"You can come back baby, rock 'n roll never forgets..."

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!

"Nothing compares....to youuuuu...."

Okay...it's time for a "Toto's Best and Worst of 2007"! This will probably come in a few separate installments as I think of new things to have a best and/or worst of...*LOL* So let's get started:

Best Church sign in Enid: "God wants zealous fruits, not religious nuts"

Worst t-shirt EVER seen: "What? There are 50,000 battered women and I've been eating mine plain??" (Just a note - being drawn and quartered is too good for this guy)

Best new TV show of the year: "Dirty Sexy Money"
Best new TV show set in Oklahoma: "Saving Grace"
Best returning TV show EVER: "Heroes"
Worst new TV show of the year: "Pushing Daisies" (even though it has Kristen Chenowith)

Best TV show theme: Theme from "Saving Grace" by Everlast...."Got a heart full of gold on a lonely road, she said, 'I don't even think that God can save me...'"

And I'll end this installment with the best commercial jingle on the radio and TV: BC Clark's Anniversary Sale...

"Jewelry is the gift to give
'cause it's the gift that'll live and live
So give the gift you know can't fail
From BC Clark's Anniversary Sale

Most sales are after Christmas...but Clark's is just before
Most everything is marked way down...savings you can't ignore
At Oklahoma's oldest jeweler...since 1892

So give the gift you know can't fail
From BC Clark's Anniversary Sale......."

"Now that we've come...to the end of the road..."

Well it's official...Friday night was the last game Pioneer will play in 8-Man Class B high school football for at least the next 2 years. OSSAA has moved us up to 11-Man and placed us in Class A. We are the smallest school in the class, regardless of district, so we are figuring we'll pretty much have our butts handed to us for the next 2 years. Although you never know....Cinderella stories do happen on occasion. *L* It almost happened for Enid High last year. Anyways, our final 8-Man game was against the Cherokee Chiefs and after a few nail-biting instances where it looked like Cherokee was going to win (keep in mind that Cherokee's entire student body is, like, 30 students...okay, a mild exaggeration but not by much)...the Mustangs finally pulled it out and won the game. Also, this is the first year since 1991 that Pioneer hasn't been in the Class B play-offs. *sigh* This group of kids has no "killer instincts" when it comes to sports. They're very uninvolved and show very little competition in anything at all. Gone are the days of Scroat and JoJo tearing up the field and Brody playing with so much hardware on his knee that they undressed him at least twice a game right there on the field to adjust his brace. No more Dusty wearing the "Ugly Shoe" for kick-offs and JJ and Garrett wearing "grandpa-style" black socks for luck. Those were fun games. Ah well....into the future of Pioneer football.

Favorite quote from a Pioneer football game: Brody had the ball and was running it up the field, the Coach for the other team was yelling at his players that were trailing behind Brody, "THAT BOY'S ONLY GOT ONE LEG AND HE'S BEATING YOU!!!" *ROTFLOL* Refering, of course, to Brody's knee brace.

"Happy, Happy, happy birthday...

...happy, happy, happy birthday....happy, happy, happy birthday...to you, to you, to you...Old Lady!!" *ROTFLOL* I just couldn't resist that one!

Happy Birthday Mamie Lynn!! Hope your day was a blast!!

Hugbies!!!!!!

"What do you say...at a moment like this..."

There's only one thing to say.....

Happy Birthday Nanny Buns....I love you and I always will. I miss you...and I always will.

Whoever is with you....Give 'em hell Old Woman!!

"Yeah I can be myself here in this small town..."

Today we embarked on a small project that we came up with...photographs of Enid. *LOL* It may sound a bit boring but we actually have some pretty interesting architecture around town and some pretty interesting "areas of interest". *L* Sorry about the repeat there, I didn't know how else to put it. Anyways, once I get all the photos (digital of course) ready and captioned I'll upload them to a Fotki site and let everyone know the address. Could be you'll find something that catches your fancy in "this small town"!

And I'll stop writing about Heroes for now (I'll keep those thoughts in emails to Aunt Cawnin) but I AM still interested in the new season of TV. I'm hooked (of course) on "Dancing With The Stars" and I think my current favorite is Helio Castroneves - he's a good dancer and such a cute and charming personality - I hope he wins! Another vice is "Dirty Sexy Money" - Trip is a trip! *LOL* The show is quite bizarre but funny and actually well-written (in my opinion). We are also watching "Cane" for now. A very different show in some ways, sometimes trying a little too hard but I think it may be getting better - we'll have to see. We gave "Pushing Daisies" a try and I'm thinking not. The narrator annoys the snot out of me and not just with his giving the exact hours, minutes, and seconds of everything and everyone - just his constant interruptions and his voice annoy me. We also tried "Reaper" and found the first episode very funny but the second not so much. We're still going to give it more of a try though. We found that we were not at all interested in "The Bionic Woman" - that girl will never be Jamie Sommers to me and I'm not even sure they gave her all the right parts - didn't they change something or other??

So now it's your turn. What are you watching, if anything, from the new season?? What are you watching from the previous season?? What do you hope will make it and what do you hope or think will tank?? "These are just a few questions I have..." *LOL*

"And then a hero comes along...with the strength to carry on..."

WOW!! *L* Honestly..."Heroes" just keeps getting better. Claire totally grossed me out with her toe...but at least now she knows for sure. I just wish she would have looked up when Mr. Muggles started jumping and looking to the sky....I'm sure her new friend was flying right above her. *LOL* And at least we know Peter hasn't lost his powers...although before he had to remember the person to manifest the power...now he apparently doesn't have to do that. And he also apparently absorbed DL's ability to phase through things (the ropes on his wrists) and Jessica's super strength (throwing the guy almost through the wall). Peter is going to be VERY interesting! And Mohinder found the Haitian!!! Well, actually the "Company" did, but Mohinder saved him and made it possible to reunite him with Claire's father. Woohoo! The Haitian is back and his powers still work too!

And on to the questions...

WHAT in the world (or not in the world) was attacking Mrs. Petrelli????? It was almost like the invisible man had returned but he didn't hate any of them that I know of. And do you believe the Honduran twins????? Apparently her tears are like the plague and yet he can absorb them and heal whoever she kills - if he wants to, I presume, since he didn't heal any of the people on the truck. No wonder she's afraid to be away from him.

And just exactly HOW did Kensei heal himself from the arrow wounds and come back to life??? Did Hiro have something to do with it?? Toto is once again confused but totally intrigued! And Nikki/Jessica and Micah come back next week....maybe DL too, didn't see him on the preview though. Argh!! This show is totaly awesome and it totally drives me insane trying to figure it all out! But I'll be right there next week...ready for more!! *LOL*

"So when you feel that hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you"