A TEMPORARY KING'S PERSPECTIVE

There is a "plus" side to a lottery ticket being a totally losing ticket...the collection process is completely done away with. No reading the directions for the address to mail it to, no buying and sticking on a stamp, no worrying about whether or not it will arrive safely, no going back in the store with it and waiting in line, no driving to the headquarters to collect in person, no "new friends" with pitiful heart ripping needs, no increased tax burden...nada, nothing, zip...and the scratched off ticket isn't one of those things you have to wonder if you should save it or toss it...and no need to worry about where/how to file it so it can be found. The deal is done, quick, simple, and into the trash and on with your day.

The "negative" side of listening to the news is...hearing how an El Paso US prosecutor and Homeland Security (aka "KGB"), (both of which could likely have lucrative deals with the Mexican drug dealers for either a supply of drugs or a cut of the money) have seen to it that 2 border patrol agents are prosecuted and put in prison for over a decade each for stopping a non-citizen from illegally entering the country, with a van load of drugs. How dare they pursue him...that violates border patrol policy...they are supposed to just politely ask them to stop...I'd be surprised if they were allowed to use a megaphone, it might infringe on the non-citizens "civil rights as granted to the citizens of the United States". What is it called when an officer fires a shot at a fleeing suspect who just before crossing into Mexico, turns with a shiny object in his hand that appears to be a weapon? The prosecutor called the Border Patrol's action "assault with a deadly weapon" and a "violation" of the non-citizen fleeing criminal's "civil rights".

The "negative" side of listening to the news is...hearing how a truck driver, road weary and knowing he needed to pull over, finding all the rest areas and places to park already taken...pulls off on the shoulder of a ramp. When an impaired driver leaves the highway at over 90mph and crashes into the back of the semi trailer, the police promptly impound the truck, and arrest the truck driver, charging him with felony manslaughter.

Then there is John Grisham's book "innocent man" that reveals explicit details how a DA named Peterson in a small community in Oklahoma puts an innocent man on DEATH ROW forcing the persuasion of the jury thru coerced or even fabricated "evidence" ...and yet, he's still DA ? I'm thinking the "justice" of wrongly causing a man to be on Death Row would most naturally be punished by ...the death penalty. But, it doesn't appear he is even going to be disbarred or fired...even though I'm told that he cost that little community a lot of money in an undisclosed civil suit settlement (if it is our tax dollars, how is it "undisclosed" ?) he still has his job...and faces quite a different circumstance of life than the border patrol agents or the truck driver.

"If I were President"..."If I were king for a day"....I'd be dragging a press corp around with me and maybe Donald Trump, (But if Rosie comes she'd have to ride in a different car)...we'd be firing, exposing, disbarring, exonerating, pardoning..."FIXING AMERICA"...and the Iraq war that is slugging away at armed terrorists and evil cold blooded killers of innocent women and children...I'd be sending 250,000 more troops instead of 20-30 thousand and those whiney near sighted politicians that have to wait on the poll results before determining what they stand for...would just have to return whatever financial backing they surely must be getting from the enemy, and whine all the way home to their mama's because I just flat wouldn't have the patience to put up with their nonsense.

And any news media caught sympathizing with the enemy and demoralizing the troops? I'd eminent domain their property to put in more Wal-Marts and amusement parks and casinos. Hate-mongers like Al Gore? They'd be stripped of their citizenship and given a small boat...which the Coast Guard would haul out to international waters and they'd be waved at, and warned they'd be shot if they came back into US territory. There are some other things I'd do to clean up and FIX America, one of many would be Empty the jails/prisons of non-criminals...fill it back with people who are criminals indeed.

After calling up Ollie North and turning the presidency over to him, and the vice presidency over to Ms. Rice...(don't get all feminist on me, she doesn't WANT the presidency)...then I'd stop by the Deal or No Deal show and choose suitcase 17.

That would be enough for one day.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

With the help of a sledge hammer and a hatchet to break ice away, we finally got all hitched up and out of town (which required chains at one point for about 5 feet), and the journey has begun. Not including any pictures today, seen enough ice to last quite awhile without having to see more of it in picture form. The roads for the most part have been ok.

Seeing as how the storm has left us, guess we'll run up towards Indianapolis and see if we can't catch up with it. Ordered a new pair of glasses this morning...and told that young girl that getting older sure had a good side, I could pick glasses based on comfort and durability, with pretty much total disregard for how snazzy they looked.

Hard to believe its the 16th day of the year already, even harder to believe we're just getting rolling but that ILD was about all we needed to be handling that first couple weeks. Sure relieved Mrs. Beans pulled out of that one so well, seems to be in much better health already than most all of last year.

My tooth with its temporary crown/cap is still pretty dang uncomfortable, wonder if the whole pain thing will begin again on the 5th when they pull the temporary and install the permanent? Hopefully when K goes thru this same process this week or next, it won't be so bad...I already warned him to get the script for the pain pills BEFORE he leaves the dentist, and already have em soaking in his belly before the number stuff thaws out. Hope he does that, if so he'll miss out on standing in the line at the walmart pharmacy with beads of sweat Popping out...on a cool day. Just out of shear dee-ole pain.

Ole Sam's been working for a couple weeks now, so far so good. Haven't heard from Wolf today...so thats probably meaning he's still out of spending money...which usually is alot easier on his liver..but I don't hear from him as often. Sure wanted to stop in and visit with Marbella again before we headed out on this journey, and return her glass pie plate.

Found and delivered a box Pocahontas packed when she was about 8 or 9, like a time capsule for her going thru it, she found old diaries she was working on in 2cnd grade that occasionally had a page with just a brief entry "I've been rather busy, no time to write". Wow, that reminds me of a recent post of anamnesis about a goldfish that a person should put on their walls for reference. Of course instead of the bit about the castle we could write "be rather busy".

POND IS FREEZING OVER

  Wonder if the huge bass in the pond survived the summer drought and now the winter icing over?

ICY HOMEPLACE

  The fenceline in this shot doesn't look too good. Thunder is rolling in the distance, and ice is falling from the sky in a surprising variety of sizes and shapes. Even the blades of grass are individually encased in a layer of ice, like the limbs and tiny leaf holding branches of trees...and the power lines..which so far have been holding.