Saturday, December 13, 2003
Grape Nuts anyone?
This morning I caught Katy eating Grape Nuts..... I thought to myself, since when? I told her that only OLDER people eat Grape Nuts and that most OLDER folks eat that for roughage..... I also told her that Grape Nuts was a good cereal to pick for OLDER people because you can eat it with or without your dentures.....
Katy and I had a real GOOD laugh over that one. Poor Katy, what is she gonna do with me anyway?
I have the beginnings of a nasty cold. For the last week I have been fighting first a chest cold and then a head cold. Last night I made things worse by working security out in the COLD for 5.5 hours directing traffic at Charleston Southern University. I was so cold my bone marrow hurt. It was only 41 degrees outside so it is not like it was freezing or anything. After standing around for 5.5 hours you could not have told me it was not freezing because I was so cold I wanted to set myself on fire. I went home at 10:44pm last night and my head cold was having a good time with me. I was running like a faucet. Thanks to a hot meal and a dose of Theraflu I was able to settle in for a long winters nap. We did not crawl out of the house until around noon today.
It appears that Katy's 83 station wagon has taken ill as well. It seems that the battery and/or alternator has expired. Who knows, maybe both. When it rains it pours. The jalopy will have to sit in COLD storage until we can gather the funds to fix it and use my car for transportation. Katy works during the day and it looks like I will work at night time so we can make this happen.
It is 13 days to Christmas. I know this because Justin Matthew Moffitt advised us of this today. Do you remember being 8 years old and having Christmas two weeks away? It seemed as if 14 days was an eternity. Now, in my older age, 13 days passes by and I don't even realize what happened. They say that the older you get the faster time flies. Whoever said that knew what they were talking about.
Hey, guess what? NO ONE is leaving comments on my blog any longer. What gives folks? Are you still reading this blather or have you just gone to peeking at the pictures only? Tell me that you, my fan club, are visiting and reading my blog so that I will be encouraged to continue my daily drivel.
Happy Holidays
Thursday, December 11, 2003
SLED Qualifications today
Today was spent in class listening to a level I,II &III SLED instructor talk to us (7 men) about carrying a firearm in the state of South Carolina. After the class room instruction that lasted about 2 hours we made a trip to the ATP indoor range in Goose Creek. We were to qualify with a firearm and make a score of 170 out of 250 to qualify. My score was 236 out of 250 which means that I qualify to carry a firearm as a Security Officer in South Carolina. Now I wait for SLED to finish my criminal background check and commission me to carry the firearm as a South Carolina Security Officer.
Here is the kicker folks. The ironic part of all of this. At the beginning of the class the SLED instructor tells us that if we KNOW that we KNOW that we can not take another human life in the line of duty that no one would think anything bad if they needed to leave the room and not take the course. He reminded us of the somber responsiblity of being in a position to make a split second decision as to whether someone would live or die in the line of duty.
Some of you might be thinking that only peace officers (police officers) have to make those decisions. If you are thinking on this line of thought I can tell you from having been on both sides of the fence that Peace Officers probably have more opportunity to do this just because their jobs are to enforce the law. Security Officers are private sector security personell who protect the lives of the customer , their customers and property. That means that there is a possibility that the Security Officer may be presented with serious bodily injury or death because of the actions of some perpetrator and therefore the need to carry a firearm.
The ironic part of this is what you are paid for this type of responsibility every time you put on the uniform and place yourself in possible danger. Would you believe 8.50 per hour? Here is something even scarier than that. No one can pay you enough to take the risk of getting shot at. How much is enough? Do Police Officers get paid enough to take a risk that they might be shot by someone in the line of duty? What about our soldiers? The answer is no, no one gets paid enough to get shot at. The sad thing is that we live in such a fallen world and there are folks out there that take pleasure in preying on the general population at large. Security and Police and our armed forces are a necessary evil that we have had to put in place to help protect those law abiding families out there that are about the business of living.
You might think that I am trying to play on your sympathies or make you admire the job that these different folks do. What I am trying to do is to make you aware of the dangers that they face and that they do a job that other folks are not able to do. Not everyone is cut out to take those types of risks or make those types of decisions. Maybe you are a nurse and you do not feint at the sight of blood. Maybe you are a steel worker who walks steel beams five stories off the ground with nothing but a leather belt to hold you in case you fall. What about window washers that clean windows on skyscrapers? We all do our jobs for one reason or the other. One reason is because we have a driving need to pay bills and one reason is because we are uniquely gifted to do what we do.
Here are some pictures of my target today!
The white tape were four practice rounds
Here is the kicker folks. The ironic part of all of this. At the beginning of the class the SLED instructor tells us that if we KNOW that we KNOW that we can not take another human life in the line of duty that no one would think anything bad if they needed to leave the room and not take the course. He reminded us of the somber responsiblity of being in a position to make a split second decision as to whether someone would live or die in the line of duty.
Some of you might be thinking that only peace officers (police officers) have to make those decisions. If you are thinking on this line of thought I can tell you from having been on both sides of the fence that Peace Officers probably have more opportunity to do this just because their jobs are to enforce the law. Security Officers are private sector security personell who protect the lives of the customer , their customers and property. That means that there is a possibility that the Security Officer may be presented with serious bodily injury or death because of the actions of some perpetrator and therefore the need to carry a firearm.
The ironic part of this is what you are paid for this type of responsibility every time you put on the uniform and place yourself in possible danger. Would you believe 8.50 per hour? Here is something even scarier than that. No one can pay you enough to take the risk of getting shot at. How much is enough? Do Police Officers get paid enough to take a risk that they might be shot by someone in the line of duty? What about our soldiers? The answer is no, no one gets paid enough to get shot at. The sad thing is that we live in such a fallen world and there are folks out there that take pleasure in preying on the general population at large. Security and Police and our armed forces are a necessary evil that we have had to put in place to help protect those law abiding families out there that are about the business of living.
You might think that I am trying to play on your sympathies or make you admire the job that these different folks do. What I am trying to do is to make you aware of the dangers that they face and that they do a job that other folks are not able to do. Not everyone is cut out to take those types of risks or make those types of decisions. Maybe you are a nurse and you do not feint at the sight of blood. Maybe you are a steel worker who walks steel beams five stories off the ground with nothing but a leather belt to hold you in case you fall. What about window washers that clean windows on skyscrapers? We all do our jobs for one reason or the other. One reason is because we have a driving need to pay bills and one reason is because we are uniquely gifted to do what we do.
Here are some pictures of my target today!
The white tape were four practice rounds
The soldiers Bush didn't visit on Thanksgiving
Boston.com / News / Boston Globe / Editorial / Opinion / Op-ed / The soldiers Bush didn't visit on Thanksgiving
This is a reality check for those of us that are safe and secure and warm in our homes this morning here in America. Thanks to the technology of today we are bombarded with images of war every day both on TV as well as magazines and Internet access to sites such as CNN. It seems as if there is nothing that escapes our perview. The only way we can escape the harsh realities of life and the human sufferings of others is to deny ourselves any type of media consumption. How often do we do that?
I believe that because we have such instant access to the violence all around us that we have become desensitized to the pain and anguish of others all around us. That goes for the drive by shooting in North Charleston to the wounded soldier in Baghdad. We hear reports of random violence every single day and we are far removed from becoming emotionally involved. We tell ourselves that yes the world is a violent place to live in BUT it is happening to THOSE people and not me or my family. Some of us kid ourselves into thinking that we dont have to worry about it happening to us. We rationalize that because we are who we are or because of where we live we surround ourselves with a false sense of security and hope in that those things will not happen to us.
I come from a family of men who have served their country. They served their country and went wherever they were sent and did whatever they had to do to stay alive and come back home to their families. It is so easy for us to sit back and be arm chair politicians and analyze the validity of where our men and women are sent. Intellectually we say we count the cost and we realize that some of those men and women will give their lives so that we can have the privelege and right to be arm chair politicians and critics of our government and their policies. This article is not designed to take a political view point or to decide for us IF we should be where our men and women are fighting in Iraq. What this article does is it snaps us back into reality and helps us to count the cost of freedom. Men and women are being killed, maimed and tortured in the name of freedom. If it was your son or daughter that was over there dodging bullets or wondering if they were going to live another day because of worry about landmines, suicide bombers or car bombs then your perspective on the war would probably be much different.
Take time out this morning or whenever it is that you read this and say a heart felt prayer for both the men and women that are fighting for our right to be FREE in America and for those families that have loved ones that are SERVING us with their very life blood on foreign soil. The LEAST that we can do is PRAY to God and ask HIM for HIS devine guidance and protection for our men and women. The next thing we can do is to be sensitive to the needs of those family members that are here and are missing their spouses or sons and daughters wherever it is they have been deployed to.
If those people knew that we are proud of their family members for serving our country and were willing to atleast give them some of our precious time to just listen to them or help out in some small way I know that it would help them tremendously.
Lets pray that somehow this campaign of terror that America is involved in fighting will somehow be resolved so that our men and women can come home once and for all. I know that might be an unrealistic hope or dream but atleast we can HOPE.
This is a reality check for those of us that are safe and secure and warm in our homes this morning here in America. Thanks to the technology of today we are bombarded with images of war every day both on TV as well as magazines and Internet access to sites such as CNN. It seems as if there is nothing that escapes our perview. The only way we can escape the harsh realities of life and the human sufferings of others is to deny ourselves any type of media consumption. How often do we do that?
I believe that because we have such instant access to the violence all around us that we have become desensitized to the pain and anguish of others all around us. That goes for the drive by shooting in North Charleston to the wounded soldier in Baghdad. We hear reports of random violence every single day and we are far removed from becoming emotionally involved. We tell ourselves that yes the world is a violent place to live in BUT it is happening to THOSE people and not me or my family. Some of us kid ourselves into thinking that we dont have to worry about it happening to us. We rationalize that because we are who we are or because of where we live we surround ourselves with a false sense of security and hope in that those things will not happen to us.
I come from a family of men who have served their country. They served their country and went wherever they were sent and did whatever they had to do to stay alive and come back home to their families. It is so easy for us to sit back and be arm chair politicians and analyze the validity of where our men and women are sent. Intellectually we say we count the cost and we realize that some of those men and women will give their lives so that we can have the privelege and right to be arm chair politicians and critics of our government and their policies. This article is not designed to take a political view point or to decide for us IF we should be where our men and women are fighting in Iraq. What this article does is it snaps us back into reality and helps us to count the cost of freedom. Men and women are being killed, maimed and tortured in the name of freedom. If it was your son or daughter that was over there dodging bullets or wondering if they were going to live another day because of worry about landmines, suicide bombers or car bombs then your perspective on the war would probably be much different.
Take time out this morning or whenever it is that you read this and say a heart felt prayer for both the men and women that are fighting for our right to be FREE in America and for those families that have loved ones that are SERVING us with their very life blood on foreign soil. The LEAST that we can do is PRAY to God and ask HIM for HIS devine guidance and protection for our men and women. The next thing we can do is to be sensitive to the needs of those family members that are here and are missing their spouses or sons and daughters wherever it is they have been deployed to.
If those people knew that we are proud of their family members for serving our country and were willing to atleast give them some of our precious time to just listen to them or help out in some small way I know that it would help them tremendously.
Lets pray that somehow this campaign of terror that America is involved in fighting will somehow be resolved so that our men and women can come home once and for all. I know that might be an unrealistic hope or dream but atleast we can HOPE.
Tuesday, December 09, 2003
Goose Creek Christmas Celebration December 6, 2003
Katy took these pictures when she took the children up to the Goose Creek Recreation Center this last Saturday. They had face painting , games and such.
Tanda lives across the street and is the same age as Kristina. They go to the same school together and are practically inseperable.
Tanda and Kristina with their faces painted together!
My daughter Kristina with cool face art on her cheek
Kristina writing email to her friend
Sammy and LuLu playing on kitchen floor. This is their favorite past time....
Can I scratch without you having to take a picture??
Monday, December 08, 2003
Woman gets 10 years in mayo spat
Woman gets 10 years in mayo spat
Years ago there was a country and western artist who wrote a song about how frustrating it can be when you experience the drive up window of any fast food establishment. I forget the artist or the name of the song but it was pretty popular for a short period of time. You know the drill. You drive up and are greeted by someone on the other end of the speaker who has a difficult time speaking clearly. If that is not bad enough the speaker is a radio shack reject that should have been tossed out in the garbage. Somehow they always wind up staring you in the face just as you want to have an intelligent conversation with the order taker. The song goes on about a typcial order and because the communications is so screwed up the driver looses composure and winds up driving the car through the plate glass window of the restaurant in frustration.
I wonder if this lady in Houston Texas had this song running around her tiny brain BEFORE she lost all self control and decided to run over the manager. I can relate to being frustrated over my order being screwed up. How long does it take to order a Big Mac with cheese, GREASY fries and a cold drink? How long does it take the mental process of keying it into the computer so that someone else can read it? Nano seconds folks.... Its not that hard or atleast you would not think so. We like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt therefore that is why we do not just drive to the window and hand the person a dry marker board with the order WRITTEN out in LARGE block letters. We figure they understand plain english and that they comprehend that we want CHEESE and MAYONAISE on our freaking burger.
I LOVE the fact that the lady tossed her meal back through the drive through window. How much damage did that cause? Heck, we can all laugh about that. Who knows, on an extremely bad day we might even park our cars, walk into the restaurant in question, identify the manager , take aim and fire the food at the idiot who got it wrong. If you do that remember to take the bun off the burger so that when contact is made it will not bounce but stick to the subjects face when it lands. If you miss, just walk over to someone elses food and grab their burger and yell FOOD fight real loud........ OK, maybe I am taking this a little too far. You see the humor or maybe you are a manager of a drive in burger joint and you probably have already closed your browser window.
Attempted murder with a motor vehicle certainly goes above and beyond the call of duty. Its one thing to catch your husband cheating on you and then decide to kill him with your car. Its another thing to try and kill the manager because they forgot the mayo. I wonder if the lady had the song "Grandma got run over by a reindeer song" just before she threw it in reverse and mashed the gas.....
Years ago there was a country and western artist who wrote a song about how frustrating it can be when you experience the drive up window of any fast food establishment. I forget the artist or the name of the song but it was pretty popular for a short period of time. You know the drill. You drive up and are greeted by someone on the other end of the speaker who has a difficult time speaking clearly. If that is not bad enough the speaker is a radio shack reject that should have been tossed out in the garbage. Somehow they always wind up staring you in the face just as you want to have an intelligent conversation with the order taker. The song goes on about a typcial order and because the communications is so screwed up the driver looses composure and winds up driving the car through the plate glass window of the restaurant in frustration.
I wonder if this lady in Houston Texas had this song running around her tiny brain BEFORE she lost all self control and decided to run over the manager. I can relate to being frustrated over my order being screwed up. How long does it take to order a Big Mac with cheese, GREASY fries and a cold drink? How long does it take the mental process of keying it into the computer so that someone else can read it? Nano seconds folks.... Its not that hard or atleast you would not think so. We like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt therefore that is why we do not just drive to the window and hand the person a dry marker board with the order WRITTEN out in LARGE block letters. We figure they understand plain english and that they comprehend that we want CHEESE and MAYONAISE on our freaking burger.
I LOVE the fact that the lady tossed her meal back through the drive through window. How much damage did that cause? Heck, we can all laugh about that. Who knows, on an extremely bad day we might even park our cars, walk into the restaurant in question, identify the manager , take aim and fire the food at the idiot who got it wrong. If you do that remember to take the bun off the burger so that when contact is made it will not bounce but stick to the subjects face when it lands. If you miss, just walk over to someone elses food and grab their burger and yell FOOD fight real loud........ OK, maybe I am taking this a little too far. You see the humor or maybe you are a manager of a drive in burger joint and you probably have already closed your browser window.
Attempted murder with a motor vehicle certainly goes above and beyond the call of duty. Its one thing to catch your husband cheating on you and then decide to kill him with your car. Its another thing to try and kill the manager because they forgot the mayo. I wonder if the lady had the song "Grandma got run over by a reindeer song" just before she threw it in reverse and mashed the gas.....
Jeremy's Senior Picture
Here is Jeremy's Senior Picture. I am so proud of him and all of his accomplishments!
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