, a caricature drawing of Jack that he had given me for my birthday one year. It was funny. He was all ears, as Jack really was. I don't know what happened to it, maybe mom has it...

My mother-in-law is a huge Cardinals fan, so every year when we go visit her we take her to the game. Look for me, this year, on the third base side, about halfway up. I'll be there, on July 10th, cheering the Cards, eating cotton candy till I want to puke, and hopefully I'll stay awake after the seventh inning stretch.

Thanks, sarals...being persuasive is one of my better qualities.

Thanks, sarals..

Chiropractic care, while covered under my insurance, had no effect. Guess I'm one of the "lucky" ones.

I really have to credit a person, on the other end of the phone, with having some common sense. She could see what I was getting at.

Yeah, let's hear it for the insurance companies of America...

:-ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp

Idiots, and this is a case in point...

I have, in my cervical spine, 2 ruptured discs and significant bone spurring. During the first physical therapy visit, I was introduced to a contraption I lovingly refer to as "the rack", but is in fact a home traction unit. It's small, portable, and easy to use.

After some instruction, I was allowed to take the unit home while a claim was filed with my insurance to pay for it.

I should point out that this thing has been a God-send for me. Debillitating migraines are almost a thing of the past - I now get 1-2 a month, whereas before I was getting them 3-4 times per week.

Anyway, I get a "Claim Denied" letter from WeScrewU Insurance. I call, and the sweet-voiced "Customer Care(less) Assistant" proceeds to read the standard too-bad-too-sad reasons for denial. They say they will pay to lease the equipment. I ask for how long, and get this, they say "up to the full cost of the unit"....so, let me get this straight...you won't pay for the unit outright (it's $700), but you'll pay $40/mo until you get to $700? Yep, is the reply. Then what? I asked. Then I am to be re-evaluated, and the whole thing starts over again. Meaning, they will pay for it all over again.

By now, I'm giggling at the sheer idiocy of this plan. I say, so you'll pay for this over and over. Oh, no! She replies. Well, how many times? I ask. Twice, she says after putting me on hold to verify. Okay, I say, then the alternative after that is surgery in my case. So, you will pay twice(!) for a machine via lease payments, then you'll pay for surgery when the machine is gone and the pain comes back, and then you'll pay for the inevitable downtime while I recover, and who knows what kind of complications may arise, and so on.

There is silence on the other end of the phone...and then she asks me to hold......2-3 minutes pass, and the lilting voice is back.

Ma'am, she says, we are going to pay for the machine.

Sigh......

Absolutely, Matt....I'm getting correct info about 40% of the time.

Awww, derf! How sweet! eom

The camera-nazis were on patrol, so no pics of derf. He wasn't hard to spot, though. He was the one, tongue to the ground, watching the "parade of babes"...and, my, my...what a parade it was!

derf...

Never mind those silly little men with their funny looking clothes on walking all around...you, my good man, have your priorities straight!!

See ya Sunday!

Yeah, Bull...

The least they could do is change their names!

You know, like - V.J. Smith, and Anna Smith

Absolutely, derf! That is the point, isn't it?

LOL! I'm perfect!! Can you tell golf isn't my game?

Okay, sarals...fair enough...take your "case" to the judge/jury...and after they finish laughing, I believe you will hear "Case dismissed" loud and clear.

You serious, derf? We have a friend who is doing that at the Colonial. However, if the sign says Sing and Sorrensten (sp?), methinks one will be a no-show!

BnB......ROFL!! eom