Wow...it's been awhile since I posted anything...sorry folks! I'm going to try and get back into the swing of this blog, but I make no guarantees.
As for the title...well...rock 'n roll might never forget but apparently the economy does. I, however, REMEMBER when gas was affordable. *frown* Not sure about your neck of the woods but at this moment the Short Stop (it sells Conoco) is charging $3.39 a gallon for REGULAR UNLEADED!!! Can you believe it?? I'm sitting in a state that's sitting on top of a freakin' oil field and that's what we're paying. *shaking my head* I saw an editorial cartoon with an older couple reading the news about the "Economic Stimulus Rebate" that's coming and the gentleman asked..."So, what should we do with our rebate? Get the power turned back on, pay for our prescriptions, or get a tank of gas?" I swear it's that bad anymore. In my humble opinion, you can say what you want about Wal-Mart but as long as they keep offering $4.00 prescriptions for common generics they'll get my business!
And speaking of remembering...does anyone remember the weather being this screwy?? Since Spring has begun we've run the gamut out here. You need a coat one day, roast the next, get blown half way to Tulsa the next, and have to think about building an Ark the next. I know Spring is a changeable season but good golly! The other day the thermometer actually jumped almost 40 degrees in about 9 hours. It was 38 degrees when I left for work at 6:30 a.m. and it was 76 degrees when I walked out of the plant at 3:30 p.m. I'm channeling the parents but it's true...you don't know how to dress anymore. I've taken to wearing layers that I can peel away during the day like you have to do in Winter. By now we should be having cool but not COLD.
In the political arena I haven't backed a candidate yet but it's definitely NOT Hilary! And after today I'm quite glad about that. Such a large part of her platform is "Socialized Medicine" - free health care for everyone. It sounds extremely nice in theory but I got a lesson today in practice and ...well...maybe not. One of the guys at the plant, Clint Beagley, just got back from a business trip to Canada, he went to Toronto. Canada has free health care for everyone - government funded 100%. Again, the idea sounds good but in practice not so much. The people he was with got into a few conversations about the topic and he was surprised to find out some of the stuff Hilary and her compatriots never mention. There are a few private practitioners in Canada but they are so booked you can't even HOPE to get in to see them. Most of the health care is done in clinics and minor emergency centers. These are also so booked that you can't get an appointment for weeks. Anything even remotely considered "elective" has to be scheduled almost a year in advance. And the "free" in "free health care", of course, isn't. The cost of living is extremely high in Canada - to the point that it is the norm to have large numbers of people in one house. The guys he was speaking to (plant managers, superintendents, etc.) said that to have 20 people living together in a house is nothing to them. Now these people are most often families...usually several generations of the same families...but still!! Geez...when we were growing up there were 9 of us, 11 with Bobby and Louie, and we barely all fit! Anyways, where I was going with the cost of living thing is that the income tax in Canada is outrageous...but the salaries aren't much different from here in the States. And it's the income tax that pays for the health care. So not only are you still paying for YOUR health care every time you go to work, but you're also paying for those who don't work. And if they need more money for health care...yep...taxes go up. Clint also mentioned that there is a very large population of homeless people in Toronto. Sorry if I bored you with all of that...I found it very interesting talking to him today!
Oh, but they did have one thing that was kind of cool...this should make you smile Suzie-Q! *L* While they don't allow hanging there (I don't think) - if someone commits a crime and then skies out into the woods - they just post a bounty on the person and somebody brings him or her in lickety split. *LOL* Clint enjoyed that little fact. Apparently some guy murdered a woman up there and headed into the wilderness to not get caught. Nope. Some other guy got his hunting dogs out and tracked the culprit down in, like, 3 days. Clint was so amazed it made me crack up.
So....back to the song....Sweet 16 has actually turned 44 but I haven't forgotten everything...yet! *LOL* Bye for now!
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Hello! Good to see you posting again. Just checked you the other day to see if you had and here you are today. :) I agree with you on the weather thing. Ours has been up and down for the past few months, but we did dodge the winter bullet this year. My bill was up in the 170's. *Sheesh* Electric is high like gas. Wish they would get these windmill things up and running so everyone can just pay a price yearly for the maintenance of them. Did anyone think of that?
Can't comment on anything political ... you don't know what I'm going through with the jury duty thing. Have to write about that sometime. And work is unbearable at the moment ... have to write you about that too.
Anyway, good to see you back here. Keep on posting.
Your Big Sis
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