Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Something in the water?

I was going to write a fairly serious post tonight but I'm sick as all get out and tired to boot.  So I thought since I've not touched on anything Farm Kings in a long time (not much with them off air though is there?) that I'd do a quick one.  Lisa has to be the proud grandma.  In less than a year she's more than doubled the number of grandchildren she has.  When they were on air Joe had 2 kids (Lilly/ Lily and William) and Pete had one (Jillian).  Since then Tim & Maggie have added a little girl (June*), Joe and Heather added a boy (Owen), Pete & Jessie added a boy (Peter but not a Junior), and Bitty and Cam added a little girl (Ellie).  Now for the * these are the names that have been reported to me by more than one source.  Can I swear to it?  Nope!  So don't go getting your panties in a bunch if the names are wrong.  Seriously- what is in the water in PA?  Congrats to all the Mom's and Dad's.  I hope the kids are strong and healthy and delight you in every way possible. 

Saturday, July 11, 2015

The Confederate Battle Flag isn't the problem

Yesterday I threw a bit of a fit on Facebook. One of the first things I saw that morning was someone on my feed making fun of people who want to fly the Confederate Battle Flag.  I'm pretty sure that anybody that has been reading my blog for oh more than 2 seconds knows that I'm completely against being PC.  I'm also against big government.  So this Confederate battle flag issue continues to wage on.  Really?  Really?  Because there aren't any more pressing issues.  Like you know the collapse of the banking system in Greece or the drought issue in California.  Also if you think neither one of those issues will affect your life please take a few minutes to educate yourself.

I digress.  A big part of my Facebook tantrum was that a huge amount of people have changed their Facebook pictures to look like a damn skittles factory threw up on them or they were all over congratulating the Supreme Court on it's gay marriage ruling (this post really isn't about it...still not sure if I want to open that can of worms!).  It is basically about everybody jumping on the damn bandwagon and flying their rainbow flag in support of what it means and then ridiculing the people that want to fly the Confederate battle flag.  If you'd like a bit more background on the Confederate battle flag please go HERE.  Now the article needs to be updated since the flag no longer flies in South Carolina due to some whiny little bitches who are very loud.  The shooting in South Caroline had NOTHING, NADA, ZERO, ZIP, ZILCH to do with the Confederate battle flag.  No it had to do with a mentally unstable man.  Don't get me wrong.  The shooting in South Carolina is a huge tragedy but it shouldn't be politicized into a gun debate or question those who want to fly the Confederate battle flag.

The the vast majority who want to fly the battle flag it is not a symbol of racism, slavery or power of one race over another. It is simply a symbol of Southern pride. As a "damn Yankee" I don't get it but I don't have to. It is just so hypocritical to applaud one (passing of gay marriage) and make fun of the other.

I do love that Kid Rock ( Bawitdaba da bang a dang diggy diggy diggy said the boogy said up jump the boogy (Get Ready) My name is KIIIIIIIIIIIID...Kid Rock- sorry small music break!!!!)  is not letting those people calling for him to stop using the Confederate battle flag to intimidate him or bully him into not using the flag.


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 I'm so, so, so very sick of the PC police. While I'm at it and feeling the need for some levity I'm going to go watch this again.  It's the PC Dukes of Hazzard.  You can find it HERE and I guarantee if you have any sense of humor you'll find this funny.  Being PC isn't doing anything as in A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G positive for this country and might very well be taking us backwards. 

I'll end this little rant with something that Allen B. West posted on facebook yesterday (I think.  It's been a long couple of days!)


 
Yippee, the Confederate battle flag has now been removed from the grounds of the South Carolina State Capitol. And, just like that, it solves the problem of black-on-black crime and killings. Now we’ll see the out-of-wedlock birthrate in the black community drop from 75%. There will be better educational opportunities and schools in South Carolina’s black communities and all across America. The black unemployment rate will drop —especially the almost 40% black teenage unemployment rate. We’ll now see an economic entrepreneurial boon in the inner cities because the Confederate battle flag’s been lowered. And there’ll be no more gangs of blacks beating on whites — as we saw in Ohio recently. Yep, the liberal progressive media shouted "squirrel" and an entire nation went a running. All the yelling and shouting by the crowds was evidence of those who lack grace, respect and dignity. Former South Carolina Gamecocks football coach Lou Holtz remarked that when you get to the end zone, you should act like you’ve been there before. So what does the lowering of the Confederate battle flag have to do with the killing of little seven-year-old Amari Brown in Chicago — anyone know when his funeral is?

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Just needing to process

There is no rhyme or reason to this post.  There is just a lot going on and I need to process it.  Blogging is my way of doing that at times.  Feel free to skip this post!

So earlier today my Mom called and we were chatting and she said "Did I tell you that Fr. Smith's (not his real last name) father died?"  Um- nope forgot to mention that.  So I asked if she was going to the visitation with my dad or if the two of us would go.  Fr. Smith is a beloved friend to everyone in my family, especially Princess Bear (PB).  She said that they'd go and then come home to watch PB so I could go.  Ok that works too.  Now a bit of back story.  Peoria is a town of a bit more than 116,000 people.  That said it often feels like it's a town of 116 people because everyone knows everyone else.  It has its good and bad as far as it goes.  Fr. Smith is 1 of 5 children.  His father was a teacher that taught at 2 local high schools as well as 2 local colleges.  As I was waiting to pay my respects tonight I realized that pretty much anyone in this town could play the 6 degrees of the Smith family.  Here are my 6 degrees of the Smith family:
- I had Mr. Smith for a government class when I was taking some college courses debating what I wanted to do when I grow up.  It was one of the best damn classes I've ever taken.  If everyone had that class there would be no such thing as a low information voter.  The man knew how to teach a great government class!
- I had Danny Smith as a teacher when I was in college.  He used to charge a quarter any time you came to class unprepared or if you let a swear word slip.  I gave him many, many, many quarters.  He saved the money by class.  My class opted to have a party complete with a seafood platter.  Yeah- I paid for a big portion of that thing!
-Fr. Smith.  Everyone in my immediate family got to know him when he worked in my mom's department.  I can't tell you how many ER visits with PB that he sat there and held my hand and prayed with me.  Ditto for hospital stays.  I'm fairly certain when it comes time for PB to make her Confirmation that she'll ask Fr. Smith to be her sponsor. 
-The priests at moms work all live in a house that happens to have a great view for the annual fireworks display.  Fr. Smith always invited his sisters family and my family.  So I got to know his sister casually then.
-He has another sister that I know from our Church.  PB has a bit of an issue with getting or receiving hugs.  This sister is one of the people that PB lets hug her and she doesn't react negatively. 

See what I mean by small world?  I'm far from the only one that can play the how do you know the Smith family.  When I pulled into the parking lot for the visitation it looked like a regular Sunday mass was taking place.  It took over 1.5 hours from the time I got there until I was able to pay my condolences to the family.  My parents had a similar wait. 

Just before my parents were leaving for the visitation I went on Facebook to see what was happening with our local public school superintendent.  She was possible going to be fired tomorrow.  First thing I see on my board is my friend Stephanie saying that her heart is broken and can never be fixed.  I read on to find out that her son passed away this morning.  In another case of it's a small town I got to know Stephanie after her twins were born.  One twin died shortly after birth and Jr was a special needs kiddo that had serious health issues.  She was part of the parents support group that I led for awhile.  My mom knows her husband because they used to work together.  Jr's death was completely unexpected in that he hadn't been in the hospital lately and had been doing well.  I'm still not sure what happened by my heart is breaking for them.  I can't imagine the pain of losing 2 children.  They have a little girl that was so very devoted to her big brother.  She always shared the cutest photos of them and my heart breaks for this little girl too. 

Now there was a rose among the thorns of my day.  I mentioned that there was a chance that our local school districts superintendent was going to be fired.  She truly deserved to be fired.  She did absolutely nothing positive for the school district and always tried passing the buck.  I had limited dealings with her but have certainly dealt with the school system on a regular basis.  Instead of getting fired the superintendent decided to quit.  I was waiting at the visitation and got 3 different texts about it.  None of them from local public school parents.  Just friends who know how lousy this district is and how much I've had to fight for things for PB that shouldn't be fighting issues.  I'd like to wish the woman well on wherever she goes but frankly that's just mean of me.  If there is justice she won't be working in any sort of capacity that deals with the education of children.  She is just that bad.  So yes I'm beyond thrilled that she quit. 

Like I said not a lot to be made sense of from this post.  Just needing to get things out.  Feeling so bad for a friend who lost his father.  Feeling awful for a friend that is going to be burying their child.  That is a horror that no parent should experience.  I'm going to sign off for now and try to lose myself if a good book!