Way To Go, Maddie

I have been getting phone calls now and then from my son and granddaughter, Maddie Mae.  They would call while they were out driving so Maddie could practice for her driving test.  Speaker phone enabled me to talk to both of them and there were some fun conversations. 

Yesterday was the big day.  There was another phone call on their way home, telling me Maddie passed her test with flying colors.  I was not surprised.  Maddie is a hard working girl, determined to do well at whatever she sets out to do.

Time flies by.  I have no idea where the time went between this

and this.

Congratulations, Miss Maddie Mae!  You do me proud in so many ways.

So this one is just for you.

Love, Grandma.

Another Scam

A few days ago a small storm went through my town.  About three miles south of my location there were some small trees uprooted and trash cans were tossed about.  My immediate are was untouched.  The storm wasn't bad enough to rate even a mention in the local newspapers.

Yesterday I received a phone call from someone with a thick accent who told me his company was checking the area for storm damage.  They would be at my building the next day to check our roof.  I hung up on him.  A phone call to my landlord confirmed that no request for storm damage assessment had been made.  He was unaware of any storm at all.

This morning I got another call.  The first tip-off was that he asked for Alberta.  Alberta was my neighbor who died a couple of years ago.  The caller sidestepped that error and proceeded to try to convince me that access to the building and to my apartment was necessary to check for damage.  I told him that unless my landlord accompanied him, access would be denied.  What I know and he doesn't know is that my landlord is currently out of town.

We also had a very short discussion about the close proximity of my building to the police station. 

Makes my day when I can get a scammer to hang up on me.  :)

Let's see...

First we had about three years of "He's a Russian asset." 
Then there was the Ukrainian phone call debacle.
Followed by the silliest impeachment hearings in modern history.
Then along comes a virus, turning governors and mayors into power hungry tin gods.
When lockdown weary folks began to defy the orders from on high, enter the riots and looting and burning.
And once that activity lessened, here comes a second wave of virus hysteria.
And smack dab in the middle of all this, lets toss in the protest marches designed not to protest injustices but to keep us riled up and spreading hate.  God forbid we should sit down together like civilized grown-ups and try to work out our differences.
And we can not forget those politicians who posture and pontificate and treat us like dim-witted children who can't possibly make decisions for ourselves and our families.  The same ones who do their level best to keep society dependent upon government.  The same ones who think that defunding the police is a great idea.  How's that working for you Chicago, New York, Minneapolis!  Not working out too well for the baby boy who was shot and killed while sitting in his stroller at a family picnic.  Not too well for the little girl shot and killed while playing outside at her Grandma's house.  Not too well for the cops who lost their lives due to the uptick in criminal violence this week.  And last week.  And the week before.  But hey - we need fewer cops, dontcha know.  Not working out too well at all.

I'm tired.  Tired of it all.  I was under the impression that I lived in America.  You remember America, don't you?  That place where we could speak our minds freely.  That land of freedom to live our lives the way we chose to within the law.  Where with hard work we could accomplish great things.  That place where our flag waved proudly and was treated with respect and where citizens were treated the same.

I wonder if we can ever get it back - that America. 

I will just come to your house...

How many times have those of us who prepare heard similar words from folks who can't be bothered to set aside extra food for emergencies.  My standard answer is, "No, you won't."

Jennifer over at Prep School Daily has an excellent post dealing with this subject.  Go read it.  It is worth your time.

I will add only two things.  The first is that I keep doing all I can do to prepare because I never, ever want to be in a place where I have to look into the eyes of a hungry grandchild and tell them I have nothing to feed them.

The second is that in spite of the current notion among younger generations, nothing is free.  Someone always has to pay.  The best advice I ever received came from my Dad who said, "If you want it, work for it."

Pray and prepare.

The Bat Bike

Some time ago my oldest son ordered an electric bike.  Duane says it looks like something out of a Batman movie, so he calls it the 'Bat Bike.'

Due to shipping delays, it finally arrived this week.  It is painted a flat black color and has a removable battery pack that can be recharged.  Information on this kind of bike can be found by searching 'ecotric'.

The bike required some assembly  The owner of the local bike shop put the seat and handle bars on it and checked it out.  It was good to go.

Duane did a test ride to the Target store about two miles away, where he bought a backpack to hold necessities for mostly fishing expeditions.The bike performed perfectly.

On his way home, Duane passed the Sheriff's office that is close by his apartment.  There were three deputies outside and they called Duane over.  Turns out none of them had ever seen a Bat Bike before and were curious about it.  Duane showed them the bike and explained how his stroke had left him unable to drive a car.  The numbness in one of his legs makes riding a regular bike difficult, so he found the Bat Bike online and thought it might be the answer to his transportation problems.  The battery takes over so pedaling is unnecessary.

One of the deputies asked if he could take the bike for a spin around the block and Duane said he could.  Duane had a good test run and a nice conversation with the local law.

But all cops are supposed to be bad - at least that is what we are expected to believe.  I guess our local sheriff deputies didn't get that memo.

Heads Up

As if there isn't enough crazy in our world, I have had some odd phone calls so far this week.

There have been the daily calls advising me to consolidate my credit cards.  This would be tough to do considering I own zero credit cards.  Sometimes I just play along and waste their time and sometimes I remark on their obvious lack of proper parentage and hang up.  Depends on my mood.

But this week I have received two calls from someone with an accent claiming to be from the Social Security Administration.  The first one I hung up on.  The second I played along with to see what the scam was.  Aparently my Social Security Number was used in connection with a crime in Texas.  They could not recite my number to me for verification and they could not tell me the nature of the supposed crime and they did not know the name of the police officer in charge of the case.  Then we had a short discussion about recording my calls and of attorney generals prosecuting fraud cases and they hung up on me.  I may be old but that doesn't necessarily make me stupid.

Todays call was from someone who said they were from a fancy sounding law firm  They tried three times to get me to say "Yes."  They kept asking if I was agreeing to accept the call, to which I replied three times, "What is the nature of this call."  Finally they told me that the call concerned a settlement of a lawsuit in which I was to receive a cash payout.  We then had a short discussion about phone call recording and fraud.  They hung up on me, too.  Don't know why.:)

Sadly, there are lonely elderly folks who believe that the SSA is calling them and that a law firm really has money to give them.

There has to be a special place in Hell for those who prey on the vulnerable elderly.

Had Enough?

A gang of thugs takes over several blocks in a major city and the mayor describes it as a 'Summer of Love."  Meanwhile, those criminals within this "block party festival" loot and damage businesses, terrorize residents, make demands.  They take possession of a police station.  Finally shots ring out.  Several people are wounded and one is killed, but the police and emergency workers are not allowed inside the borders to tend to the injured.  Even now when the takeover seems to be coming to an end, protesters are refusing to leave.  Read the story here.

Had enough yet?

Earlier this month, a young mother with her small daughter in the back, was driving home.  At an intersection, her car was stopped by a mob of about 20 Black Lives Matter thugs, who surrounded her car, tried to open the doors and jumped on her car, all the while screaming obscenities at the Mom and child.  The mother called 911 for help.  The dispatcher told her the police had been ordered to stand down.  Help would not be coming.  The suggestion was made that the terrified mother could call City Hall to air her grievances.  Read about it here.

Had enough yet? 

Minneapolis is a Democratic run city.  Has been for decades.  In Minneapolis there is a lovely park.  There are many loyal Democrats living around the perimeter of the park.  These truly liberal folks have agreed that no matter what, they will not call the police.  They favor defunding police departments.  Word has gotten out and now this park is covered in tents, housing at least 300 homeless people.  I have nothing against the homeless.  But with this encampment comes an invasion of drug dealers and other sorts of low life individuals.  I am afraid I can not drum up any sympathy for the people living near the park.  They seem to believe that all cops are killers.  They are seeing the reality of what they asked for.  Here is the story.

Had enough yet?

If you thought that Black Lives Matter was a peaceful organization, this interview with the leader of the New York chapter might change your mind.  He has said publically that if BLM doesn't get what it wants, they will "burn down the system."  Read about it here.

Had enough yet?

And as if toppling the statues of those who had a part in the making of our country and defacing our memorials wasn't enough, Shaun King, self acclaimed activist, has called for the destruction of all statues and depictions of Jesus Christ because..........wait for it..........white supremacy.  Here is the story.

Had enough yet?

So just how much more are we expected to endure before we are done.  I have reached my limit of patience and beyond.  I am too old to go out and knock heads together, but I still have a voice.  And so do you.  Maybe it is time we used our voices for something more than grumbling about the state of the world around us.  Our country is crumbling and if we don't speak up now, it could very well be too late.

I, for one, have had enough.