artimis’ blog

Today is Repeat Day, so we want to know: what song do you have currently have on repeat? Bonus points if you share it with us!

On repeat: Imma Flirt - Bow Wow, R. Kelly, T-Pain, T.I.

Help

All I can say is OUCH!!!!!!!

My wife and I went to a little family (her side) get together. It was a pretty good. There is always more food than needed, laughter, and kids running around. The meal was good and the desert was great. With bellies full, we settled in for some conversation. You know, catch up on what is going on, who might be doing what, funny things that happened and so on. Everything was going great. And then, someone mentioned the P word....politics, and it was down hill form there.

It started with an aunt saying something to the affect that President Obama passed a bill or something to start killing babies. "What?" I said. That was followed by, he messed up his swearing in oath (no, the Chief Justice did that). Oh, I didn't know that, was the reply. The economy came up and how people had lost money and jobs under 8 years of Bush, and shit hit the fan big time. My brother in-law Bob was irate, and defending bush loudly. Hell, I didn't know he was a Republican. I'm looking at my wife, she's looking at me. I look at another brother in-law, Mike (he married into the family too), and he looks at me with that "What the f*** is going on?" look. I'm wondering the same thing. A sister in-law Jane (she is married to Bob) made a comment that left me floored, and I wont repeat it in this blog. Dazed from that, I hear Bob say something about a puppet and voices are raising. I realize that he and my wife are going at it.

My wife jumps up. I can see she is pissed like I've never seen, and asks Bob, "Why does he have to be a black puppet? How come black has to be in it!?" Who is a puppet, I'm wondering, what did I miss? Jane yells "I knew she was going to go there, I knew she was going to bring race into it!" My wife yells back "I didn't bring it up ,he did!" Bob jumps up yelling "I didn't say he was a black puppet!" But he did, everyone said they herd it, but me, I was in a daze. "He is a puppet, and my 401K didn't lose money until Polosi swore in!" he said. Polosi is the cause of 401's going south. I hadn't heard that before. "I know what's going on, I read and watch the news!' he said, as he is headed to get his coat. Jane yells for her daughter to get their coats, they were leaving now. More is said, and I'm just shocked by it all. I couldn't even digest it all right then. I still can't. They stormed out, the get together was over. Except for the mom and an aunt, those left behind (my wife, my step daughter, my wife's sister Cindy, her husband Mike and myself), was left stunned by what had just occurred. 

Later I learned Bob called an older brother Fred, whom I'm told he hardly ever talked to, and tells what happened. Fred says he is proud of the way Bob and his way of thinking. He told the Bob that he had taken his flag down after Obama was elected, because the country was all messed up now, like it wasn't before he became President. I suppose Bob will raise his flag again in four years and be a proud whatever he is. My wife thinks Bob was seking out confirmation for his stupid ideas. I'm told, it was known that mom and Fred was that way, but Bob. That came as a surprise to all of us. Bob and his wife came storming out of the closet, I'm told. I wouldn't have thought Fred was like that, the few times I've been around him.

You think you kind of know a person and come to find out, you don't know them at all. I had respect both Bob and Fred. I don't now what to make of  Bob. I'm still shocked. As for Fred, a veteran, to become unpatriotic and take your flag down, I think is a disgrace to himself and those who fought under the stars and stripes. I'm a vet and would never lower my flag over who or who didn't get in office. I have no use for Fred. I'm proud of the flag and may it wave forever.

As for family get togethers, I'm sure, they will never be the same, if there are anymore. I can see myself at another one. Man, all over the election of a African American as President.

Sounds like something made up? I sure wish it was.

I hadn’t seen Baghead Jheri since the presidential election. I hardly recognized him as he walked toward me in the parking lot last week.

The plastic ’do rag bag was off his head, which exposed his throwback Jheri-curl in all its drippy, activator-sheened regalia. And instead of his usual sartorial disorder, he sported a snappy blue blazer, tan slacks and a T-shirt that read, “We had a dream, now it’s a reality.”

“Hey Bag, I was just thinking how I didn’t recognize you. What’s with the new look?” I asked.

“It’s a new day, brutha, and we gotta recognize,” Bag answered.

“Uh, yeah, I suppose we need to show more pride in ourselves, but that’s something I think we should have been doing all along,” I said.

“Fore shore, you right, brother man, but on the serious tip, just ’cause our boy Obama done got in the White House don’t mean all our troubles are over,” Bag said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“See this here T-shirt?” Bag said, as he pulled it out away from his body so I could get a better look at the message. “Here’s some reality for ya. Some of us black folks could be hurt insteada’ benefit from Obama’s presidency.”

“Come again?” I asked, curiously.

“Some folks might think racism died when Obama got elected,” Bag said.

“Maybe some, but regardless, it is a huge step forward,” I reasoned.

“Well, we ain’t reached the Promised Land yet, brutha,” Bag said. “Heck, throughout history, successful black folk have been pointed as proof there is no ceiling — yet doors still got slammed in their face.”

“But Bag, we’ve made great progress in the last 50 years,” I said.

“OK, but we still got folks who don’t understand why most blacks voted for a black man for president. They say that’s racist,” Bag said.

“Yes, I heard that,” I said.

“That shows me there are some folks out there who still don’t get it. If whites were discriminated against for almost 400 years and we elected 43 black presidents, wouldn’t they vote for a white man then if they had the chance?” Bag said. “They done did it 43 times, anyway.”

“Look, I don’t know how many people, black or white, would have voted for Alan Keyes or any other black Republican from this current administration,” I answered. “The Democratic choice just happened to be black for a change.”

“Yeah, but some folks are still hollering reverse racism,” Bag said.

“Bag, we’ll never be able to change some folks. There’s always going to be some folks who think blacks are all lazy and all thieves, as there will always be some people who think all whites are racists,” I said.

“I hear ya, brother, but I still say Obama’s presidency might bring even more racism out of the woods,” Bag warned. “I dream, but that’s the reality.”

“The reality is, we have a half-black, half-white president who stands as a living example of us coming together in hopes of making things better,” I said.

“I shore hope you’re right,” Bag said, slowly walking away.*

*by Alonzo Weston, ( As written in The St.Joseph News-Press 1/28/2009)

   "production cuts by the OPEC cartel may be having an effect, along with growing tensions in the Middle East and the sentiment by traders that the precipitous drop in prices went too far"*. Any one of these or all, will be the excuse for gas companies to start raising prices again. Actually, it's all ready happening. Gas jumped in my area a couple days ago, from $1.45  to $1.59. Today it went to $1.69. All over five days. I know this is probably cheap compared to other areas.

   Why does gas only drop a few pennies at a time, rise five to ten cents at a time? I'll call it what I think it is, GREED. If you are raising the price of your gas in the tanks, and haven't gotten a fresh delivery, it's greed. How can the gas in the ground be affected by world events? These gas stations are no better than the government, They all put the screws to the little guy because he can't do much about it. He's got to take and half like it.

Gas prices

   Maybe the auto industries shouldn't have gotten a bail out until they signed a  contract to produce a hybrid type vehicle that the average person could afford. Then OPEC can be kicked to the curb. Gosh, wouldn't that be ashame? OPEC told to hit the bricks. Maybe gas and oil should not be a speculators market. Then speculators couldn't drive the price of  oil and thereby messing with the price of gas.

   Seriously, those in charge really don't care. If there is a buck to be made, they'll go for it. So what if it puts some in a bind, gots to have that dolla bill man. Makes my article "Screwed At The Pumps" (May 22 2008) all the real. But I could be wrong  about all this, but I bet I'm at least half right. 

 * New York Times 1-06-2009 Clifford Krauss

Another year has come and gone. I hope your 2008 was a good one and that 2009 will be even better for you all. Come on in Mother Time and thank you Father Time, for a wonderful 2008. Happy New Year to all on Vox and the world. Now I must go and get my Steaks on the grill before the stoke of midnight. Ahhhhhh sooooo goooood. "Bust the cap on the bottle baby, fire up the grill......It's time to get my grill and swerve on."

This is my one of my dogs. This is a Terrier mix and she thinks she is human. She likes to watch you eat, in hopes that something might, just might fall to the floor. No five second rule here. If it hits the floor, it's toast. She's a bit fat because she'll eat anything that wont eat her first. She has this thing for chewing up soda bottles....when they are empty. Soon as she sees that it's empty, she starts barking and raking her little feet. She wants it now. This is the first and only dog that I know of that sleeps on it's back most times. This is one strange dog.

Ginger

My sister thought it might be a good idea to work at out local food kitchen serving a Christmas Eve lunch. Feeding the hungry she said. I had always wanted to do something like this, but never seemed to find the time. Well, I could have found the time, but never did. My sister volunteers there once a month through our church, so she knew how the system worked.

This year, I made the time. I started my X-Mas vacation a day early. I went to the food kitchen around 8:15 met up with my sister, her daughter and one of my nephews, and got busy. We dished out 137 meals, small compared to larger cities, but it seemed like a lot of meals me. Yesterday they served 117 meals. My wife missed the event as she is under the weather a bit.

While we were there, a local gas station chain, came in with a check for what I think was a $1,000. They held a fun raiser to support the food kitchen. A elderly man donated several boxes of bread, cupcakes, hot dog and hamburger buns, for the people to take home. It was all taken. Several people came by to donate items for future meals. And a group was making the meal for the Christmas dinner tomorrow.

I noticed one thing about the homeless, the poor, those who are down on their luck, they all said thank you, or yes sir no sir, and please. How often have you helped someone who "has it made" and hear a thank you? Even the little kids were polite.

 I enjoyed the time spent helping out today. If only for a moment, someone's life was made a bit better.  

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TO ALL ON VOX. HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND MAY THE NEW YEAR BRING YOU  PEACE, JOY AND HAPPINESS.