What I love about Sunday

Raymond's in his Sunday best,He's usually up to his chest in oil an' grease.There's the Martin's walkin' in,With that mean little freckle-faced kid,Who broke a window last week.Sweet Miss Betty likes to sing off key in the pew behind me. That's what I love about Sunday:Sing along as the choir sways;Every verse of Amazin' Grace,An' then we shake the Preacher's hand.Go home, into your blue jeans;Have some chicken an' some baked beans.Pick a back yard football team,Nothin' much of anything:That's what I love about Sunday. I stroll to the end of the drive,Pick up the Sunday Times, grab my coffee cup.It looks like Sally an' Ron, finally tied the knot,Well, it's about time.It's 35 cents off a ground round,Baby. cut that coupon out! That's what I love about Sunday:Cat-napping on the porch swing;You curled up next to me,The smell of jasmine wakes us up.Take a walk down a back road,Tackle box and a cane pole;Carve our names in that white oak,An' steal a kiss as the sun fades,That's what I love about Sunday,Oh, yeah. Ooh, new believers gettin' baptized,Momma's hands raised up high,Havin' a Hallelujah good timeA smile on everybody's face.That's what I love about Sunday,Oh, yeah. That's what I love about Sunday

Justice is Served

So last Saturday night, I was working and we we all getting ready to leave. 2 young men walked up to my store, one on the right, one on the left. They double over, then both of them Threw up all over the door and window. Well, me being a person with no tolerance for stupidity and the fact that I have a temper that only really stupid people can bring out took off chasing them. After a minute or two I stopped pursuit (not because I couldn't catch him, but because I would of beat him down!) So I got into my car and peeled out after the car they were running to. They were gone by the time I got there. Got the windows clean the next day(had to wait till sunlight to get it all). Today the same stupid kids came in to eat. I was contemplating different things to do, block their car, deflate the tire, call the cops...Just then a cop drove by. I walked out back, talked to the officer. Told him I just wanted to scare the boys. They denied everything...For about 5 minutes. Then the officer said, last chance, If I go and see you on the Video, I'm arresting you right now. He instructed me to get the video set up. He did a great job, one was crying, he broke them down.... What an end to a great week. They apologized which was all I wanted.

My thoughts on Immigration.

This is what I think, some may disagree...

America needs immigrants to Survive. Almost anything you do during the day relies on the fact that an immigrant legal or not played a part in it.

I am more than willing to open the door to whoever wants to become an American. But come as you are, to serve this Country will all your heart. Love it or leave it. Learn the language. You are coming here to join us, not coming here for us to join you. We are not helping people by using tax dollars to make signs in 2 languages(with the exception for boarder states). When I go to McDonald to get a hamburger, I don't want the employee looking at me like I'm speaking the wrong language. Que?, hamburger! Que? I no speakeee English... Then get off the counter and in the kitchen. In my former life in NH, I NEEDED immigrants like every business in that area to staff my restaurant. But, I held English classes for them before work. And assisted them in classes outside of work. If they did not have a desire to learn English, I did not have a desire to give them a job. That being said, I had to learn another language to communicate with them, I didn't mind so much...I was the only one who attemted to learn. I accommodated them as much as possible, but only the ones willing to improve their life here.

I think if you want to Join this country, it should be free. Announce to the immigration office when you arrive to get your "Temps" . However, I think you need to be a productive part of society for 6 years before getting you permanent residency or citizenship. This will take a lot of people off welfare and other government programs. The guest worker program I feel would be an asset to us...Its true what they say, America has a lot of jobs that Americans will not do.

Anyone that is currently here illegally should pay a penalty or fine (whichever you want to call it). If during the time they were illegal they were in jail for any theft or violent crime, they should be removed and not allowed back in for 10 years. Build a fence along the Mexican Boarder, make it an electric shock kind just for fun.

As you all know, my wife is an immigrant to this country. What a pain in the neck to make it legal for her to be here. If my government would of decided to "deport" her, not only would they have lost a future contributor to society, but also a citizen(myself) I would of moved to Brasil to be with her.

Do I think what she did was right? Coming here to this country to Improve her life? I Think the way she went about doing it was wrong. But what options did she have...Get on a list...Wait 10 years? But as Americans make it so hard for that to happen. There is such an underground of illegal documents, Drivers license, passports, SSN's that it is Huge money for the people doing it.

This country needs to think of somehow to organize the flow of people coming in. And we should NEVER close out doors.

A side note- I'm sick of people asking me what I am. I tell them I'm and American. Then they go, I'm Puerto Rican, so I say really, where were you born? They reply "in Cleveland". Then I say, what in the world makes you a Puerto Rican? Your an American.

If you live here, LIVE HERE! If you want to be a Puerto Rican...Move there. Or say, that your from Puerto Rican descent(or Mexican, German, Brazilian...Or whatever.)

Childhood continued from Jen spot...

14. Robby modeling
15. Spending the entire day in the woods and mom not getting worried
16. "Stuff" for dinner
17. getting extra pudding from the elementary school

Did I mention the Family Pics?

here is a few samples...



Even when we were young...


And when we got older...



This was our example...

Immigration:

To stay or not to stay? That is the question. What is your answer?

With all the talk and debates about immigration, I would like to know what everyone that reads this thinks.

I'll save my thoughts for a little while to give everyone a chance to comment.

Surprise

SURPRISE...I've got Good news...Who wants to know...

Blast from the past

Today I gave Foxy a "Free Ride"...."Free Ride for anybody"...

Measure up...

So latey my cold foods in my fridge have not been that cold. Angel and I have been pricing out refridgerators for a while now, and we both know what we wanted. So Sunday morning my wife wanted to go shopping for 1. I said okay, then opened the newspaper...looked at the ads...and said" i'm done. She didnt think that was funny. Angel said she saw a nice one at Marcs (for those of you who don't know, Marcs is a closeout center. Really cool stuff for very cheap.). So we went to Marcs, sure enough, just the kind we were looking for and 50 junior bacon cheesebugers cheaper than we've seen. So we paid, Called up the cousins picked it up an hour or so later. When we got home we decided to take the old one out first, we did without a problem. Now the problem. With all the excitement of getting a new fridge, We forgot to measure it. lets just say it is alot bigger than the old one, and took alot of "shifting" to get it in the front door...That was the widest door in the house. Its in the kitchen now, after the doors came off...not just the house but the fridge also, some molding and a hurt back.

1/4 of an inch is all the room I have between the Window sill and the counter (thats 1/8 on each side) Talk about cutting it close.

But, I dont have to make my own ice any more....

Top 10

1. A pet teaches you responsibility.

2. You can get lots of exercise by walking your pet.

3. If you get lonely, you have a friend to play with.

4. You can save a pet's life by adopting one from a shelter.

5. The pet needs a friend.

6. A pet always greets you at the door even when you've had a bad day.

7. When your Mom makes a terrible dinner, your pet can clean it up.

8. A pet can guard your house.

9. A pet can make a boring car trip much more fun.

10. The pet will love you, no matter what!

How time changes things

The last post made me want to go back and look at alot of "old" pictures. I saw a picture of me when I first moved to Cleveland, I looked good...not quite a 6 pack, but close. Well, That 6 pack is still there, I just have a 3 inch layer of protective gue covering it.

I just found some good ones. This is The OWL ...


I'm a Pack Mule...

The joy of pet ownership

All my life I have had a pet or 2 or 3 at 1 point 5 plus fish. The joy of pet ownership is really hard to explain. When I was a young lad and my first dog Bea walked beside me without the leash, I thought I was the coolest kid on the block. When she died it was a very sad moment in my life. But I learned a lot from her, responsibility, trust, organization and many other things. Later in life (after I moved out) I at one point had 30 fish, 2 cats 2 birds a dog and an Iguana...all at the same time in a small apartment. There would be days I would just sit and watch my fish swim around, as each had his or her own personality. I even had a fish that would let me pet it. Fish are by far the easiest pet to maintain. My Iguana was the coolest, letting him out to run around with the cats, pure joy. I inherited 1 cat and the birds from a family that was moving....They forgot to comeback and get the animals. Watching the cats try to get inside the birdcage was some of the funniest moments of my life.

Then we had the family member that wanted to be a frog...I guess we all have a little animal in us...

Now, my current pet FOXY has brought so much joy to Angels life and mine. She's our babydoggie...She keeps me active, and I don't have to wipe her. She likes long walks on the beach, chasing after anyone that's not white (she did not learn that from me) and playing with the neighborhood kids. She truly is a great fit.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Foxy's Birthday. She is 2 years...(duh! I put 2 spaces)...old. Angel made her a cake and bought presents. Not really presents but a new collar, because she needed one and some special treats. If you are ever at my house, make sure the "cookies" (Duh! just realized I did 2 spaces again)...are really for people. They(1 space) look like regular oreos but beware, they are made for dogs. I took the day off because a Brasilain Pastor from Columbus(home of the Buckeyes) was supposed to come visit today, but he called and can't make it. Indstead I'm gonna go to the auto show and see alot of cars I will never be able to buy.

Yes it has been a long time since my last post. (only 1 space) I have been very busy with work. (only one space) Angel and I are both doing well. (only one whole space) She will be leaving for Brasil in just over a month. (still just one space) I have lots of ramblings and such I could talk about, but I need to spend some time with the most wonderful woman in the world. (Look Jen, because of your blog I have also learned something new...oh yeah, one space) I'm tired, cranky but just got a wonderful score on a surprise inspection from the regional company guy from pittspuke.

What a week

Have you ever wanted to just yell at someone because they are just so stupid. If not then me either. So I'll tell you a story about a guy named Mij.

Mij went to work a week or so ago and was having a wonderful day. Then all of a sudden (5 minutes after getting to work), an employee called off. She had a dance to go to and didn't care to even look to replace her shift until the day before. She only knew 2 weeks before, and that just wasn't enough time. So knowing this information Mij cant wait to get the phone call from her boyfriend. Well three hours later he called. Completely unacceptable. He didn't even try to replace it. Didn't even care. grrr... I just started thinking of different things....

any way, I was mad and almost yelled at the kids mom because she was mad I suspended them for a week. I told her she was lucky I didn't fire them...

Any way on another side note. I hate Unions. Because of the "union" my local tops is charging way to much money for cereal.

Speaking of unions. Dennis the dumbass Kucinich(I think thats how you spell his name) bashed My President because Northeast Ohio is losing jobs, and ford is cutting its workforce. I ask you this dumbass...Where have you been serving for the past 20 years... oh yeah, northeast Ohio. The same time that all these problems are happening. It seems like you always want to push the blame to everyone else. Now don't get me wrong, I don't care for Republicans or Democrats, I'm an AMERICAN and want someone to represent me as such. Cut the political bull and fix whats wrong. You can first start by getting rid of the Unionized workforce. Just think, all those dues go right back into Americas pockets. Just take all the money the unions have and distribute it out to all the union employees based on how much they paid in. Let them save and invest their own money. If you don't like who you work for quit. If you don't like the benefits quit.

That being said, I truly think unions were a wonderful when they first came out. Now its just a small group of people making extra money and making US pay for it. My wife paid over $150 in union dues and initiation fees. She only made $2000 at her job last year. That's crazy.

More rants and ramblings to come.

Taxes...and ramblings

Ramble ramble ramble...

Why is it that some states can get by with no income tax and balance a budget and others tax you to death and still don't have enough money to pay the sanitation engineers.

Did you know the Congress and the House agreed almost unanimously on a topic of vote a month ago. It was to give themselves a raise. Thats right, they talk about tax increases and budget deficits, but when it comes to the pockets of a political leader, $ is number 1.

All government officials should take a pay cut. There is no reason why the mayor of Cleveland should be making more than the Governor of NH.

Take Ohio's restaurant tax. Its 8% on Eat-in orders 0% on take-out or to go. Lower that to 4.5% on all orders and the state could more than triple its business. (all the Drive-thru stores and people "saying to go" just to get a better price.

more later...

Mac and Cheese?

Mac and Cheese on a pizza...??

Next of Kin

I have to share a joke with you. I don't know who wrote it or where it came from, but it's good.
A pastor went to his church office on Monday morning and discovered a dead mule in the church yard. He telephoned the police. Since there did not appear to be any foul play, the police referred the pastor to the Health Department.
They explained, "Since there is no health threat, you'll need to call the Sanitation Department."
When the pastor called the Sanitation Department, the Manager of the Sanitation Department said, "I can't pick up that dead mule without authorization from the mayor."
The pastor was not at all too eager to call the mayor, who possessed a very bad temper and was always extremely unpleasant and hard to deal with, but eventually, the pastor called the mayor anyway.
The mayor did not disappoint the pastor. The mayor immediately began to rant and rave. After his continued rant at the pastor, the mayor finally said, "Why did you call me anyway? Isn't it your job to bury the dead?"
The pastor paused for a brief prayer, and asked the Lord to direct his response. The Lord led the pastor to the words he was seeking:
"Yes, Mayor, it IS my job to bury the dead. BUT I always like to notify the next of kin first!"

Since I'm waiting

I'm on the phone with tech support, just like I have been for everyday this year. At work our computers upgraded themselves over Christmas, However they have had problems ever since. We thought we had the majority of it fixed the other day, well we just had a power surge and the problems are back.

Times like this I would be munching on candy...but I'm not ...

BYE

Start of my new diet...

So I've decided to change my eating habits. I have been eating alot of candy and drinking pop. (I actually went 3 years without pop at one point). Yesterday was the first day and I was almost perfect. I only had 1 bag of jelly beans (it was a gift) and no pop.

Today was another story, I had no pop, but ate a bag of cookies(the chewy kind). But thats okay because I had more milk today that I have had since the fall (thats only because I havent had time to get to Aldi and buy cereal)

I'm still not as heavy as I have been, I was up to 178 just over a year ago. I think it was last year. If not last year than the year before. It was part of my experiment to see if I could gain 30 pounds in 3 months...it only took one and a half. The only diffence now is I have no muscle, just flap.

I had an employee laugh at me yesterday while I was stirring sauce. I said whats so funny she said look at yourself while you stir. So I did, and sure enough it was funny. My whole body was shaken and movin, it was great.

My new goal is 6 months from now is to wieght the same, just lose my belly and maybe get some muscle back.

We Dont give a...well, you know