sign of the times

I was out running errands this morning and noticed a very nicely dressed young man at the intersection in heavy traffic with a bright pink posterboard sign that read "Hurt at work...lost job. Father to two young children. I rolled down the window to give him a thumbs up and told him to hang in there. His response? Please pray for me. You betcha' buddy. I can't imagine the feeling of having children depend on you for everything and not having a job to support them yet it's the same story in every city across America. Where there were formerly only homeless people out panhandling, more and more often we run across scenes of despair like this one where someone wants to work and can't find a job. It is particularly common in smaller cities like ours where the opportunities for a career in manufacturing have been cut due to outsourcing by corporate heads who are crunching the numbers all the way to the bank.

Another compliment came my way yesterday when a FB friend who never fails to poke at me about politics told me that he reads the blog and can tell what kind of person I am, in spite of my demolibtard ways. His daughter, mine and a few others were inseparable in high school. Amazing stuff, ya'll. That my words can define who I am to a reader is a blessing. I am honest to a fault and that has caused much speculation about this that and the other but ultimately I know that saying what I think and feel is a right for me as long as nobody gets hurt in the process. The US constitution says so. Same for peaceful assembly like those Occupy folks who got pepper sprayed. There is not one mean bone in my body unless I'm provoked which happens pretty often and I'm practicing the whole "act, don't REACT" thing. Success with that depends on what life has thrown at me lately.

I have made so many mistakes over the years that I could totally hang my head in shame and give up yet I never have. Nobody should, because there's only one human who ever was perfect and he had to call in everything he had to stay that way in spite of temptation. Booger and his tribe are back at their home now working on Plan B whatever that may be. They take it one day at a time. I am constantly in awe of his mama for being such a tough positive spirit in spite of all the hardships that she faces. Since her mother is gone, I'm pretty much it in the ma department and she has become my second daughter. Never saw that coming, but boy what a blessing!

The wind is whipping in from the northwest showing no mercy and it's cold cold cold. Since BG has been out, I've been sleeping in her bed which is in the back part of the house and MUCH warmer. There's still that same problem with room enough for me and 4 dogs on the bed. Oscar, who was abused once, gets really bitey if you kick him during the night. My toes have little teeth marks to prove it. He and Sammy D are always the ones who charge ahead of the pack as I yell "Get em...get every damn one of 'em!" There is absolutely zero chance of hatchet man making it into this house without my knowledge.

Stay warm. Call your mother. Keep the faith ^j^