What's a man got to do to get arrested these days?

Went shopping today. In front of the store was a black and white just parked in the red zone like he owned the joint. So me being me I decided to look inside and see what cop cars look like these days.

High tech. Camera on the front and rear dash. Two more cameras on top pointing left and right. No shotgun as the cars of old days. No a more lethal weapon in the middle of the car: a computer. The pile of junk in the passenger seat told me he drove solo and was a slob.

After my curiosity was satisfied I proceeded on my way to go shopping. Shortly thereafter the owner of the car approached me. "I've got a witness that you tried to break into my car".

Me: No, I was looking at your car which was paid for with my tax dollars.

Cop: Did you try to open the door?

Me: Why would I try to open the door?

Cop: Did you?

Me: NO!

Cop: So if I fingerprint the door handle your prints won't be on them?

Me: No, and since when is it a crime to look at a car?

Cop: it isn't but tampering with a police vehicle is..

Me: Well than it's a good thing I was only looking than...

Cop: Would you have entered the car if the door was open?

Me: No, it's not my car, and since the door was closed the question is irrelevant

He continued to insist I had tried to break into his car. "So are you calling my witness a liar"

Me: I can't speak for your witness, I've told you what I did. It's up to you to decide who's lying.

He asked me such brilliant questions as
"What are you doing here?"
Me: Uh, I thought the shopping car full of groceries kind of gave me away, but since you asked, I'M SHOPPING!

In retrospect I'm lucky he didn't arrest me just for the hell of it. I was certainly spinning him up. I think he was hoping to arrest the Son of a Bitch who dared to touch his car. Or maybe he was just hoping to intimidate me. It certainly pissed him off that I dared stand toe to toe with him and make fun of his silly questions.

He kept up this agressively rude tone that no normal human talks in. I think he thought it made him sound menacing.

Alas he finally walked away clearly perterbed at me. I'm sure he's at home talking about the smug SOB in the supermarket.

Just another fine example of our tax dollars at work!

Obama's biggest fan is PO'd

Apparently the cash for your junk car program has spun up even the most devout Obama fans. A friend of mine who regularly touts "Obama and me, we're gonna fix everything" is now on the list of Americans the Prez has pissed off.

I told him today, "You're probably the only American on the planet Obama hasn't pissed off yet." He proceeded to correct me. Apparently he's been trying to buy a car under the "we'll give you tax payer dollars for your junk car program". He's realized not only is it a scam, but that it is driving up the price of cars to an outrageous level. It has created a car bubble, to replace the housing bubble. Car dealers are loving it. "That's your man" I told him.

But even the car dealers know they have to milk it while they can. As one of them stated, "the bubble will burst and this well will dry up quickly".

So car buyers beware. There is no negotiating prices. No discounts. The dealers figure the gov't check is all the discount you need. They'll turn you away because they know the next sucker is right behind you waiting to get his gov't handout.

Be smart, keep your old clunker till the bubble bursts and the price of vehicles drops like a rock (kinda like the housing bubble). Then go shopping with the car dealers who will be begging for your business. Because today's dealers will just laugh you out the door if you try to negotiate.

Eternity

Have you ever tried to think about eternity? I've tried. I can't truly fathom it. Just trying to comprehend it is scary.

Trying to imagine eternity in Hell is even worse. Remember your worst week. Remember how long that week seemed at the time. Now imagine it lasting forever. No end in sight ever. No light at the end of the tunnel.

But even when you take hell out of the picture, eternity is daunting. My short life here seems so long. What do you do in eternity? Time with no end.

The Bible says men used to live to be 800 and 900 years old. Even that is hard to imagine. Imagine living through the entire history of America. Movies like highlander have tried to capture that concept.

I know my life on this earth will eventually end. And then I'll be faced with eternity. I guess I'm just not ready to contemplate and accept what that truly means. It's hard enough dealing with the hear and now, without having to face never ending existence.

Light at the end of the tunnel

Finacial freedom is around the corner. At least for me and my family. After years of struggle and debt I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. In fact, if all goes well, that light could be upon me as soon as October (if the planets are aligned and the world is in harmony).

It occurs to me that I've spent so much time focusing how to recover from debt that I never learned how to invest. And in todays economy, not sure it's time to take chances.

So what will I do with my newfound wealth? First and foremost SAVE. Need to build up that safety net. And start catching up on my retirement fund.

But there are a few items on my list of wants that would aid in making my life and the life of my family a bit more comfortable.

So I look with great joy at the end of my burden to debt. Hopefully I've learned enough to keep from ever being put under the oppression of owing someone else.

Raging Waters reveals the state of the union

Took the family to Raging Waters. Had a family from church join us. We all had a great time.

However a water park has a way of revealing character. Some observation made by my spouse and I while people watching.

Asian females wore very conservative simple bathing suits

Anglo and Hispanic/Latina women all wore two piece bikinis that cover next to nothing, except for the heavier women who wear very conservative outfits

Black Women only wear bathing suits they fall out of no matter their size.

Black Men all were wearing their shorts around their knees with their boxers showing.

All other men wear your typical swim shorts

I guess I'm a little surprised. I expected the ratio of skimpy to conservative to be more balanced. It seems nobody wears one piece bathing suits unless they are overweight or Asian. And all men but blacks get the concept of swimming shorts. And black women have no worries about their image.

Tattoo's were everywhere. I remember when tattoo's were a rare thing. Now it seems you are the odd man or woman out if you don't have a tattoo.

Maybe I'm just getting old. I remember when the bikini was a rare thing. Women had self respect and covered up in a typical usually colorful one piece. Men all wore your basic swim shorts. Tattoos were for the truly rebellious.

Maybe it's the Dad in me thinking about my two boys and my girl. Will they want to cover their bodies in tattoo's? Will my daughter think it ok to walk around in dental floss bathing suits? Will they get into the body mutilation practices of this generation (ear holes, nose holes, other holes I won't mention here)?

I asked my pastor recently, how in today's world of sin and temptation, do you protect yourself and your children from the flood of bad stuff? There is no short answer. A whole book could be written on it. But since he's not writing a book he'll see what he can do about good advice as he goes through the ten commandments this year.

I just realized I have no closing thoughts... The state of this generation leaves me saddened and worried... This is our future... This is my children's future.. what does the future hold for them? What about my grandchildren?

Guess I'll just have to trust in the Grace of God and his promise to bless generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.