Hello on Thursday

Dear Friends,

I just watched a video of a woman who had a huge sized Afro, as we used to call it, complaining that the TSA security people in the airport fondle her hair making sure that there were no explosives in her hair. All this was brought upon by the terrorist who had a bomb hidden in his turban in Afghanistan. The terrorist detonated the bomb killing himself, and an Afghan leader as they were about to sit down to discuss peace negotiations.

A few days ago, I discussed the importance of having a strong family unit, and the parental job of teaching your child some basic things before they head off to school. Well, this one Mom got herself in trouble because of a "Show and Tell" day at school. The elementary school child brought in Mom's crack pipe. The school authorities called in the police. The police went to the child's home and arrested the mother. The mother already posted bail, and she is awaiting her court date. When I talked about the parents being a child's first teacher, I was speaking of the parents teaching the child things like the alphabet, and not how to smoke crack!

Politics -- The political scene is on the quiet side right now. The Republican candidates vying for a run at the President are still "duking it out."
The President is still pushing his economic recovery plan. The Feds lowered the interest rate hoping to stimulate the economy.
The unemployment rate in Pittsfield has decreased more than the State average in general.
Everyone wants no new taxes in Pittsfield, and the country in general. The price of everything we consume is still going up. Locally the multiple rounds of rain, hurricanes, etc., have caused our area to import pumpkins from other parts of our country in preparation for the fall season.
The politicians vying for office all over this country are saying the same things about how they are going to fix the economy, foster education, and take care of the elderly, help small businesses, etc. The public wants to see concrete plans of how that the politicians are going to make good on these promises. The UAW has made a tentative agreement with the auto manufacturers.

Sports -- The Yankees clinched their division by winning two games yesterday. They beat the team twice who is trying to overtake the Red Sox for a playoff spot. The Red Sox lost another one last night. "In the Kitchen with David" on the QVC channel was more exciting to watch than the Red Sox Game.

As you know, Linda and I will be going to the Patriots vs Bills game in Buffalo this weekend. There are some key Patriot players who got hurt last weekend when the Patriots played the San Diego Chargers. The Patriots are favored to win this game, but the Patriots have struggled playing the Bills in Buffalo. The Bills also have one of the better teams this year than they have had in the past. I am only semi confident that the Patriots can win the game.

I think that neither of us have any evening commitments on this dreary and rainy day. I might fire up the crock pot and do that pot roast with all the fixings for supper. I had to postpone this meal because of the birthday party invitation the other day.

I defrosted the freezer in the garage yesterday. This was a multiple hour project. We threw out some food items that were so old that you would need the "Carbon Dating" method to find out how old some of the items were.
Luckily the defrosting of the refrigerator took place on a garbage collection day. I filled a garbage bucket full of old food products. If you are wondering what got tossed, I will give you an example. We had some ravioli's in there that a friend bought for us when they were coming back for a trip to Boston. Linda tried to cook a small batch for herself on Monday night when I was at my UNICO membership meeting. The ravioli's must have been freezer burned, and she couldn't get them to cook. She boiled and boiled them, and eventually she gave up, and cooked up a box of regular pasta.

I don't know if I mentioned it or not but both of my sons a have been busy doing what they normally do. Our restaurateur son said that they are making another movie in East Boston in one of the old warehouses next to his restaurant. I am hoping some of the cast and crew get a chance to spend some money in our son's establishment.
Our military son is on the night shift in Afghanistan. I assumed that he would be flying fewer missions during the night. My son said that this is not true. They have been flying 24 / 7. They fly out (A 10 Thunderbolt) looking for the bad guys, or to give ground support to the troops when needed.
As we enjoy the everyday comforts and freedoms which we have in the United States, keep in mind that there are men and women that are in "harms way" as we go about our usual business.

Well, I am going to do some quiet activities, and prepare the pot roast for the crock pot.


Have a great Thursday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad