The Beauty Box

A typical day for me is to began at Moo's and Teddy Bear's beckon. This means that I sleep when they sleep. Here are some photos that illustrate their demands. Their demands are the following:

1. Get up!

2. Feed me and do it now!

3. Look at my beauty for as long as I deem necessary (Moo)

4. Rub my belly (Teddy Bear)

5. Tell me how beautiful I am (Moo)

6. Play with us whether you had sleep or not

7. Clean the litter box before I poop (Teddy Bear)

8. Make the bed so we can jump and play on it

9. Get on the internet so I can plop down on the computer (Teddy Bear)

10. You can't have the shower until I am done playing in it (Moo)

11. I want a drink out of the bathroom sink so turn on the water (Moo)

12. We want the windows open so we can hear people say "hi" to us.

13. Get my toy mice out from under the refridgerator (Moo)

14. Tell me more about how gorgeous I am (Moo)

15. We loved walking on you while you were trying to sleep

16. We are tired now. You have to go without sleep so you can watch us sleep

Typical day but I would not trade one moment of my time with these two little kitties.

Until the next dive bomb my darlings, meow!

The Blair Witch At Dollar General

Darlings? I love Dollar General Stores! Unfortunately, the Blair Witch struck the Dollar General Store last Friday. Is this, what you may think, more complaining about customer service? Yup! Don't sit there reading this without thinking you have never had a rude awakening as a customer. I think you and I will agree that lousy customer service is becoming all too common today. I guess our local Dollar General is no exception. I'm just not afraid to pursue customer service, whether good or bad. Raises or demotions are determined by customer feedback. After what I experienced last Friday, I promise that my feedback will carry some weight.

A friend and I set last Friday aside to visit some shut in residents at a rest home. On the way back, we decided to stop at our nearby Dollar General to pick up needed things. I found some cat things as well as needed things. Next thing I know, the store manager comes barreling through, screaming for help from her subordinates, while shoving a shopping cart in my ribs. Whoa! I'm on a cane lady! Then, she proceeded to continue yelling for her associates in my ear! Next, she appoaches a shelf on my left, starts grabbing things off that shelf, throwing the items down the isle in which I was standing. All of us customers found ourselves in complete shock. An elderly lady stopped the manager to ask for an item that could not be located. This manager smarted off to her and told her she was just going to have to wait. Finally, when I came to the cashier to pay for my items, I calmly asked for the Dollar General Corporate phone number. That young lady acted as if she was relieved when I asked for that information. She regreted that I had to get that number from the manager. I stated I will wait. The manager approached me and told me to follow her to the back of the store to get the number. Fine, I thought. When she returned, she not only provided the requested number but she provided her name. I think she knew she had gone too far with the customers on this day. What a Blair Witch!

I started patronizing this store late in the summer as I grew tired of customers bringing their politcal issues from the "hood" into a nearby Family Dollar. I like to shop quietly, not say two words and leave my politcal thoughts at home. This, along with panhandlers outside was ignored by store managment. I discussed this with store managment but these problems seemed to fall on deaf ears. I'll just go elsewhere.

I had observed at this Dollar General, that the manager had a tendency to talk down to her associates in front of customers. One day this winter, she humiliated her associates because she was too hot and wanted the stores front doors left open! She pushed it last Friday!

Within minutes of my coming home, I called the corporate offices in Tennessee. The lady I spoke with was so shocked that she asked me why the manager would conduct herself in the manner that I witnessed. While I told her I had no explanation for the manager's behavior; that manager's conduct is not my responsibility. I further stated that someone ought to shoot that manager with a tranquilizer!

Meandering through the city this week, I was on my way to PAWS to drop off my aluminum cans and newspapers at this animal shelter. Behold! There was a Dollar General on my route. Darlings, I can't help it. I love Dollar General. I picked up some necessary items and some really cool cat bookmarks. I struck up a conversation with this store manager. I told her what transpired last Friday. She said "wait a minute! You are on a cane and you had a cart shoved into you and items thrown beside you by the manger?" This manager not only knew the location but she knew the manager by name. She further stated that all Dollar General Store managers are to have a regional meeting today! She advised me that she keeps getting "Robyn's" customers due to the way "Robyn" treats them and that she is going to bring this up at today's meeting. She told me that if the regional director did not return my call, to call her at her store after today. She is determined to pursue this matter. In the meantime, she welcomed me into her store.

Darlings, I am a firm believer that no matter how you are treated in any business, always let that business know how you were treated as a customer. A business will grow or die depending on how they treat their customers. If you fail to speak up, DO NOT go home and complain about it. Today, employees in many businesses are a bit more bold in how awful they treat people coming through the door. As a ordinary customer, I do not expect the Red Sea or furniture to be rearranged for me. I do expect to be treated with courtesy. Never, ever, interfere with me and my cane (someone tried this yesterday at a local pharmacy when they tried to make off with my cane in the shopping cart I was using. Sorry I had to treat this person like a deer in front of a pair of head lights. Don't touch someone else's cane, especially mine!) Also, I get tired of going into businesses and being waited upon by employees who makes it clear that they are only there to earn their beer, cigarette and lottery money but would rather be somewhere else rather than wait on me. I know the hard work, agony as well as blessings that was behind every cent I earned. So you can bet that I will be gaurded about where I will spent my money.

Until the next dive bomb my darlings, meow!

The Beauty Spot

Here are my darlings; Moo and Teddy Bear. They rob me of sleep only to watch them SLEEP! Still, I wouldn't trade them for the world. The more I meet people, the more I like cats.

Until the next dive bomb -meow!

Happy Valencats Day!

Since the temperatures are dangerously cold, we have decided to pass the time indoors with "Cat camping". Happy Valencats Day!

Until the next dive bomb my darlings, meow!

Parenting And Pizza Boxes

How would you, as a parent, like to have your parenting skills listed on a flyer then pasted to a pizza box? This is what our county sherriff's department has come up with in rounding up deadbeat parents. Partnering with the department are local pizzarias. Darlings' I don't know about you, but there are parents out there birthing innocent children like a cat has kittens. There are parents out there that need to be spayed or neutered. Rather than use common sense and be responsible, adults out there "loving the one they are with" are ignoring the fact that having children renders an adult's life over as they know it. Darlings, I get so tired of seeing innocent babies come into this world in which the parents do not want to care for them. My cats have a better parental upbringing and feline lineage than do many children today. If a mother or father does not give a dern about having their parenting skills listed on a pizza box, chances are they will not care about much else but themselves. I would not be suprised if I get a pizza delivery having one of those flyers attached, there will be a deadbeat parent of whom I will know.

Deadbeat parents abound in our society. When I use the term "deadbeat" when refering to parents, I'm using the reference beyond those parents who fail to pay child support. I'm including parents who fail to provide a solid foundation at home for their children. Whatever a child is taught at home, then that goes with them in life. Churches, schools, grandparents and the state can only do so much. YOU should be raising you child. If you think that your parenting skills deserve no more than "Most Wanted" posters in your local post office, chances are that your children will have a most wanted photo as their senior picture. Several scenarios come to mind as I write this.

Around fifteen years ago, some teenage girls and their brother attended a Sunday school class I was teaching at the time. Already there was much trouble within that family. One day, one of the girls brought in some snapshots from her home. In all of those snapshots were the kids, their mother and a man sitting around a coffee table running over with empty beer cans, a couple of whiskey bottles, and ashtrays brimming with cigarette butts. The man was the mother's current boyfriend. To date, all of these kids along with their mother, are in and out of jail. None of what was once children have been able to keep their own families together. Bouncing from relationship to relationship while having their grandparents raise their kids has only served to increase the crime rate. The boyfriend is lying maimed in a rest home due to an auto accident incurred under the influence of any chemical he could get his hands on.

Another episode I recall occured when I worked at Middletown Christian Schools. All too often I saw parents treat this solid Christian based school as nothing more than a babysitting service. There was one little girl that was determined to do whatever she wanted. At age five, she had already become a pro in stealing. Catching her and another little girl stealing the candy bar stash out of another teacher's class, I sat both of these little girls down and talked to them about why stealing is wrong. The next day, the school director called me into the office. She stated that a parent overheard me talking to the little girls about stealing. This parent resented the fact that I was teaching the little girls right from wrong. I then told the director I will not apologize. Had they been my kids, they would have got their hindends busted! Furthermore, I asked the director to arrange a meeting with her, the parent and myself so that I will have a witness when I tell that parent face to face I apologize for nothing. The director then stated that she does NOT want me to apologize and that she considered the matter dead. She stated she will tell the parent accordingly.

Finally, and currently, is a trend that is all to common. I ran into a mother the other day who told me she is currently trying to help her teenage daughter determine the father of her baby. Furthermore, she stated that she is going to have to take her other daughter for a pregnancy test. This lady spoke of this as if she just returned from Disney World. Give me a break! In my teenage days, my mother was teaching me how to run an efficient household or helping me find my prom dress.

If these examples plan on becoming traditional families in the future, then we can count on more lawlessness. While I realize there may be a few exceptions out there, I have yet to find them. It is said that on the surface we either look like our mother or our father. However, deeper down, we bear the values, whether good or bad, of both parents. I was taught that family is not a matter of convenience. Rather family is divine, responsibility, permanent and not a matter of a better tax credit. These teachings are so obsolete that they are being treated as out of date jokes. As a result, our courthouses are packed tighter than a livestock sale with no solutions other than throw out traditional family court proceedings by fiat. An example of this is right here in the state of Ohio. If a spouse ruined a marraige by infidelity, the cheated spouse could file for divorce on the grounds of adultry. Not so any longer. When I went through a divorce, the judge granted the divorce on the grounds of incapatability. I sat there thinking is this the best our court system can come up with? How incompatable can you get as a male and female? Why not state "this court grants you a divorce on the grounds that your soon to be ex-spouse is a no good, irresponsible, deadbeat piece of white trailor trash that is just taking up space in society. No one told you to not appreciate and mistreat your spouse. Now git!"

Until the next dive bomb my darlings, meow.

Cancel School? Why?

For the past two days I have been watching announced school closings. Yesterday, schools were closed because of cold. Today, schools were closed due to 6-8 inches of snow on the ground. I see that schools are more liberal with closings than when I went to school. Keep in mind that the days I attended schools, the use of ink pens were forbidden, corporal punishment was the norm and we never heard of school levies. As a matter of fact, the actual school buildings I attended were built after the turn of the twentieth century. I'll admit that we were outdated in some things but overall we got a good education and discipline without the outrageous levies and ACLU of today.

As a school girl one hundred years ago, my brothers and I did not often see school closings. We, like the majority of the student body, lived on a farm out where roads were not often tended. There had to be a blizzard before the school was closed. Other than this, if the bus was late, we still had to wait for the bus and get to school. We went to school when there was snow on the ground, no heat in the school and much sickness among the student body. While at school, if the weather was inclimate, then we had to stay indoors with activities to keep us occupied.

If there was no heat, teachers told us to keep on our hats, coats and gloves (we had the old radiator heaters). If there was a lot of sickness, the healthy students went to school while the ill students stayed at home. We never had air conditioners in our school and we were not permitted to wear short pants except in gym classes. If it was too hot, windows and doors were kept open throughout the building.

If the climate was unbearable for some, well too bad. These kids still went to school with their parents blessing. These were the days that a written note was not often required from parents because school officials mutually trusted parents. Truency was rare (darlings, this word is no longer found in the dictionary) Well, I can say that notes were not often required on behalf of us as we were too terrified of our parents to miss school. If a note was sent on our behalf it was a courtesy, not a requirement, from our Mother.

All of these closings of today and times past got me thinking of two school bus drivers we had; Bruce Carmichael and Janelle Kiracofe.

Mr. Carmichael, as we chose to call him, was a very quite man. An excellent bus driver, he ran a successful farm outside of College Corner, Ohio. Mr. Carmichael never had a problem out of any student on his route. There were no fights, foul language, insults, pranks, tattling, etc. There was no set rules on his route yet everyone got along well. In the days when kids of all ages began the school day at the same time, there was one bus run in the morning and one bus run in the evening. High school students tended to look after the little ones on the bus. Furthermore, respect was always expressed between us and Mr. Carmichael. As a result, he never had to slam on the brakes nor stop his bus except if a student got sick. I was one of those students. The day I got sick (I was never a good passenger) everyone got real quite while he stopped the bus, took me off, and he stood there with me to make sure I got enough fresh air. He did not get back on that bus until he was sure I was alright.

I can never forget Mr. Carmichael at Christmas. On the last day before Christmas break, Mr. Carmichael would place this big cardboard box near the bus gearshift. As each student stood next to him ready to get off the bus, Mr. Carmichael would hand the student a large gift wrapped Hershey bar. Furthermore, if a student's siblings were absent from the route, he made sure the present sibling took a candy bar to them too. Mr. Carmichael did this for us every year. I only hope he was rewarded for his kindness.

The day my parents sold the College Corner farm was the day we attended a different school elsewhere in the county. My how things were different at this school. Rather this school was more strict. We were rather confused by such strict codes in a school within a farm community. Our bus driver, Janelle Kiracofe was no exception.

Janelle did not put up with rowdy students. She definately had zero tolerance for nonsense. I recall countless times I went face first into the seat in front of me when she hit those breaks. When she hit those breaks, she got up, went back to the source of trouble, grabbed the student by the collar and either slammed them down in a front seat or threw them off the bus. Of course, these were the days that discipline was allowed. She did not have to run her bus route in fear as do bus drivers today. She was never shy about letting students know whether or not she liked them. If students were constant trouble makers she had it out for them. This lady had two bus routes in the morning and two bus routes in the evening. She then had student routes to JVS and sporting events. Furthermore, though rare in her day, she was a single mother and operated a farm.

Janelle had an interesting approach to bus fights. She was partial when it came to students fighting on her route. If two students started a fight and she did not like one of the students, she would call the student she liked up front. She would say something to that student. That student would got back and intensify the fight into a knock down drag out. I never knew what she said to the student called up front. Also, I thought it was unusual she did not slam on her brakes let alone stop the bus at all during a fight. It wasn't until one day, I found myself getting involved in a fight I did not want. It was at this time I discovered what Janelle would say to a student she would call up front. After I got so fed up with this girl turning around from her seat to pick on me, I stood up. Janelle had a grin on her face when she called me up front. She said "I can't stand her and if you don't kick her *@%, I will take you into Mr. Russell's office and you will be barred from the bus for two weeks. Your parents are not going to like you being barred from the bus. So you better make this one good". Refraining from darma, I did not have to go to the principal's office nor was I barred from the bus.

I don't know what ever happened to Mr. Carmichael but I have often thought of him at Christmas time over the years. With respect to him, due to his age at the time he drove our bus route, he may have passed on long ago. With this probability, he lived a very humble respectable life. Today, I do not often encounter many Mr. Carmichael's.

Janelle retired long ago. I have run into her a couple of times. To this day, I think she bears grudges against students who were constant trouble makers. She has sure witnessed bad behavior in these trouble makers own kids. Grant it, she had to put up with a lot of problem kids and I am not sure if she is a happy woman today. I know she stayed on as long as she did because she was allowed to discipline unruly students in those days.

In today's law suit happy world of liberal education, I do not think these two bus drivers would be suited to drive a bus for any school route. I think Mr. Carmichael would be taken advantage of if not physically harmed by the mentality of young people today. Janelle would be prime for a lawsuit from disgruntled parents who simply refuse to teach and discipline their kids. As a result, I feel for bus drivers that have to endure awful kids whose parents think they are little saints. It is a sad day when a school bus driver has to confirm to unruly behavior so as to keep a job. Somerville, Ohio comes to mind when I think of school bus drivers. As part of the Talawanda School District, it has become a challenge to keep a driver for this route due to the violent kids from a violent little town of two hundred people.

Had this been thirty or more years ago, we would have been safely in school tomorrow despite 6-8 inches of snow. Though we always had TV in our home, we relied on a transitor radio for weather because radio gave more attention to weather conditions. School closings were determined when the school superintendent actually drove the roads in the early hours of the morning. If he deemed the roads unsafe, he then called local radio stations with his decision to post a delay or close the school. Believe it or not, on an annual average, I don't think we missed more than four or five school days no matter how much snow fell to the ground.

Times are a changin...

Until the next dive bomb my darlings, meow

The Liberal Rag

As a follow up to my displeasure with prejudice comments posted in yesterday's Middletown Journal, here are the words voiced by a very anonymous, ignorant citizen;

"I see a lot of people driving around this city with the rebel flag painted on the back window on their truck. Some people want to call that 'Southern pride'. I think we should call it what it is-'loser pride'. If you have a rebel flag, you're a loser... Your side got their butts kicked in the Civil War and you lost. If you really like the South, go to the South-because this sure isn't the South... So take your loser flag and your loser philosophy and your bigotry-and everything that comes with it-and go to the South. We won't miss you".

Today, I called the Middletown Journal to cancel my subscription effectively immediately. The associate wanted to know why. I stated that is one thing that this individual is ignorant and prejudice but it is another thing that the Middletown Journal would print such bigotry. I further stated that the paper encouraged such bigotry the moment these remarks were printed. Had I expressed such hateful, judgemental, prejudiced remarks against blacks, Arabs, Jews, or other ethnic peoples, my remarks would not have made it in print anywhere. I have bit my tongue long enough. I am tired of writers constantly criticizing and insulting their white readers. Furthermore, because of one sided editorials and prejudice, this is why this paper is refered to as a "liberal rag". Personally, I refer to it as the "Middletown Urinal" which does not exceed a eigth grade reading level. The printing of these remarks in yesterday's edition has angered many Southern people who built this city let alone the county. Unlike other disgruntled people, we do not lead protests and marches. We like face to face confrontation. Today, I could only conduct my displeasure by phone. The associate said someone from the paper may call me to discuss my concerns. I stated I'm wide open for discussion but no arguing. In the meantime, I'm a busy woman.

As for the anonymous author of ignorance, I ask you, does the Southerners to whom you wish would go back home include other Southern ethniticy? Do you honestly stay North for all of your vacations or do you treat the South as your southern peninsula? Do you stereotype all Southerners in pick-up trucks with a rebel flag? Did your Mother teach you this ignorance? Where are all of these rebel flags in this city for which you claim to see everywhere? I want one. I wonder...are you so disgruntled that you have nothing better to do than possibly sit in a beat up recliner covered in duct tape while living as a ward of the State? Did you ever consider that a Southerner may have authorized your food stamps? Do you not realize why the "Dixie Highway" runs through major industrial cites from South to North? Do you realize that the War Between The States ended one-hundred and forty-two years ago? Are you really this far behind the times? Does your education exceed the reading level of the "Middletown Urinal"?

I'll accept none that the people who have shown more respect and interest in my Southern background have got to be, hands down, my Jewish friends of New York City, Cleveland and Chicago. Knowing little as they do about my background, they have always been very polite to me and eager to learn. We love trading stories about our upbringing and have a great time listening to one another. I could sit for hours listening to my Jewish friends tell me their stories and traditions. The beauty of our friendship is that we don't beat each other over the head with our roots. We just try to learn from each other and have fun in the process.

I always say that people are repsonsible for their own opinions provided they are equally justified. Without justification, your opinions make you as if you just like to talk just to hear your brain rattle. I have a wealth of friends from all walks of life and ethnic backgrounds. We do not always agree but we remain loyal friends. We do not sacrific friendship over prejudice. Clearly, the bigot in yesterday's edition is destitute in the friendship department.

In the meantime, may I suggest to this miserable soul and the Middletown Urinal staff to research Alabama Senator Charles Davis's thoughts on the Confederate flag. Unlike the poor souls mentioned above, Senator Davis thoroughly did his homework before he spoke. If you read his speech regarding international flags verses the Confederate flag, you may learn some things you never knew. He reveals prejudice that you never thought existed.

Until the next dive bomb my darlings, meow.

Deep Thawts

Deep thawts by Moo...

"The state of the nation? Stock market? Taxes? Superbowl? Let me lie down for a while and give these some dern thawt"

Until the next dive bomb my darlings, meow.

Long Johns, Robbery and Confedrate Flags

Well, tonight's Superbowl was the first Superbowl I actually enjoyed since I became a football fan one hundred years ago. The fact that both coaches were black does not interest me in the least. The fact that both of these coaches were not ashamed nor censored by their profession of Christian faith, impressed me very much. Both of these teams were in Superbowl because they worked very hard as contending teams. It was finally a relief to see two very talented teams in which they were not over-rated like teams in past Superbowls. It was evident that team work stood out more than personalities. I am a big fan of the Colts because I like Tony Dungy and Payton Manning. I really admire Dungy's demeanor on the sidelines. This was noted by sportscasters when it was pointed out that Dungy does not use fowl language on the sidelines. The Colts are a classy team and rightfully won the Superbowl. Go Colts!

This morning, I glanced through the Middletown Journal. Some disgruntled old soul decided to lash out at Southerners who own Confederate flags. My first thought was this person posted these comments (harsh at that) anonymously. From whom is the writer hiding? Be bold and reveal yourself. I only hope that I run into this bigot and the bigot sees my Confederate tattoo. Then I'll see just how bold of a bigot the miserable soul demonstrated in today's paper. My second thought was that with all of the very one sided racial tensions in this city, obviously, the bigoted soul is narrow in thinking that the plight of the black community is due to Southern white folks. This anonymous writer took a very narrow point of view when we were blamed for tensions in this city. The writer fails to understand that Butler County was practically built by people of southeastern Kentucky. Why all of a sudden are we to blame for the writer's misery? Frankly, I am sick of black issues being crammed down my throat and the Middletown Journal is a haven for black writers constantly criticizing if not insulting white Amercians. Therefore, I will be cancelling my subscription to this paper. There is not a prejudice bone in my body as there are different races in my family. Prejudice exists among the human race not just among one ethnic group. I just get sick and tired of the same whiners shoving their unhappiness down my throat. My last thought is why did the Middletown Journal print such a prejudiced statment? If I, as a white woman, would have lashed out at a non-white, trust me, it would never have been printed. On the other hand, what more could one expect from a paper that does not exceed an eigth grade reading level?

Next, with the frigid temperatures, my search for long johns is in vain. I can not find womens long johns anywhere and it is too cold for me to get out there to keep looking. It is not the fact that department stores are sold out, rather they just don't carry long johns any longer. What's more, I stopped in the nearbly CVS Pharmacy only to be interupted by a shoplifter. One moment I had the manager in front of me answering some questions I had. Then he stepped away for a moment. Next, he came back, looked me in the eyes and stated "Mam, I have a problem. I will get back to you". Then Middletown police officers came barreling through the door. I was later told that they apprehended a man for shoplifting a CD player. A sales clerk gave me a candy bar for the inconveience. This was nice of her.

Though my weekend shopping turned up no long johns, I did find this kitty cube. I think Moo loves it more than Teddy Bear as she has spent more time playing in it. She likes to get inside and have me to toss her toy mice in there. Teddy Bear is just content with plopping down on this computer.

Until the next dive bomb my darlings, meow.