Hello on Friday Morning

Dear Friends,

Our Tuesday went as planned except that I didn't go and visit mom at the
nursing home. I got tied up with yard work since it was a nice day to be
outdoors. Linda even found a few minutes to cut my hair in the back yard. I
still have another day or so work in the flower beds, as well as dealing with
deck furniture.

The neighborhood watch meeting went well. We had a 15 year veteran from the
County Sheriff's department. I asked how many are currently incarcerated, and
the make up of the bad guys in our County jail. Berkshire County has 209
inmates, and 125 people awaiting trial. About 30 inmates are female with some
who are pregnant. The inmates are mostly Spanish, Black, and gang members from
the "Bloods andCrips", Latino gangs, etc.. Drugs have brought most of them to
reside in our jails. If this is what is happening in Berkshire Count, can you
imagine what is happening in the Boston area, or any of the major cities in
general?
The inmates often come from broken homes.
We spend about $40,000 a year to keep an inmate in jail. We spend about $10,000
per child yearly in Pittsfield as a school cost.

Social Calendar -- I am supposed to play golf this morning, but I am not going
with the temperature being only 38 degrees with a wind. The end of the year
pizza party will still take place at 12:30 PM whether anyone plays golf or not.
At 3:30 PM we will be holding visibility signs for the incumbent mayor.
When our shift gets over at 5:30 PM, we will be going out for supper with a
female friend whose husband is on a business trip in Georgia.

Mouse Saga -- One of my high tech traps worked as described. I showed Linda the
deceased before I disposed of the carcass.
If you are trying to visualize what the trap looks like, it very similar to a
clip that you would use to close up a bag of chips with. I will check the traps
after sending this e-mail.
One of my old fashioned wooden traps has disappeared completely. I had set it
next to the plastic trap. Maybe the mouse got a leg trapped, and dragged himself
and the trap back to where his home is.

Sports -- I did stay up and watch the Yankees go down to defeat. I must admit
that I was cheering for the winning team!

Observation -- While I was in the back yard making a dent in the fall cleanup,
I was saying to myself that the routine is getting old, and exhausting. Linda
came out, and said that she is ready to move into a condo. Her interest in
planting, and me maintaining, and cleaning up, etc. is starting to fade as we
become more mature. If we were rolling in the dough, we would just pay for the
work to be done. More and more of us baby boomers are feeling the same way.
There is only one couple at the other end of the State who still loves the yard
work. The female in this relationship knows how to use their riding lawnmower.
She also enjoys planting, and weeding, decorating for the various seasons.
Linda spent at least five hours cutting coupons which started to back up
because of all the traveling which we have been doing.
Of course, I might have interrupted her a few times.

Observation 2 -- I felt so bad for the little girl in Florida who was abducted,
and found dead in a landfill in a neighboring State a few days later. What is
wrong with some people in this world? This is another death penalty issue if the
police ever catch the guilty person or persons.

Politics -- None that caught my attention!

I found out that my sister needs elbow surgery next week. This means that my
golfing buddy gets his rotator cuff fixed on Monday, and my sister has her
surgery next Thursday.

While chatting on the telephone yesterday, Linda found out that two people,
whom we kno, are dealing with breast cancer issues.
I am definitely afraid to ask how a person is doing with all the stuff going on
with my family, and our friends.


Well, it is time for me to decide whether to golf or not.
I am going to enjoy today and the weekend no matter what the forecast is (Rain
all day on Saturday).
Life is too short to sweat the little stuff.
Get out there and enjoy family and friends!
Talk to you soon! The Curley Lad