Soup to Nuts

Soup to Nuts blog 4/19/09

Another "little bit of everything" blog today. I often think of things that are interesting (to me, anyway) to blog about, but don't get around to it -- as you can tell by my dismal once a month postings. Trying to do better.

"Old" Spam
Yesterday as I walked back from my mailbox with a fistful of mail, I was intrigued by two pieces. Along with our electric bill and something else viable that I've already forgotten, was something addressed to me that mentioned my upcoming "retirement." Now this was on the outside envelope for everyone to see--hadn't even opened it yet, but since my all-important 62nd birthday occurs later this year, I thought it might be from the Social Security Administration. Nope, just SPAM. Some company was suggesting that I might want to start collecting Social Security this year, and they had the perfect thing for me to spend my retirement funds on! Extra insurance--either medical or the kind that would help pay for my life in a retirement-assisted-living-nursing home. Well no, IF I decide to "retire" (which I'm not considering at the moment), I can think of a lot more interesting ways to spend my retirement money than that. The second piece of age-related SPAM was from a company selling motorized scooters, and was address to dh. I guess because we've reached that magical age of 60, some companies think we're ready for the grave already, and want to hurry us along on one of
their motorized scooter-thingies. I can tell you that if dh ever does need one, he will be ready to run races with Bro. G in our ward, who has Parkinsons and must have been a race driver in his well-years. Turns out there was a third piece of age-related SPAM in the mix, also addressed to dh, which was even more thrilling. This one was offering their cremation services to us. Come on now! I have plans to live another 20 years or so. QUIT REMINDING US THAT WE'RE GETTING OLD!!!!

Losers

Yesterday every one of my favorite sports teams lost their games. The Blazers lost their first playoff game, the Mariners and the Rockies (baseball) both lost their games. The one good thing I can say about yesterday's sports scores is that the Yankees got shelled, 20-4, by Cleveland. I'm not a fan of the Yankees, mostly because of their owner, George Steinbrenner. He's very controlling and there are certain rules that must be abided by if you want to play on HIS team. One has to do with length of hair and facial hair. One of my favorite players was Johnny Damon, who used to play for the Boston Red Sox. A couple of years ago he sold his soul, so to speak, in order to play for the Yankees. Damon was a rebel in at least his appearance. His hair was long, he wore a beard, and he was a GREAT ballplayer. While he's probably still a great ballplayer, his hair is shorter, no facial hair, and I've always been disappointed that he sold out his individuality for the buck. I guess playing for the Yankees is a dream for many aspiring baseball players, so who knows if he sold out for money or for realizing a dream. Guess I can't really judge the guy, but it was still sad to me. Looks like the Yankees have an up-&-coming young upstart in Nick Swisher, though. He's very vocal and looks to be a lot of fun. Reminds me of someone I
used to know.

Thieves

Last week, actually nearly two weeks ago now, we were the victims of car theft. Dh's beloved Toyota pickup was stolen, right out of the church parking lot where he was working. And in about 45 minutes time, from when he got there to when he went out to the truck to get something he needed. GONE! Nowehere to be found! Naturally the police were called, the theft reported, the insurance company called, but still no sign of the truck. The police officer who took his report assured him that they usually recover stolen vehicles within a month. The police officer who took his report must not be up on Toyota thefts. She also did not say what shape the stolen vehicles are in when they are recovered. We don't expect to see it ever again. I am now carless, since dh needs his car for work. I get to do all my errands and Curves workouts after 3 p.m.

In the western days, horse thieves were hung.

Parking Lot Saga

In a blog last month I mentioned my sister-in-law losing her keys on our last get-together, which always includes a trip to Walmart or Tar-jay, or both. Last night was no different as we trudged off to Wendy's for dinner (this particular one we go to always runs out of baked potatoes--I think we need a new fast-food place) which would be followed by a trip to Walmart. At approximately 7:30 we returned to brother & sister-in-law's mighty Dodge Caravan, dumped all our purchases in the back end, settled in and were about to head to Tar-jay. Uh oh! Car no startee! Up comes the hood, dh says he sees the problem as there is corrosion on the battery terminals. My brother, not being much of a mechanic, had no tools with him, so they trudged back to the store where they bought a battery tester, wrench, and wire brushes to clean the terminals. The battery tester showed a weak cell, so db (dear brother) decided that they would buy a battery. That taken care of and installed, but no joy! We're still stuck. Eventually we decided that this car was not going to start, called one of our dd's (dear daughter) and the tow truck. $76 later (for a tow less than 2 miles), and thanks to the kindess of our dd & her dh, we were back at my brother's. Now my sister-in-law & I are both afoot. At least it happened when she had company, otherwise she might have been stranded alone with a non-running car, and me not being able to pick her up.