Grandparents on My Father's Side

I wrote a paper about my grandmother on my mother's side. I mentioned how she had her own business, a bar, and she had plenty of money for her grandchildren. Now I want to show you that it is true my life was like two sides of a coin. On my father's side, my grandparents were very country and taught me how to adapt to country living.
My grandparents lived in Converse, LA on about 20 acres of land. They went to the store for very little because they raised what they needed to eat. They had a large garden and they had farm animals like cows, horses, pigs, and chickens. They had an old smokehouse to hold the meat from the animals that my grandfather put to death. I mean I've seen him wring the neck of a chicken and watch it run around with no head until it died. I've seen him take the life of a pig or cow for meat. He also went hunting during hunting season so we could have deer, squirrel, rabbit, and yes, even raccoon for meals. But we also had fresh milk from the cows, most of the time still warm, and we had fresh eggs from the chickens for every breakfast and we always had fresh vegetables from the garden. Entertainment for them was taking us to the rodeo on Saturday nights.
Not to say all of this to be morbid or anything. My grandparents were very loving and caring people that were raised to provide for themselves and their family like most farm families did in the older days. There are two things though that was hard for me to adjust to everytime I would spend time with them.
One of the things was that they had only a moderate set up for indoor plumbing. What I mean is that they had sinks in the kitchen to wash dishes but that was it. They had water pitchers on both the front and back porch that came from the rain barrels with a dipper for us to get a drink. They had a washtub hung up on the back of the house for us to take down, to take a bath. But they had no indoor restroom, so to take care of that my grandfather had two outhouses - one for the women and one for the men in different parts of his corrals for us to use. This was a true experience for me because everytime I had to use it I was worried about something coming up out of the hole to bite me. He also had chamber pots for us to use at night that we brought to our rooms and then emptied every morning.
The other thing that was kind of weird was how we sat down to eat each day at exactly the same time. We had breakfast at 6 am, lunch at noon, and dinner at 6 pm everyday and it was never pizza or burgers or any other fast foods. It was homecooked food prepared by my grandmother and any other women that happened to be home at the time - my aunts and my mother. Now here is what I had to adjust to. When I was at my grandparents, I never sat down with the women to eat. The way my grandfather had it was that the women did the cooking, and they had to have prepared two meats, at least two vegetables, and biscuits & cornbread. Once they completed preparing the meal and placing it on the table. Then they would have to go outside to the front porch as the men and boys sat down to eat. My father told me that I was fortunate to be able to sit with the men to eat because when he was a boy, he wasn't allowed to sit at the table with the men until he was 13 years old. Anyway after we finished eating, then the ladies came to the table to eat and once they finished they cleaned up the kitchen. I've always wondered what part of my heritage taught my grandfather this method. I even asked my father and he didn't know either.
All I know was that it felt as though I had gone back in time when I visited my grandparents on my father's side with all the farm fresh foods. I even had to help shell peas and cut okra and other garden chores. Then I would go to my grandparents on my mother's side and felt I had come back to a more realistic version of the 20th century. I have to say that I enjoyed both environments because it made me adaptable at an early age so I was just as comfortable on a farm as I was around a bar. I loved my grandparents and I wouldn't change anything about any of them or what they taught me.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno will make you never want to have sex again.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno will make you never want to have sex again. I am a true movie goer, but I've had my reservations about going to this movie. Even though, I have enjoyed watching Seth Rogen on "Knocked Up" & "Super Bad". I've also enjoyed watching Elizabeth Banks on the Spiderman Triologies and I thought she did a good job with Seth Rogen on "40 Year Old Virgin". Even in my enjoyment of watching these two stars perform. I've had my doubts about going to see this movie. From the previews it doesn't seem to be funny or sexually charged like "Porky's", so I think I will skip it.
In my defense, I have to say that I don't always go by a website's or critic's opinion. Although I have learned my lesson in a few movies that I ignored the critic's thoughts. One in particular was "Vanilla Sky". I remember when the movie first came out. I heard one of the radio DJ's state that all the doors to Tinseltown were open to air out the stink of "Vanilla Sky". After watching the movie I can understand where he is coming from. I tell you another movie that this Slate website should have warned viewers about. It was a movie that was filmed downtown in Shreveport, LA. The movie is called "The Disaster Movie" and it is suppose to be a hilarious spoof picking on action here movies to include "The Hulk", "Iron Man", "Hell Boy" and so forth. In fact, they even picked on movies such as "Sex in the City" and "The Enchanted". This movie was so bad that even my twin brother that is just as big a movie buff as myself, stated if he would have seen it at a theatre, he would have walked out. I had to agree with him.

Reporters

I've always felt that it took more to be a reporter than just being able to write. I think most news reporters, also have to lose their soul to some extent. The reason I say this, is because some reporters will go to any extreme to get their story. I also, don't like how they try to make the criminal out to be a victim. We've all seen it before in movies as well as our regular news. How a reporter will yell to the police officer and ask him was brute force really necessary to bring in the killer. They start spouting off how the criminal has rights and deserves due process. The problem I have with that, is once a person decides to take another person's life in their hands and then kills them. I feel they have lost all their rights to due process and a fair treatment. What angers me so much is the bleeding heart reporters so concerned about the health and safety of the killer, rapist, etc. but is less concerned about the victim and their rights. Why have we become a society of people, reporters, that show little to no compassion for the victims. I guess the death of a child, or the destruction of a woman's life that has been raped is less important in a reporter's eyes than making a criminal famous. I feel that a lot of criminals know that if they do something spectacularly cruel or disgusting to their victims, they will reach popularity in the eyes of reporters faster. I mean how many people know about Jeffrey Dahmer, David Berkowitz "Son of Sam", Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, Ted Kaczynski "The Unabomber", and so many more that we learned about. But how about the families that were tortured, and killed? We only hear them mentioned briefly as an afterthought while the reporter is discussing the famous killers. I just find it sad that our society is more interested in murder and mayhem, than we are in happiness, love, compassion, and devotion to others.

DIET PILLS, HA!

I don't know about the rest of you but I've been trying to lose weight the past few years. I work in an office that I sit for 8 hours and I go to school at night where I sit up to 3 hours. When I'm home I usually exhausted so again I'm sitting and don't have the strength to work out like I would like. The results is that it looks like I'm carrying a keg around with me everywhere I go. No, it's not a beer gut because I don't drink beer. Therefore, like many Americans I turned to diet pills to help me lose weight. The only weight I have lost is that my wallet has gotten thinner. That is not the results I was looking for. I think that it should be a crime for companies to advertise products offering amazing results that never happen. I have bought at least 20 different diet products in the last few years with no results. I understand when Sinbad stated that he had tried the Jenny Craig program, as a result he would hang out at McDonald's waiting for someone to dump their tray. He would then tap on the glass and ask were they going to eat those fries they were throwing away. He said that with the Jenny Craig program, the only reason you lose weight is that you are so broke that you can't afford to buy groceries. I understand completely what he is saying. These diet pill programs cost so much and they will happily charge your card every month if you don't cancel with them. I have found out the hard way that the introductory offer is just to get your credit card information for them to run every month. For example, I order some diet pills and it takes about 2 weeks to get in. Now the program is suppose to be good for a month so I only have two weeks to try the product before I get my next order. The funny thing is, that by the time I receive my order, the company is already charging my credit card for the next month's supply. That is why I restate that the only weight lose I've received is a thinner and lighter wallet. I think I will have to set up a training program with the school so I can lose this keg. I guess exercise is the only diet pill that gives accurate results.

Manners

I guess I could call this common courtesy and manners. The other night I was relaxing after class enjoying my CSI Miami. I hear this guy talking loud outside so I go and look. The guy is standing at my back door of my apartment yelling back and forth to my neighbor above me. When I open the blinds and look at him, he looks at me and says "What? I'm talking to the people on the balcony". I'm wondering if they really wanted to talk to him, why wasn't he invited into their home instead of being allowed to disturb my show. It just proves to me that the neighbors or their guest have no respect for my privacy.
This is just one of many examples that I see every day, to prove to me that people have forgotten what their parents taught them. I was always raised to say "Yes, ma'am, No ma'am, Yes sir, No sir" to show proper respect. Even to this day, I'm 41 years old and if I said "Yea" to my mother I would have to pick up my teeth off the floor. Another example, when I date I've had females get mad at me for opening the car door for them. I've heard them say things like "I'm not handicap" or "I know how to open my own door". They don't realize that this is a sign from a true gentleman showing them proper respect. My final example, is when women try to be as rude and crude as us, men. I dated a woman that thought that just because she felt comfortable around me, it was ok to belch and have flatulence around me. I know that most men think that is cute because it is something that we do. The only thing is that we do it around other men, not women. I don't want any female to feel that comfortable around me. I have more respect for myself and for the lady I date to go to another room to express those bodily functions. Anyway, as I've said before, it make me worry about the future of our country when we don't have manners and don't even pretend that it matters to us.

Upcoming Election

I don't know about everyone else, but I will be glad when the election is over. I really don't care who becomes president as long as he does a better job than George Bush. As you can tell I'm not a Bush fan in the least. I feel that he won the election by illegal means with the votes from Florida and just like his father, he enjoys sending us to war. I find it ironic that when Clinton was in office, we didn't worry about any war. I feel that our country thinks it's a Big Brother to the World. Every time another country has a disagreement then the U.S. wants to step in and assist. There are two problems with that way of thinking. One is that the other country usually doesn't want our assistance. The other is that when we try to help all we do is make it worse. I wish the U.S. would concern themselves with U.S. issues and let other countries handle their own problems. Another example that always bothers me about the U.S. is the commercials about the starving children in other countries. Trust me I'm not heartless and my heart goes out to those families. The problem I have is that the U.S. acts as though only those countries have starving children and therefore, neglect the starving children here in the U.S. Look at all the homeless children that are living on the street either alone or with their family and I haven't seen one commercial addressing their needs. Anyway, back to what I was saying about the election. It is like what I told one of my friends the other day when he asked me why is Louisiana politicians so corrupt. I told him that to be a politician in Louisiana or anywhere involves them being corrupt to a certain extent. But that is just my opinion.

Children are our Future????

I just got through watching one of my favorite shows - CSI where it was showing kids in Vegas that liked to gang up and beat up on tourist. Now I realize that this is just a show but I also know that most of our children these days would find that entertaining. What kind of future will we have with children that enjoy playing games like - Grand Theft Auto, where they beat up, shoot, run over, and kill prostitutes, cops, and other motorist? I realize when I grew up we watched The Three Stooges, Bugs Bunny and other "violent" shows but we all had morals too. I remember that is was not uncommon for my buddies and I to carry around pocket knives to school or have rifles in our truck so we could go hunting after school. Not one of us ever considered using a knife or a gun on another human being. We were raised that if you had a problem with someone then the two of you met after school and fought it out. Now I have gotten my share of black eyes and busted lips but I lived to tell about it. Kids of today are cowards because they can't fight or handle losing a fight. They have to grab a gun or knife or gang up on one individual to feel superior. It is just sad that our government is helping to create these children by taking discipline out of the homes and schools.

Military Life

I got to learn about the military right out of high school. I joined the Army National Guard with my twin brother so we could both attend college. I learned a lot about the military in that time and it wasn't all good or all bad but it was informative. I got in a lot of shape and realized now I understand when the Army says that we do more in the morning that most people do all day at work. What they were trying to say is that we start our day at 3:30 a.m. each morning as we run 5 miles in formation and then do exercises for an hour to the point that lifting my arm was a challenge. I learned how to respect weapons more and qualified in every weapon that the military has to offer. I also learned that the military doesn't believe in sharing valuable information with the civilian community. I experienced this during Desert Storm when we had the media believing we was in one location when we were really in another. After Desert Storm, I got out of the Army National Guard not because of the war but because I enjoy being clean and having only 4 uniforms to last for a month in the woods is not fun or humane.
I waited about 2 years and after a major lay off from work decided to go back in the military but this time chose the U.S. Navy. I figured if nothing else at least I wouldn't have to worry about woods. Being in the active military compared to the reserves or national guard is apple to oranges. I found out why car dealerships and other businesses love to practically give merchandise to the military personnel. It is not because they are being patriotic or anything. They give us anything we want because if we miss one payment, they don't worry about contacting us. They contact our command and tell them. Once the command is informed then we get a call to go to our captain's office and he explains that we can either pay our bills on time or we will have less money for bills. What he means by that is he will court martial us and we will get a drop in rank and pay.
The final branch I served was the Air National Guard. Out of all 3 branches this branch of service concentrates on keeping our minds working. When I went on a 2 day drill per month, the first day was used for working in my department. The 2nd day was for computer classes or re-qualifications on weapons.
I spent more time learning in the Air Force and Navy than I did in the Army National Guard. The Army National Guard was mostly set up to teach me about digging fox holes or preparing to fight the enemy with weapons or bare hands. All in all I would recommend all coming of age young men to have to serve at least 4 years in the military. I feel it's an obligation that we all owe our forefathers for fighting for our freedom.

State Agencies

First, I want to state that I'm not here to whine or complain. I'm here to express my opinions and share experiences that my friends and I have experienced as a learning tool.

Today's discussion will be about the Louisiana Unemployment Office and their strange procedures. I have a friend that was recently laid off from the company I work for. She received a severance package and a promise that she would be allowed to file unemployment. The problem started when she got her pink slip, yes my company believes in handing out a real pink slip, and proceeded to the Unemployment Office. She was told that she didn't need to give them the pink slip but to just call a number and register her unemployment. It seems that even though the Unemployment Office has employees, they prefer to have you talk to an automated system. She applied for her Unemployment and as a person of character she disclosed by law how much severence she would receive. She received a letter explaining that she would receive $258 a week but it would not be paid for almost 8 weeks due to her receiving a severence. The funny part is that with a severence they take out taxes for the year which is about 26 to 30% so the company deducted almost $700 from her paycheck. When she tried to explain to the Unemployment Office this fact, she was told that they look at the gross amount not the net. I disagree with this philosophy since I don't recall anyone paying bills with the gross amount of their paychecks. Due to this irrational error with our state government, this lady with 2 children will have to stretch a $1,000 for 7 weeks before she receives her first unemployment check. Hopefully and God willing she will find another job before that so she will be able to provide for her family. My issue is that if she wouldn't have been so honest, then she would have received payments within 2 to 4 weeks. I think it is an abomination that our government system punishes us for being honest. I also believe whomever came up with the idea to look at the gross income has never been without a job. I've told her that she needs to contact our Louisiana Senators, Congress, Governor, or all of the above to see if they understand why this is happening in one of their state agencies. I just hope that I'm never out of a job if this is the experience waiting for me.

Customer Service

Do you think there has been a steady decline in customer service over the years? In my opinion, I have noticed a drastic decline of customer service over the years no matter if it's in person or over the phone. I've noticed that its all about passing the blame or ignoring the situation. I will list a couple of personal experiences and let you decide for yourself.
I remember once going to Sonic in Shreveport to enjoy their Happy Hour drink special from 2 to 4 p.m. Now we all know how hot this summer was and unfortunately the only A/C that my truck has is when I drive and have both windows down so to say I was extremely hot is an understatement. Anyway, the sonic terminal I was at computer wasn't working properly and since I didn't have cash on me, I had to wait and hand my credit card to the server when she brought my drinks. Now I understand that it was "Happy Hour" and she was busy with about 6 other cars in the lot but I sat there with my ice-disappearing drinks waiting for the return of my card. I finally pushed the call button and asked when the server had a moment if she could bring me my card so I could give up my spot for the next customer. She finally did make it back to me but before handing it to me she had to state that she wasn't trying to steal my card. I told her I never had any doubt that she was even considering it but I wanted to leave with my drinks and card without making Sonic a second home.
Another example, I live in an apartment complex and I enjoy ordering items online. No before you think of it, nothing perverted or anything. I'm like a VIP with Columbia House since I order so many movies, I met my enrollment requirements with them within the first month. I also like to order swords, knives, and books online. Anyway, my postal carrier felt that it was appropriate to just leave my packages outside my door so everyone can see them and decide who would steal it this time. I tried to explain to the post office that either they could leave a note to have me pick up the packages at post office, knock on door to see if I'm there to receive said items, or leave them at the apartment managers office. Now this would seem like a simple and easy request but it wasn't. I had to escalate the matter to online complaints and in person complaints with the postal carrier manager to get results.
After reviewing my blog if you feel that I'm wrong please feel free to voice your opinion or share some of your fun experiences as well. I look forward to hearing from you.

Jonathan