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What a difference a week makes. Where the bleak disasters of the prior weeks still lingered last week, they have slowly been dissipating as this week progresses. The fires are out, the buses are running, and the weather is back under control. Well, with the exception of that little freak storm last week. Lastly, Arnold took office and did what he said he was going to do, repeal the car tax.
All were a real breath of fresh air, with the exception of the buses, which if you have ever driven behind one you know what I mean. The car tax being repealed was especially nice because of the unusually quick action by the action hero. So many times in the world of politics, after an election, all of the promises made in the heat of the campaign fall by the wayside. In literally minutes after taking the oath of office “The Governator” made good on the first of his promises, on cue and in one take. That’s a good start in anyone’s book. Now we just have to see if he can punch through what bureaucracy is still remaining in Sacramento to accomplish more.
We also had local elections. Considering the impact that it has on our local educational system, it was a pathetic turnout. Fortunately for our local teachers they got two of the three candidates they endorsed despite a nasty little letter from a sitting board member. Also, fortunately, a couple of teachers took him to task on the matter in our “Letters to the Editor” column which saved me from having to give him a written “bitch slap” as we say in the hood.
Speaking of our schools and our teachers, who I can never praise too much, it seems like with every changing year we are blessed with a batch of top notch educators. Just when you think that the current group is as good as it gets, when you move up the next rung of the ladder, you find anther great group. They must be doing something right because both of my kids still enjoy school and their interest is still showing which is a feat unto itself.
It shows itself in the most unlikely of places, too. While watching TV with my son, Alex, who is in 7th grade at Oak Avenue, a commercial came on that I know he has seen at least a dozen times. But this time he was laughing out loud. It was a commercial for the soon to be released movie “The Haunted Mansion.” In the clip, Eddie Murphy and his family first arrive at the mansion. The man who answers the door compliments the mother on her children after which Murphy interjects “Well I kicked in a couple of chromosomes there, too.”
It was the delivery of that line that got Alex’s attention. “Now I get it,” he said through his laughter. “What do you get?” I asked. “We just learned in Mr. Powell’s science class what chromosomes are.” So props to Mr. Powell for not only teaching him, but also teaching him in a way that he retained it and was able to apply it immediately, even if it was only in a movie trailer.
Speaking of learning, the boys over at the MTA finally got the drift that the health care issue was not going to be resolved any time soon and took what they could get. They did resolve their money problems to the point where they felt they could get back to work repairing the buses and the drivers could get back to driving them again. I pray that they get the other issues resolved quickly so we don’t have to go through this again anytime soon. After watching the traffic escalate, and the 500,000 people they inconvenienced over the last five weeks, we really need them to stay behind the wheel regardless of how bad it smells when we’re behind them.
I wish the lessons that they have learned could be passed along to the clowns on strike at the grocery stores. I am beyond fed up with their little insurrection and their impact on the foods that are available to us. Sure the boxed and prepackaged items are on the shelves, at Ralph’s at least, but I am a carnivore and I need my meat. The only fresh meats you can find are chicken, turkey, and canned hams. All the meats that the in-house butcher, if he was working, wouldn’t have to cut, which just doesn’t cut it. Man does not live on these meats alone, especially one with a barbecue.
I have nothing against anyone who chooses the vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, but it is not for me. I like steak. Without the good deals that are usually offered by the chain stores the pricing is out of control. Of course Sam’s and Costco carry beef and pork, but on average, they are not as inexpensive as when deals are being offered by the big 3. So why don’t you guys follow the lead of your bus driving brethren and get your asses back to work. If you guys want to screw up your holiday season fine, but you might want to try thinking about the rest of us. All I want for Christmas is my meat department back.
Gee, I started so positive this week, how did I end up here? Maybe it’s a lack of meat. Oh well. At least it’s not smoky, the weather has cooled down, and my next car renewal won’t be 300% higher than it was last year
Now if I could just find a reasonably priced Porterhouse.
The Shrub Speaks: And then we marched to war, war in Afghanistan and Iraq, all of which affected the people's confidence. That's a tough -- tough hurdles to cross, when it came to our economy. Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Nov. 7, 2003
B.D.’s response: If I’m not mistaken Dubya, weren’t you the one who put up those hurdles?
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