Down The Rabbit Hole

I started out today to do some shopping and pick up a few things that I needed in town. I noticed as I started the car,(a 1992 Buick,) that it was a little sluggish starting but since I hadn’t used  it in a week or so I didn't pay that much attention to it. As i drove along. the car was sluggish and it was hard to push the gas peddle and that got my attention.  As I made a left turn off the main road it slowed and finally stopped cold. I didn't panic but went into  (WHAT DO I DO NOW), mode.  Meanwhile traffic was building behind me some folks tooted their horns, others just went around, as I kept waving them by. I had my cell phone with me so I could call for help, but everyone was at work and to far away to help so I did the next best thing.......I called 911 but I wasn't sure if  this phone would do that.......it worked....i told them I was broken down and was blocking traffic,etc.  They said help was on its way.  Then a smiling man was at my window and asked if he could help. I told him what had happened and he offered to try to jump start the battery and got the hood open and the cables hooked up. I remember thinking that this must be an officer off duty or something, he got here so fast.

Suddenly......three police cars pulled up,blocked off the street and surrounded my car. The officers walked over to my car and said,"have you tried to restart it" duh.  They seemed to know the man who had offered to help, there they were, five men, all looking at the engine while the helpful man was jiggeling the cable clamps, and couldn't get them to grip. They finally descided to get the car out of traffic and pushed to the side, where they were able to get it charged enough to get me home. I was very grateful for all the help, especially by the good Samaratin who went out of his way to help a stranger in distress.  We said our good byes, the officers left and the guy who helped, said better get her to a garage tomorrow, and i agreed, I thanked him again and he left.  I got back in the car anxious to get home, put her in gear and stepped on the gas.............nothing happened.......tried again, still nothing........back to what do I do now.....?  I thought ..at least it's parked out of the way and I can call the kids to tell them what was going on. I reached Jerry & Jamie, they would arrange to get me picked up and would call me back.  The phone kept ringing......i fumbled through my purse and finally got the phone .......i only used this phone once or twice, and I couldn't remember which buttons did that...the phone stopped ringing.....I was nervous by now.....I knew, given a few minutes, i'd figue it out.  I heard a tap on my window.....there stood my GDTR Chelsea.....saying, Gram why didn't you answer your phone, (sigh.)

PS.....The strangers name was Bob......the car has been towed to garage for repair, .......I hope next time they don't send the Swat Team to help.(grin)

Subj: IN LIGHT OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS, WORTH RE-SEND
545 PEOPLE ARE TO BLAME!!!!!
By Charlie Reese  (Charlie Reese is a former columnist of The Orlando
Sentinel Newspaper.)
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and
then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans
are against deficits,  WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation
and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget.  The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on
appropriations.   Congress does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You  and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president,
and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 300 million -

are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic

problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem
was created by the Congress.   In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional
duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason.  They have
no legal authority.   They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or
a president to do one cotton-picking thing.
I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash.  The politician has the
power to accept or reject it.  No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's
responsibility to determine how he votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they
did is not their fault.   They cooperate in this common con regardless of party. 
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall.  
No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized
the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget.   He cannot
force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the
House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.   

Who is the speaker of the House?  She is the leader of the majority party.   She and

fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want.  

If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people

who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility.  

I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.
When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal
government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.
If the Army & Marines are in  IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ.
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not

available to the people, it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire

and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can

reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom

they can take this power.
Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied

mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation,' or 'politics'  that prevent them

from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.  
They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their

bosses - provided the voters have the gumption to  manage their own employees.
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
What you do with this article now that you have read it is up to you,

though you appear to have several choices.
     1.     You can send this to everyone in your address book, and hope

              'they' do something about it.
     2.     You can agree to 'vote  against' everyone that is currently in office,

              knowing  that the process will take several years.
     3.     You can decide to 'run for office' yourself and agree to do the job properly.
     4.     Lastly, you can sit back and do nothing, or re-elect the current bunch.

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the1500s:
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water..
Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying... It's raining cats and dogs.

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance way. Hence the saying a thresh hold.
(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old..

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat..
Those wit moneyehad plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

She hesitated,  uncertain how to classify  herself.
"What I mean  is, " explained t he recorder,
"do you have a job or  are you just a ..?"
"Of  course I have a job," snapped the  woman.
"I'm a  Mom."
"We don't list 'Mom'  as an occupation,
'housewife'  covers it,"
Said the  recorder emphatically.
I forgot all  about her story until one day I found  myself
in the same  situation, this time at our own Town  Hall.
The Clerk  was obviously a career woman,  poised,
efficient, and  possessed of a high sounding title  like,
"Official Interrogator"  or "Town  Registrar."
"What is  your occupation ?" she  probed.
What made me say  it ?  I do not know.
The words  simply popped out.
"I'm a  Research Associate in the field  of
Child Development and Human  Relations."
The clerk  paused, ball-point pe n frozen in  midair
and looked  up as though she had not heard  right.
I repeated  the title slowly emphasizing the most significant  words.
Then I  stared with wonder as my pronouncement was  written,
in bold, black ink on  the official questionnaire.
"Might I  ask," said the clerk with new interest,
"just  what you do in your field?"
Coolly,  without any trace of fluster in my  voice,
I heard myself  reply,
"I have a continuing  program of research,
(what  mother doesn't)
In the  laboratory and in the  field,
(normally I would have  said indoors and out).
I'm working for my  Masters, (first the Lord and then the whole  family)
and already have four  credits (all daughters).
Of course, the  job is one of the most demanding in the  humanities,
(any mother ca re  to disagree?)
and I  often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like  it).
But the  job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill  careers
and the  rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just  money."
There  was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's  voice as she
completed the  form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the  door.
As I drove into our  driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new  career,
I was greeted by my  lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and  3.
Upstairs  I could hear our new experimental  model,
(a 6 month old baby) in  the child development  program,
testing out a new  vocal pattern.
I felt I had  scored a beat on bureaucracy!
And  I had gone on the official records as someone  more
distinguished  and indispensable to mankind than
"just  ano ther Mom."
  Motherhood!
What a  glorious career!
Especially  when there's a title on the door.
Does this  make grandmothers
"Senior  Research associates in the field of Child  Development
and Human  Relations"
And great  grandmothers
"Executive  Senior Research Associates?"
I think  so ! ! !
I also think  it makes "Aunts "
Associate  Research  Assistants."

Author..unknown.....this was sent to me by a friend, just passing it along to like minded folks.