The hours wore on as did hunger and frustratration with people cutting us off, and just generally forgetting they aren't the only person floating around in the cosmos. We stopped to get some dinner ...our last stop finally but right across from the restaruant was one last store he wanted to check after we enjoyed our meal.

He found his treasure, something he didn't know I had already been aware of and planned to get him for Christmas. No matter; my list for him this year was a long one. Not only was the exact item less money there but the lady in line ahead of him assurred him that she had one and he'd love it. He smiled and said something.. I have no idea what but she started to do as we all do and once again turn back to minding her own business as she waited in line but as if a second thought she asked him if he had a coupon.

No, we had one sitting at home as a matter of fact but we hadn't planned on coming to this store. She dug through her purse and found an extra coupon and gave it to him. It didn't cost her anything. It saved us 20% but more than that it reminded a man who so often runs into people that are quicker to be rude than they are to be kind that in fact, there are so very many people out there that know the value of a good deed.

I wish we knew her name but we don't. That one simple gesture meant more than any amount of money he saved. I wish instead of being so stunned we'd had a better chance to thank her before her turn in line came. We'll just do as we always do.. and instead of pay her back her kindness we'll pass it on to someone else.

Perhaps you too will luck out with such kindness and then return it in kind to someone else. Sappy? Perhaps but wouldn't it be such a better place if we all did that??

...........................NOT!, and I mean.. NOT! EVER AGAIN give me a nasty sigh when after you say,

"But Ma'am, isn't it worth your time to spend fifteen minutes for a free quote to see if we can save you money?" To which I answer, "No, I believe I've tried to politely tell you that THREE times now!"

Any way you cut the mustard, I am the potential customer and you are intruding on my own home, time and priorities.

I'll hand you this one, it was calling for our business which IS untfortunately still allowed to happen. But ... Oh for Pete's Sake.. now another one. She's polite. Forced to be courteous while she tries to convinve me I have a free trip to Hilton Island. She was, afterall... a recording. Where is that zapper gizmo?

Aren't our judges supposed to ENFORCE the law?

Anyone I have ever known to be arrested for drunk driving was given a test of one sort or another over the years. If you did not pass this test you were arrested and would go to court. Nobody EVER questioned the constitutional rights of the drunk driver, you went to court and faced the judge and got whatever fine he handed down to you.

I suppose the presumption of innocence is almost gone when you have been caught with your hand in the cookie jar. This did not mean you couldn't hire a lawyer and attempt to have your fine reduced, even give proof that you weren't drunk if in fact you weren't. You DO go to court but paramount you simply don't drink and drive. There are laws and a court system to uphold the laws to the benefit of our communities. All traffic violations as far as I know, you are given a ticket for what you were doing because you were CAUGHT doing it.

So now, we have a judge who's thrown out five drunk driving arrests in a week because it is his belief that the current laws are unconstitional. The way the current laws are written there is, for lack of a better way of wording it, a presumption of guilt until proven innocent. On the face of it, I would agree with the judge but we aren't talking about someone arbitrarily pulled over, ticketed and assigned a court date for drunk driving we are talking about people that did something that gave a police officer reason to pull the driver over. We are talking about a person that a police officer tested and a driver that did not pass the drunk driving tests. Where is the possibility of being innocent in this?

So.. in one week five people were let back out on the streets to drive drunk again because they don't appear to have the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. What happened to our right to drive on SAFE roads. What happened to the citizens right to know that our legal system will protect those of us that choose NOT to break the law? What happened to our right to know someone that will drink and get in a vehicle, thusly taking the risk of turning that vehicle into a deadly weapon, will have his/her right to drive revoked and keep our streets safe?

However unfortunate I know far, far too intimately the hazards of people driving drunk. I hope someone wakes up and puts a stop to this judge before someone is.... killed.

The other possibility is the babysitter. Will she willingly go and testify as to how long and how often the baby was left in her care for weeks at a time. My daughter knew the babysitter in school so she's thinking maybe she can get somewhere positive with her. Hoping. The mother of my grandaughter used to be my daughter's friend when they were in school... my guess is my daughter CAN maybe find out from people willing to testify as to the care the child receives... particularly the instances the mother gets drunk and drives with the baby in the car. Or.. drug use which might incur drug testing. They know of one instance but the person serving drinks is the mother's cousin so getting her to testify is going to be hard if they even can. The other times are rumor from one person to another and they don't know who would be an acceptable witness to those events. Drunk driving with the baby in the car would be enough to get my grandaughter safely back in my son's care. Hopefully a cop pulls her over before something worse happens.

So, that's where he stands now. I hate this. It would be so much more comforting if we knew the mother actually cared for her beautiful little girl..

1. My son is trying to gain custody of his daughter. Mother currently resides in home that is substandard for a child. He took her to the doctor and found out the child hadn't had needed xrays for asthma follow ups. Not the first time medical treatment has been skipped. She'd been left with him for over a month with only two short visits with her daughter BUT... you bet your hiney she kept collecting that child support. She hadn't even questioned taking her back until she was served with papers. Even then it took two weeks for her to do so... the cops came and they had to give the girl back on a technicality but there was allegedly reassurance that she'd probably be back. By the police officer. Now the mother intends to keep her daughter AND request more child support money. My son was devestated because now he doesn't know where she is... for all he knows she's out of state. But my husband pointed something out... She's been served with papers to appear in court next month it would be very bad if she had skipped town... would an Amber Alert be in my son's favour? Especially in a state that prefers a child stays with their mother. My son wouldn't take a child from her mother unless the child wasn't being cared for.

2. I am unsure if I want to pay for my daughter to go back to school. I do but right now she's not behaving in a manner that leaves me comfortable about dropping ten grand or more. In fact, she's talking about getting married. We all know that once you move out and start living life ... life happens and you have to deal with it and more often than not these kids don't end up finishing school. But we won't get a reimbursement for the money spent. And IF she gets married during any part of the year we can't offset some of the cost of the school with taxes because we won't be able to claim her as a deduction. She's not being terribly intelligent about all of this BUT, a good step in the right direction is that she does want to go back to school.

3. I forgot what else but .....oh, my dad's house. He made his wife of FIVE whole years before he died ten years ago the trustee of all the money he left and the house .. all of which was to go to my brother and I after three years. The house, which was paid off plus had money to cover expenses.. is now in debt. She's charging her water even to the estate which deepens the debt that will need paid off when she dies and we can sell the house. Now, she wanted out of the house but she wanted us to sell the house, pay off her debt and then split the proceeds in three.. giving her one third. We said no. My brother is next in line. Every year he's going to get a lawyer. Every year I tried not to step on his toes and now.. because we waited it's an implication that we waived our rights and the way she was spending the money was okay with us. Of course, when it comes to.. which one of us would take over the trust if she was out, he stepped up to the plate. But we wait on him and when he gets around to things. I'm fed up and have considered being taken off the trust. Money isn't worth the stress. Anyway, my guess is because we won't give her a third of the proceeds she won't leave and is fighting it so the trust.. which is the loan against the house.. has to also pay her attorney. So, our inheritence is being rapidly depleted and it's money I know my dad would have wanted spent to make sure I could pay my son's attorney and ensure my dad's great grandaughter's safe return to his son so the little girl isn't living with someone that doesn't even think holidays are important with her little girl. There's more but.. there's this matter of his favorite grandaughter and her school that needs paid for. He'd have a cow if he knew all this was going on and his money was spent on the widowed wife is spending it on fountains and new carpeting so her dogs can use the house to use the bathroom instead of walk ten feet out the door.

Doesn't ANYONE ever question "the voices" when they suggest you toss your kids into a bay? I mean.. come on sometimes those voices are wrong.

Michael Jackson was called for jury duty?? But he's now a permanent resident of Bahrain so he's not serving. Has he moved yet? I know, uncharitable of me but I can tolerate alot but NOT anyone that messes with children. Oh..yeah.. allegedly. Found Not guilty which doesn't mean he didn't do it.

And now there is yet another hurricane in the Gulf heading eventually to Florida. They said on the news this morning that it is a storm that will kill thousands. Uhm... have we not learned?? Hasn't anyone figured out..GO INLAND!! Go wait out the storm and leave the towns empty .. there will be nobody to kill if everyone evacuates for the duration. It's not like there's not enough notice. I HOPE people will be okay.

That's more than enough.. plenty. Now, after the news is on I need to make my blog rounds and say hello...

Now, to understand the idiocy of such a question it's important to note that there IS faxing capabilities between his fax and mine on LOCAL .. no charge service however, he wants it faxed... ready for this? To his truck.

Faxing to the truck is MUCH slower and ties up my fax longer and of course now there are long distance charges to incur. More importantly when a person works from his truck all day he's not getting out of the truck to make sure the most important part of his job is done.. making sure houses are ready, and cabinets are there in a timely manner so the cabinet installer can install them with as little or no disruption to a construction schedule as possible. At least that's what I think the supervisor of cabinet installations should be doing.

Originally he wanted me to scan all this to my computer and email it to him. He was suprised I don't store this on my computer. Quite frankly it sounds like one virus away from disaster to me, not to mention the disk space it would eat up. Since this is something I would make a hard copy of even if I did scan it into the computer... I just stick with hard copy. But, I might have to change my thinking on that. Have the hard copies for me but figure out how to make it work for him to get email rather than be charged for his slow arsed machine.

The man next door is selling his house. I have a sneaking suspicion the Jetson's might move in!