I always wanted to be a Tagger

I’ve been tagged by Dex and challenged to describe six weird things about myself. I can list quite a few people who would say six is not even close to enough, but honestly, I don’t think I can think of that many. Anyway, here goes…

1. I have an exceptionally loud sneeze that can be heard miles away. And it sounds exactly like AAHHH CHOO!!!


2. I have an exceptionally strange sounding laugh when I think something is REALLY funny. Most people say I sound like a goat, or a car trying to start. Or something equally unappealing.


3. I consider Waist High a good friend even though she is my blogging arch enemy.


4. I married a man 16 years older than me. When I got divorced I dated a man 11 years younger than me.


5. When I heard about the song by Carrie Underwood, “Jesus Take the Wheel” my first response was “Cuz I’m too drunk to drive.”


6. I have a very strange relationship with my teenage son. He actually likes me and we get along great.

Okay, now all you friends out there can add which ever weird things about me you think I missed.

Add, since thing is all about being tagged, I would like to tag…

Valancy Jane

Everyday Goddess

Matildaykay

Dusty

Sonicrusk

And

Blackdog

Shandi's Back!

Welcome back Shandi! Happy to see you're back!

Krazy Kids

Two stupid kids nearly killed a little boy Tuesday after they stole a truck and crashed into his house. According to the paper the pair found a truck with the keys still in it and decided to take it for a joy ride. They lost control of the truck while spinning donuts on the lawn and crashed into Russell Brown III’s bedroom. The seventeen month old boy suffered a compound leg facture. Poor thing.

While Russell’s family and neighbors worried over him the boys ran off and somehow found ANOTHER truck with the keys still in it. (What are the chances of that? I’d be willing to bet I could walk around all day and NEVER find a truck with the keys still in it, let alone two.) The boys promptly wrecked the second truck before running off again. Apparently these kids are completely devoid of and sense of consciousness. They still have not been found.

Police are looking for two white boys around the age of 14 who go by the names Johnny and Seth.

UPDATE:
The police have released the names and photos of the boys they suspect stole the trucks.

Please Pay Attention

I saw a gnarly accident last night.  Or, I guess I should say I witnessed it.  And now I have to testify.  

I was sitting a red light north bound on F Street at the 24th Street intersection in the number two lane.  Right in front of me was big white suburban.  I’m sitting there at the red light just like I have thousands of times before when all of the sudden the suburban took off.  The light is still red and none of the other cars around us are moving, but the suburban took off any way.  I was all, “What the hell are you doing?”  Then I just watched it, like a scene from a movie.  I watched the cars heading east on 24th speeding towards the suburban.  I think at some point the woman realized what she had done and tried to speed up to get out of the way.  I almost thought she was going to make it.  She got as far as the furthest lane before she got hit; T-boned by a little four door driven by an elderly woman who never saw it coming.  

I’ve seen accidents happen before, but never quite like this.  It was weird to just sit there and watch while two lives collided into an explosion of metal and plastic.  Luckily no body was badly hurt, although I’m sure they’ll both have a severe case of whip lash.  The woman in the car had an air bag and it worked very well.  She also had a cute little King Charles Spaniel in a dog carrier securely belted in the passenger seat. That is one lucky little dog, cuz I have no doubt she would’ve been dead if she hadn’t been belted in.

I didn’t talk to the women driving the suburban but I watched while one of the other witnesses did.  The reason she took off was because the light at the next intersection had turned green.  She probably had a lot her mind, or maybe she was on a cell phone.  What ever it was, she just wasn’t paying attention, and when she saw that light turn green she took off.  Everybody I know has done the same thing at one time or another.  I know I have.

I learned a lesson yesterday.  One I already knew but needed to be reminded of.  We spend so much time behind the wheel; we drive around half paying attention all the time.  We take it for granted that we’re going to be fine. But it only takes a split second to do something really stupid.

Take your time out there friends.  And for heaven’s sake, please, please pay attention.

Did you know?

One of the new features in The Californian is the “Did you know” section.  Sometimes it has interesting little factoids, but a lot of the time it just shares useless information like, “There are four types of rattlesnakes native to Kern County” or there are X number of light poles in town.   Today it reads “Gold near Isabella Lake was found in the late 1850s when a prospector with the name of Lovely Rogers was about to heave a rock at his unruly mule when he took a second look at the rock in his hand…”  

Okay, first of all, that is one strangely constructed sentence.  Second, the prospectors name was Lovely?  That sounds like a stripper’s name.  When I picture a burly prospector from the 1850s hucking rocks at his mule, the name Lovely does not come to mind.  

Makes me wonder what the mule’s name was.

  

Dylan Baseball

Please enjoy.

Stupid

I think they ought to send this judge to prison for issuing such a ridiculous sentence.

Scary

Photo © Gretchen Wenner

This is Mike Lage. He's running for Sheriff along with about a jillion other guys. Above his picture it reads "Lage proposes chain gangs for cleanup, projects."

Is it just me, or can you totally picture this dude, billy club in hand, standing watch over his chain gang toiling in the blazing hot sun?

Adopt a Pet

The Kern County Department of Animal Services has a website where you can view the animals they have for adoption. Beware! This is not for the tender hearted.

R.I.P.

Frank Amestoy II passed away yesterday. My heart goes out to the Amestoy family.

Another one.

This one is kind of long and boring, but still cute. I like how the only comment is "I want the 6+ min. of my life back!"

Funny Stuff.

Simpsons Quote A Day

Added a new feature to my blog. See...

Random The Simpsons Quotes

Pretty cool, huh?

Just visit my sidebar and get a new quote everyday!

Fred - Class of 2220

The Kern High School District is having a contest to name the two new schools scheduled to be built. We ran out of directions a long time ago. The last two schools to be built were named Liberty and Golden Valley. Frontier will be opening soon. I’m betting that the school that is built in the Northwest will be named Canyon High School or something. Personally I’m getting sick of all the boring names. I want something interesting.

I think they should name them Fred and Ethel.

The Wheels on the Bus go round & round.

Thanks to one very drunk broad the number of people being randomly tested for drugs and alcohol just went WAY up. The Kern County Superintendent of Schools got caught looking a little silly when they said they had no way of knowing Tara Cook would get drunk and attempt to drive her school bus full of special ed kids around. Turns out there is a way they could have known. They could’ve looked it up. Court records are public after all.

Or, they could’ve just watched an episode of The Simpsons.

Bye Bye Rockin' Rodeo

It looks like Rockin’ Rodeo may finally be closing its doors for good.  Lawyers for the owners announced yesterday that the club had lost its lease.  Owners of the property felt that the shooting there recently, along with other incidents in the past, placed their other tenants in danger. According to the paper, city council members were more than pleased by the announcement.  

I don’t get that.  I mean, I don’t care one way or the other if Rockin’ Rodeo closes or not, and I don’t blame the owners for not wanting it there anymore, but why are the council members so pleased.  It’s not like getting rid of the night club is going to get rid of the people who went there.  The thugs that shot up the place are still running around town.  Obviously they enjoyed going to Rockin’ Rodeo, maybe they’d go back if they kept it open.  You know, return to the scene and all.  It might it easier to catch them.  Closing Rockin’ Rodeo just means that the crowd who went there will have to start going somewhere else.  Personally, I’d rather they stay were they are.  

Better Rockin’ Rodeo than downtown.

Stay away from the Staph

It looks like we have a strange new bug in town.  Or, I guess I should say we have STRONG new bug in town.   According to the Department of Family Medicine the recent outbreak of an antibiotic-resistant staph infection, “has reached virtually epidemic proportions.”   I don’t know about you, but this news scares the beajesus outta me.  Anytime I see the words “flesh eating bacteria” I start to worry.

Earlier this month 15 year old Corey Wilson died from a mean staph infection.  The family has no idea how he contracted it.  It is suspected that part of the problem comes from the overuse of antibiotics.  That makes me feel better about my decision years ago to stop taking antibiotics.  It seemed like every time I turned around I was taking antibiotics for some thing.  I finally decided to just quit taking them, and started using holistic medicines instead.  Sure, sometimes I still have to take them, but not nearly as often as I used to.

The paper says it staph infections are commonly contracted at the gym and it lists how several local gyms go about keeping their equipment clean.  Thanks a lot for giving me yet another good reason not to work out.

Cool Matches

My buddy Chris just alerted me to the existance of these matches. Better jump on it Waist High.

"Cool Parents"

Things just got a little tougher for teens hoping to get their drink on in Kern County.  The “Cool Parents” ordinance was passed yesterday making it possible to punish adults who allow kids to party at their house.  According to the paper, the ordinance “imposes a $1,000 fine as well as other civil penalties.”  

I see a few problems with this.  One – it doesn’t do anything to stop the kids from partying else where.  I mean, where there’s a will there’s way, and back in my day we were very willing.  How else can you explain huddling a dark, cold, remote dirt field to “party?”  Two – what about parents who want to keep their kids safe by providing a place where they can supervise them and make sure no body drives?  

I’m not saying parents SHOULD do that, but it does seem like they should have the right to.  Personally, I don’t think allowing your kids to party at your house is a good idea.  I don’t think the behavior should be condoned.  But I do think that parents have a right to raise their kids as they see fit.  For some, providing a safe environment is the way to go.

And three – I consider myself a “cool parent” so I’m a little put off by the name.

F.Y.I.

I took this inkblot test this morning and this was (part of) my result.

"Bake Town, your subconscious mind is driven most by Kindness

This means you have a deep desire to be kind and fair to others. You may even be preoccupied with finding kindness in the world around you, far more than you realize on a conscious level."

Pretty cool, huh? What is your subconscious mind driven by?

Random Thoughts

This is my favorite new way to waste time.

--------

If you drop your cell phone in the toilet it will work again, just give it time.

Going Wi-Fi

Bakersfieldians are about to get a whole lot geekier.  Well, maybe anyway.  A company has offered to give our city free wi-fi for everyone!   The deal hasn’t been finalized yet, but I don’t see any reason why it won’t be.  MetroFi has even offered to make lease payments for each light pole they use.  That’s money we can definitely use.

According to an article in the paper today, local companies offering similar services are not too worried about losing business.   That’s because MetroFi’s is planning on providing service at about 1 megabit per second.  Most high speed internet users are used to about 7 megabits per second.  One megabit does sound awfully slow.  

Even if it is free.

Teacher's Pet

Something really screwy (pun intended) is going on around here lately.  The THIRD female high school teacher this year was arrested recently for having a sexual relationship with a student.  What makes this case even more remarkable is that the math teacher looks like a man and if fact, formally coached wrestling.  (I’m kinda surprised it wasn’t softball.)  

I’m not sure what part of the idea to have a sexual relationship with a minor appeals to these women (cuz I mean – ew!), but the only thing I can think of is that they’re willing.  And from the looks of it, very, very desperate.

Either that or that kid REALLY wanted an A.

The Gymnast

Sherman does the splits. And on a pile of rocks no less.

If you’ll notice… there is a little groove in Sherm’s shell that his tiny, bitty tail fits in.

I think that is so cool.

Play Time in Malibu

I went to Malibu again this weekend, this time to see my nephew in a play.  He goes to Malibu High School, home of the Sharks.  You’d think that Malibu High School would be all fancy but it’s not.  It’s just your typical high school.  In fact, the theater was small and not EVEN as nice as the theater at West High, and of course no where nearly as nice as the Harvey Auditorium at BHS.  The play, however, was fantastic.

The play was Aida, and I had never seen it before.  It is set in Egypt, which made for some entertaining costumes.  Especially for the guys - most of them wore skimpy loin clothes.  The girls had beautiful gowns in vibrant colors and elaborate head dresses.  You could totally tell costumes were professionally made.  The actors were quite professional as well.  Many of the lead roles were filled by seniors planning to attend acting school in the fall.  The singing was absolutely amazing.  I kept thinking these kids could blow American Idol out of the water.  

And, of course, my nephew was the best Soldier #1 I had ever seen.




     

Get your mind out of the gutter

For those of you who have a filthy mind like Waist High, or for those of you who remain perpetually in Jr. High, I guess I have a clear up a few things. When I mentioned that “everyone” says my bed is comfortable, I was not referring to everyone in town.  I was referring only to every one of the people who have had the good fortune to sleep in my bed.  This includes my son, who I will switch beds with when he is sick so he can sleep better, and different friends over the years who have done me the favor to house sit while I was out of town.  I am I the only one who allows others to use my bed when it is not otherwise occupied by me?

As to Waist High’s comment that I admitted to being a slut, this is simply not true.  I have admitted to being friends with Waist High, whom the internet already KNOWS is a slut, so maybe by association I could see how this mistake would be made.  I can say that if I were a slut I would have to be the poorest slut in town cuz this hoochie ain’t getting ANY action.  I’d have to be the most chaste slut you ever saw. (And yeah, I know I should have said chastest, not mot chaste, but I liked the way it sounded better.)

And thanks for the offer Waist, but I don’t think I’ll move up to Portland so I can go ‘whore around’ with you any time soon.
















     

The Best name EVER!

I learned today that Evel Knievel is (much to my surprise) still alive and ( not so surprisingly) living in pain. The 67 year old dare devil just barely gets around these days after repeatedly thrashing his body in crash after crash on his motorcycle.

I remember watching some of his jumps on TV. That was one crazy dude. All the little boys my age thought he was the coolest dude ever. (That most have been a hard time to be a mother.) I remember one kid I knew had a little Knievel action figure. I think he had the stunt cycle too. I thought that was pretty cool. But to me the coolest thing about Knievel wasn’t his bike, or his flashy red, white and blue jumpsuit, or even his terrifying stunts. It was his name.

I wish my name was Evel Knievel.

Favorite New Search String

I don't think this person knew what they were looking for.

Bat Attack

A six year old boy was bitten on the foot by a bat inside a Payless Shoe store a couple of days ago.  How freaky is that?  The paper described it is as; “a bat crawled out from under a shoe rack and bit his foot.”  Seriously – how freaky is that?  I think if I saw a bat crawling towards my naked foot I’d beat the hell outta there.  Shrieking at the top of my lungs all the way of course.  

And the really awful part of the story is that the bat has rabies!  Now that little boy has to get giant shots in his stomach with 12 inch long needles five times a day.  Okay, I don’t know if that’s really how they treat rabies these days, but I do remember hearing such horror stories when I was little.  Watch out for rabies or you’ll have to get shots in your stomach!  Scary.

Not quite as scary as being attacked by a monkey, but still, pretty scary.

The love of my life

If it seems like I’ve been a bit absent lately it’s because I have.  I have a confession to make.  I’ve begun a new love affair.  This love affair is different from any I’ve had before.  I know it will last.  I know I can count on it to bring me hours of pleasure, comfort, and support.  You see, this love affair is with my bed.

Now I’ve been loving my bed for some time now.  It is the most comfortable bed in the world.  Everyone says so.  It has the perfect combination of softness and firmness.  But recently I switched from my cozy winter flannel sheets to my new 500 count cotton sheets and my bed just got 100 times better. I am in heaven.  The only problem is I don’t ever want to get up.

I frequently hear people talk about how they love sleeping under piles of covers in the winter.  Not me.  Give me some quality sheets and a nice air conditioned room and I can sleep forever.  This morning I absolutely could not get up.  Every time my alarm went off I would beat it like a naughty step child then roll over and embrace my bed with all the affection of a lost lover.  

Needless to say, I was late to work this morning.

School Lunchs Really Do Suck

Most of you probably remember the good ol’ food pyramid of your youth. You know – the one that looked like this…














Well, nowadays we’ve got a whole new food pyramid. In fact, last year the government introduced a whole slew of new food pyramids based on your age, sex, and lifestyle. The new one looks like this….



The reason I bring all this up is there’s an article in the paper today on school lunches. Apparently some parents are concerned that their children are consuming too many trans fats. Next to the article in a little box it shows “A typical week of lunches in the Bakersfield City School District.” It looks like our school districts are still using the old food pyramid. Some of the items listed include Fritos corn chips, canned corn, canned pears, a chocolate chip cookie, and a hot dog. I wonder how these items fit into the new food pyramid. My favorite is the menu for Friday which consists of popcorn chicken, ketchup, potato wedges, fresh fruit, potato roll, and milk. Uh… can a I get a little fiber over here please? The meals they are serving these kids are total crap. It appears

It’s probably just because I’m getting older, but I’ve been spending more time thinking about eating right. I read labels now and avoid things with partially hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup, and enriched flour. I’ve found that it’s not that hard, you just have to seek out the right stuff.

We all know that eating poorly affects our health, and that health is directly related to academic achievement. I can’t understand why our schools are still feeding our kids a bunch of crap.

So True...

This was just emailed to me from my best friend Flo. I met her in the fourth grade. That was 24 years ago, and she's still my best friend.

This was obivously written by someone fed up with kids these days, but a lot of what he says is true. I think we had it better than kids these days.

Hope you enjoy....

B.T.


TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while theycarried us.They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't gettested for diabetes. Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright coloredlead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when werode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we tookhitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONEactually died from this.We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugarin it, but we weren't overweight because......WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were backwhen the street lights came on. No one was able to reach us all day, and we were O.K. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride downthe hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cellphones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WEHADFRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were nolawsuits from these accidents. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in usforever. We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays,made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told itwould happen, we did not put out very many eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn'thad to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solversand inventors ever!The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!

Y ou might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our owngood. And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

Come out, come out, where ever you are!

I woke up early this morning and turned on the news just like I always do.  I listen to the reports as I scurry about making coffee and watering my plants.   Today KGET had live coverage of a SWAT team in McFarland.  A man had been found shot in the street somewhere around 2:00 A.M.  The man they believed shot the guy was barricaded in the house.  They set up camp and carefully tried to extract the man.  Cameramen hovered nearby ready to catch the action.  

I one point my ears perked up when I heard the news man announce that the victim had was out of surgery and recovering nicely.  “Wow” I thought, “They haven’t even gotten that dude out of the house yet and the victim is recuperating?  How long does it take?”
I looked that the clock and saw that is was after 6:00.  

A little while later I heard the news man say that the SWAT team had finally entered the house.  Not finding the suspect in any of the usual places, they were sending someone into the attic to search for him.  A few minutes later they confirmed that there was no one in the house.   Doh!

I guess that gives the suspect a good four hour head start.  I hope he made good use of his time.

Bring me your Batteries

After reading in the paper recently that we can no longer throw batteries in the trash, I asked the secretary at my work what she was doing with the batteries being used around here. “Throwing them away” she said, looking at me like was an idiot.

Most people either didn’t bother to read or didn’t bother to retain the information which was shared with us some time ago. Batteries, of any size, do not belong in the trash. The must be disposed of at one of the designated disposal areas. The trouble with this is no body wants to get in their car and drive to the Kern County Special Waste Facility on Standard St. Most people are not as crazy as I am. I just keep a paper bag next to the trash and pop by there when the bag starts to get full. I also invested in rechargeable batteries.

Anyway, knowing that most people are going to ignore the fact that they are not supposed to be creating hazardous waste, just like they ignore the fact that 80% of the stuff they are throwing again could be recycled, I decided to become a Special Waste Facility myself. I told everyone at work that all they to do is bring their old batteries to work and I will take them to be recycled when I have enough to make the trip worth while. It seems to be working. I have a small bag, but it’s filling up fast.

So, I thought I would share the idea with ya’ll. It’s a good way for all of us to follow the law with out all of us having to actually go to the drop off site.

80s Invasion

I'm going to this, and then I'm NOT going to tell Waist High about it. Just to be mean.

Mothers like no Others

I hope each of you had a Mother’s Day as lovely as mine was. My son greeted me in the morning with a cheerful, “Frohe Mutterstag mutti!” To which I looked at him and grunted, “Huh? Speak English.” (Paul likes to talk to me in German despite the fact that I don’t have a clue what he is saying. Teenagers are fun that way.)

Later he presented me with my gift, which much to his surprise was EXACTLY what I wanted. In fact, I had even considered going to the store and buying myself a new pitcher that very morning, so I was extremely excited about my gift. Then he offered to take me to breakfast at Jack in the Box, and I told him I would rather eat my own vomit, but I offered to take him anyway. I’m a good mom like that.

After breakfast I told Paul that since it was Mother’s Day I should get to boss him around and make him my slave and he couldn’t complain. He rolled his eyes and acquiesced. I made him do all the laundry and go grocery shopping with me. I never realized how much fun it is to torture your child.

Later we went to my parent’s house to meet up with the rest of the family. “The Men” had prepared a picnic for us outside featuring BBQ’ed pork ribs, cuz everyone knows mothers love to gnaw on sauce slathered bones. While we ate my big brother entertained us by explaining how the dam is going to break and we are all going to die. It would have been more entertaining if he hadn’t been so serious, and since he drives up the canyon everyday to get to work, I tend to believe him. (Of course I tend to believe every thing he says. He raised me that way.) “Put that in you blog!” He said to me. Then he announced he is moving to Kernville.

After we were done eating we gathered together to follow another one of our family traditions – talking about the grossest things imaginable. It started out with me telling them how Ray got his hand caught in a snow blower and almost lost two fingers. My uncle is a fireman, so he quickly blew my story out of the water with a story about a man who caught his hand in a meat grinder. Then my aunt, the nurse, shared a story that featured a super smelly person, and things just went down hill from there. The story about the guy who went to South American and had fly larvae growing in his back is usually the one we end with.

Then, of course, we each received a bouquet of flowers and smiled pretty for the camera.

Wha???

In case you weren't worried about the dam before...this excerpt was taken from The Californian.

1) The dam is not going to collapse.

2) If it did (words removed to make it scarier) people in Lake Isabella and Bakersfield WOULD PROBABLY DIE!!!!

Somehow I don't think this is going to help me sleep better tonight.

Go. Do. Be.

This is where you'll find me this weekend.

*jazz hands*

Shareing

I just found this by accident and I thought it was funny.

Favorite New Search String

Apparently this information is found somewhere on my blog.

Somebody stole my idea

Miracles do happen

I’m in one of those hazy, sleep deprived, but happy nonetheless moods this morning. Usually they follow an exceptionally fun night of partying.  This time it was because of something completely different.   I had something happen to me last night that doesn’t happen to people very often.  I had an ex-boyfriend call me and apologize.

I had one of those low blow breakups back in June 2004 that really hit me hard.  I had known Ray for several years and we had always been great friends.  Somewhere around October 2003 things began to slowly change and turn into a more serious relationship.  By the beginning of spring we were nearly inseparable.  I even introduced him to my son, which is something I had never done before.  You know that He’s Just Not that into You book?  He was the opposite of that.

Anyway, somewhere around the end of April Ray began to act sort of strange.  It was not too noticeable at first but there were signs.  I began to tread a little lighter.  Finally, when I felt it could no longer be avoided, I asked him while we were chatting online what was bugging him.  He hemmed and hawed a bit, then said something about feeling boxed in.  I was a surprised, and hurt, but apologized and said I had no problem giving him more space.  Then he said something about ‘Not wanting to do this in a chat’ and I was all, ‘Not wanting to do what?’  He didn’t reply.  I never heard from him again at all.  For over two years.  Apparently he needed a WHOLE lot of space.

Then, last night out of the blue, he called me and apologized.  Yeah.  My jaw is still on the floor.  He explained why he did what he did, and admitted that went beyond crappy, blah, blah, blah.  I don’t think it is possible for me to have been more shocked.  I’m still shocked.  Like, in need of medical attention shocked. (I don’t think VJs pet rat Cleo could’ve seen this one coming.)  I won’t go into everything he said, but I can tell you it was all very, very good to hear.    We talked till nearly 2:00 in the morning.

And I realized this morning as I walked around in my sleepy, happy haze.  It’s never too late to make an apology.

Confession

I was just rocking out in my office Loverboy style playing air guitar to Working for the Weekend. Yeah baby!!

Favorite New Search String

Somebody's getting worried about the summer heat.

Let it go already!

Following the verdict in the Bruce Sons case, his brother, Dwight Sons, had a few choice words for the CHP. He declared that Richard Maxwell would still be alive if the CHP had given him a desk job following complaints made against him. And, just to really stick it to him, he insinuated that Bruce may even appeal this verdict in an effort to be totally exonerated. Uh, dude. I think that’s pushin’ it a bit. I hope he was kidding. I think Bruce ought to take my advice… stay very far away from all CHP officers and court rooms.

You may have gotten lucky this time, but trust me, THEY DO NOT LIKE YOU.

The Shockin' Rodeo

What happened to the good ol’ days – back when Rockin’ Rodeo was full of cowboy hat toting, too tight jean wearing, boot scooting line dancers?  The type who drink too much Coors Light and whose biggest offense might be to proposition one of the many ladies circling the perimeter.  Seedy?  Yes!  Tasteless?  Definitely.  But at least no one got shot.

Two people were shot last Sunday morning outside of Rockin’ Rodeo.  If memory serves me right, there have been quite a few “incidents” involving Rockin’ Rodeo patrons lately.  The police say this shooting was gang related.  According to witnesses, Meko Seward (the man who was shot and later died) was “involved in an argument during which gang-related slurs were exchanged.”  Then he walked outside and got into it with some dudes in a van parked out front.  (Not a good idea.)  The next thing anybody knew, bullets were flying and Seward was on the ground. To add a real gangster like flare, the passenger of the van popped off a few more shots as they sped away; critically injuring an innocent bystander.  And, not to be outdone, someone in the crowd fired back.

What the hell?  Do these people really think life is like some action flick?  And why in the world is everybody walking around with a gun?  It’s Rockin’ Rodeo for heaven’s sake! They’re supposed to be there to party.  Have some fun.  Get drunk and shake their ass around.  How do gang fights and blazing guns equal a good time?

I have to admit, I didn’t care for Rockin’ Rodeo much, even back in the good ol’ days. But I’d take that crowd over this one any time.

Sons Survives

Welp - Bruce Sons is a free man again. The jury in Santa Maria was able to reach a unanimous decision (thank God). They found him guilty of voluntary manslaughter, which carries a sentence of up to 16 years. Since he’s already served 12, he’s walkin’.

I have to say, I think this was a pretty good decision. Like I said before, I don’t think either of these men are innocent little lambs. One hot headed man confronted another hot headed man and one of them ended up dead. I don’t think Sons woke up that day with a plan to find a cop and kill him, so never did agree with the first degree murder conviction. Still, I’m not so sure Sons is the kinda guy I want living in my neighborhood. From what I understand he had quite a record.

And I can’t help but wonder what Sons is going to do with himself now that he is free. I mean, besides get drunk and party. I can’t imagine that he’s going to feel too safe in the community with all the local law enforcement officers looking at him like he’s a cop killer. (Which he is a cop killer, so….) Sons’ wife left him, and I would guess he had to sell the house to pay for all those fancy lawyers – what’s he gonna do?

Maybe he’ll get lucky and find a middle management position at a local chop shop.

Favorite New Search String

I'm gonna make sure I keep my cat away from this dude.

The Shermanator

Confession

I stole an idea from my dear friend Valancy Jane. Scroll ALL the way down to the bottom to see what it is.

I hope your finger is better soon V.J.!

Sick

I woke up this morning with a sore throat and a bad attitude.

I'm going back to bed.

Blackout

Tonight's the night the lights went out in B-town.

Thank God they're back on now.

Does anybody know if I can still eat my eggs?

The wrong side of the river

That brown strip of sand that winds its way through our fair city is fixin’ to look at lot more like what its supposed to.  A river. Workers began releasing water from the reservoir yesterday and we can expect to see the banks swelling to capacity by this weekend.  And, of course, people are being warned to beware of the killer Kern.   My favorite comment is this one; “county officials will be contacting river dwellers to warn them on the activity.”  Uh, yeah.  All you people living in the river might want to get out now cuz it’s gonna be full of water any day now.

Evidently there are some concerns regarding the Lake Isabella dam.  In fact, according to Channel 17, “The dam at Lake Isabella has become the number-one priority in the nation, according to Federal Engineers.”  Yikes.   It would have been nice if someone had mentioned earlier that there is an active fault line right below the dam.  It’s been so long since Bakersfield was flooded I think we’ve all but forgotten that it is a distinct possibility.

After seeing the murky waters surrounding New Orleans, I for one, am glad to hear they are looking into to fixing that dam.

Doh!

Obviously this guy is not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Home Again

I made it home safe from Malibu yesterday. Just barely. We had a scary little incident on I-5 to which Paul commented calmly, "We just almost died." Other than that, the trip was uneventful.

We went to Malibu to see my niece graduate from Pepperdine. If you haven't been to Pepperdine, you're missing out. It is one of the most beautiful universities ever. Unfortunately, the morning was a little overcast and chilly. By the time the ceremony was over, however, the clouds had dissipated and the sun was blazing.The graduation was held on top of a hill over looking the ocean, and the best part was when all the graduated walked up the hill like a tiny black clad army. It was quite a sight to see.














After the graduation ceremony, we hung out on the hill for a while. Paul seemed to really enjoy the view.



My niece is a very talented artist, as you can see for yourself. She also has a blog and a website.



Needless to say, I think she has a very bright future ahead of her.