My Dad

My friend 'M' writes in her blog about Veteran's Day and those that fought and in particular those people that lived during the time of World War II. It made me think of my father.
Dad served on a ship in the Pacific towards the end of the war. He entered the Navy the day after he graduated from High School. He was lucky in that respect. Not everyone was allowed to stick it out long enough to graduate.
He seldom talked about his experiences. Only as he got older, and having been in touch with some ship buddies, did we learn more. We knew he was a radar guy. We were told by a shipmate, Mr Letourneau, who found Dad in Manchester after they had lived in the same town for nearly 30 years, that Dad was given the job because he was smart. He was known as Frenchie because of his very heavy accent. The language thing might have put him in that somewhat isolated position as well.
We don't know how much action he saw but we do have photos of him taken in China. We know he met up with his brother, who was serving as a Photographer on an Air Craft carrier, while on some island out in the middle of nowhere.
He started going to some of his ship's reunions only a few years before he died, much like our friend's dad, Pete did. He loved those reunions. My mom loved them, too. I think it brought them all back to a time when they were so young, vigorous and had nothing but hopes for a better future. Tom Brokaw wrote a book, "The Greatest Generation" about these people.
Dad won a few Medals. My sister did the research and sent to the federal government to get the actual medals. My dad never kept the ones he received at the time.
After coming home and spending some time in prep school, he went to College on the GI bill.
This changed his and the lives of everyone in our family. He didn't go back to the furniture factory his parents worked in, which was meant to be his future. Roland got a degree in accounting with a minor in Philosophy. He was adamant that all his children would go to college. We did and all the children of his children are doing the same.
12 BAs, 5 MAs, 1 CPA, 2 PHDs in progress, 2 undergrads and 2 to go...a legacy from the greatest generation.

Audi add

I saw an add for Audi last night that was filmed in SF. Spouse A and I both responded at the same time when they showed what appeared to be Castro St in Noe Valley.
The very last scene was down along the Embarcadero some place. The besty part was that the view included my Rincon Tower. Yes, it is my personal building. Well, I did do the doors.
It's cool to see buildings you've worked on over the years becom part of a skyline.

Religions A La Carte

I haven't posted lately because I have recognized and now celebrate my laziness.
That being said, have you seen the news about the Anglican Church members being welcomed into the One, Holy and Apostolic Catholic church? How nice.
Anglicans, once upon a time, broke away from the old fashion, fuddy duddy, catholics because the church had an issue with d-i-v-o-r-c-e. It appears they might be craving some of those old time conservative values they shunned so long ago.
The Anglican church is very much in line with the teachings of the catholic church, using the Bible and old catholic teachings but with a bit of the Reformation tossed in where needed to mellow out those old Roman rules.
So now the Anglicans are ticked off that women can become priests, gays can get married, and the worse case scenario, a gay can become a priest (Bishop even!!!). Jesus, what next? A married lesbian priest?
Well, the club that wanted to break away because the constraints of man made rules didn't suit their needs, is now angry that they are loosing that power to a new society where white, powerful men don't reign supreme.
Aren't churches all a bit crazy?

How does one get away with this?

A 61 year old girls basketball coach repeatedly rapes a 16 year old autistic child under his tutelage and all he gets is 2 1/2 years, max.
Sex is legal with a 16 year old in North Carolina.
She's not retarded, only disabled. According to the law, she should have been able to just said no.
The bastard that took advantage of this kid was arrested for having sexual relationship with someone under his temporary guardianship. Hell, even if that was the appropriate call, which it wasn't, 2 1/2 years is far too little time to spend in prison being someone's bitch.

Trying to be cool.

I listen to 'Accuradio (accuradio.com) from my desk often. They have all sorts of stations to choose from...Broadway tunes to French Canadian Pop. I lean towards Broadway, the 70s's and Traditional Folk Music.
Well, I was going to give Contemporary R&B and Urban sounds a try. I was grooving with the tunes. Sure. Hell, I wouldn't know Chris Brown if he hit me.
I'm more of a Motown chick.
Well, I finally liked a song sung by a girl group named 'Total'. I even did a Wikipedia search. They disbanded in 2000.
How cool am I?

Things I haven't done. . .

. . since moving to the southeast.
Worn long pants more than the one time I wore jeans to the movies.
Wear anything but sleevless t-shirts and shorts to work.
Wear socks, except for those little white anklets you wear with golf shoes.
Bitch about traffic.
Sleep with a blanket.
Not go a day without thinking about my friends in SF.
This was taken in our back yard.

He throws like a girl!

Since the suggestion came from the mouth of Rush "the Oxy Ass' Limbaugh, I don't think it was a compliment. It seems like all the sports sites on the web have used the same line.
I doubt if many men of Obama's age, could throw any better than he did but that's not why I felt a need to comment.
My issue is why is it a weakness thing and why does weak = girlie, girl? And unless you're into beating the crap out of someone, or need to kill a large animal with your bare hands to bring back to your breeder in the cave, tools and weapons have somewhat leveled the physical strength playing field. Sarah Palin can drop a moose with one shot.
Actually any man would be damn lucky to be able throw like a girl..say like Cat Osterman, Jennie Finch or the 3 time Olympic gold metal winner, Lisa Fernandez. My favorite all time softball star, Spouse A, never allowed a stolen base from her position as catcher.
Girls can throw.

Straight old men are asses

Find me a Republican man over, say 60, that isn't a misogynist ass hole and I'll give you a hundred bucks. You say this makes me a bigot? I'm just point out an honest observation.
I sense that these Neanderthals, though most seem to have some grey matter in their head, don't realize that they are a dying breed. They are foul, sexist, and bigoted and are keeping up the front even though they lost the war.
Anne Landers said years ago, that men (or women for that matter) are not to be forgiven for their social or professional indiscrections related to contempory social standards. An old man should not get away with a tasteless sexist or racist joke any more than anyone else.
'Forgive the old guy, he doesn't know life has moved on. . " Bullshit.
What? He didn't get the freakin' memo that the 50's are over? Hell, the 60's which were not the most progressive times for women or people of color, are also a fading memory.
I'm going to start taking pictures and posting them under 'jack asses'.

What's with the freakin Stock Market?

We finally got to the point were we could gamble a bit on the Stock Market...and this was 2 years ago, and it wasn't a big gamble. It's falling faster than my sense of job security.
When and were will this end?

Happy Gay Day!!!

Before I forget and before I have to get back to my D.D. tasks, Happy Gay Day to my SF friends. Have a wonderful Dyke March, Pink Saturday and Parade Day.
Party like its 1985! (No, not a song reference. It was when we knew how to party and had the energy to do so!)
Peace.

Who are you?

I'm mean you.
I know a couple of folks that look at this blog now and then. Probably more back when I wrote stuff. I haven't written much lately because I don't have anything much to write.
I continue to relocate bugs and reptiles.
I tend to my garden like Ms Green Jeans. (If I married a boy I dated in high school, gross, my name would be ______ Green).
I digress.
I have that Visitor locations Cluster Map on my home page. I figure the big dot in SF is due to my prior visits to my own site and the forever faithful 'M'. The New England dot is reserved for family, willing to check the blog if not to make sure I'm not talking about them or if I am it is in a good light. And now me, south of the Mason Dixon Line.
Do you know where the Mason Dixon Line is and why it is? I had to look it up.
And then you have those that land on it because they hit 'Next Blog' in the google blog area. They show up like I do, in sites by gay boys in South America (I don't know Spanish), Ladies that Sew, or Dog Diaries.
But, who are you in the Detroit area that make the dot so big and many?
Where are you and how did you get here?

The Exterminator . . .
I have sprayed the exterior perimeter of the house for bugs, twice. The interior 1.5 times. I have been pulled out of bed because two bugs have fallen 'out nowhere', landing on their helpless little backs, in the bathroom. I had to relocate them. With all due respect to animal lovers, they were relocated down the plumbing fixture.
I have removed 3 dead spiders from our screened in porch. I think one might have been a dead Fuchsia petal.
And I have caught, gently, 3 Geckos within the house. One lost 1/2 its tail do to an encounter with Uma Thurman. No, not the actress. Gekos are adorable. They really do change color to match their surroundings.

Damn, now what.

No, I didn't get laid off. Fine.
But now what?
I feel a bit like Lisa Douglas, as played by the glamorous Eva Gabor, in the thought provoking series, Green Acres.
We came from San Francisco to find ourselves living in Hooterville! If Eva could find happiness and things to do, so will we.
Maybe life was made easier for Lisa Douglas with the assistance her 'gender vague' helping hand. We've seen a few similar type ladies cruising the aisles (and Spouse A!) of Home Depot.

Layoff?

What will happen if I loose my job?
1. I will freak out and cry for days.
2. I will suggest to Spouse A that her retirement might be reconsidered.
3. I will knock on every door store in the area.
4. Will wallow in self pity.
5. All of the above.

It has been awhile. .

We are settling into our North Carolina coastal home. I'm working out of my home office. Spouse A is trying to figure out what she is suppose to be doing with her retirement days. She does have a bit of a cold.
It is a new way of life for us. Quiet. Ten miles to the closest store. Restaurants few and far between. But hell, we have a huge TV and a low maintenance home.
There are areas all around us that are 1/2 developed. Sad. Our area is older and pretty much settled so we're ok. Of course, we couldn't sell if we wanted to.

In the meantime, the murder of the little girl in Tracy troubles me. I cannot believe a women would do what they say she has done. Could she be covering for a man in her life?

The Peacock family . .

. . has survived and lives in Dustin, OK.
Humans are such cruel animals.

Still standing

The Randy Travis of Doors (our V.P.) came for a visit this week. We/I thought the door was going to close on this D.D. but I'm thrilled to say it didn't. I've been in 'Panic Device' mode for a month and concerned that my job would dry up as I drove through the Texas panhandle.
I suppose it could still happen but I'm not going to worry about it. I need my beauty sleep.

Sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows

So the economy has been in the dumpster. Washington did pass a relief bill. OK. Now everything is going to be fine. I'm glad that national disaster is over and I can go back to normal and not worry about my job disappearing tomorrow.
Phew.
We're going to see Leslie Gore this weekend. Now I can cry if I want to, cry if I want to.

In the middle of the night

We live on a dead end street and the tall apartment houses nearby create a tunnel of sound. If the windows are a open a crack we can hear a lot from buildings nearby. Well the folks across the street had some guests over and were having a pretty raucous evening. Hell, it was a Fri night and people should be able to party to a point. Well as I looked at the clock and it read 2:15, I though I would get up a check things out.

WELL. The unit across the street has a full size picture window. The curtains were wide open and the glass is totally fogged up. I could see the silhouettes of people moving back and forth across the window, sometimes one, sometimes two. The whole time lights, i.e. camera, were flashing and they had 2 huge flood lights on. Based on the 'poses' it looked pretty gnarly.

I just wanted to get some sleep. So, I got the kitty's laser pointer and while sitting on the floor in the second bedroom, I flashed the red light where the fog on the window was smudged. They freaked out. The curtains were pulled. They started taking pictures again. In a space between the curtains, I flashed the light intermittently.

Within about10 minutes a big old guy and a woman ran out of the apartment.

Straight porn is so yesterday.

And time goes on

So.
We have a new President. He did good today by releasing funding for Women's health centers, around the world that have the audacity to suggest birth control or abortion. The block on lobbyist and a pay freeze for his staff is cool, too. I'm optomistic.
In the meantime three friends have lost their jobs.
I fear it every moment.

A kid named Adolf Hitler

And then the new Jersey Child Protection Services Agency had to come up w/ and excuse as to why the kids were taken from their parents. Da. The parents have to be dumb asses. Good enough excuse for me.

Slumdog Millionaire

One of my favorite movie of the year. Go see it

L wordish

We went to a dogs birthday party this past weekend. SO lesbian like. Do you know any straight people that birthday parties for their dogs? Actually it was a lot of fun. The weather was great and the company was good.
Which reminds me, the L word starts up again this Sunday. Spoiler alert..Jenny is murdered. (So it says on the trailer for the new season). We were asked to join some friends at our local watering hole to witness dykes behaving badly as they watch the show. Apparently the issue is they don't order (a $5 cover had to be created) and they don't tip when they do...and then they just order water. Not drinking alcohol is fine, but it is bar afterall. The bartenders make a living by waiting on you. Tip accordingly. And then these, mostly young, will Shhhh you if you speak. Oh, I can't wait.