Lucky

Yesterday was Monday. I worked in the office until a little after 1pm and then went to lunch before working out of the office in the afternoon. I thought I was lucky because I wanted to eat at Paradise Bakery and they are usually very busy. I don't like to wait in line for food. Monday was no exception but without the line. I lucked out and found a place to sit in the crowded dining room next to a couple of young women. I was close enough to hear their conversation and being the nosy bastard that I am I ate my lunch in silence, you know that is hard for me, and listened to their conversation. They were talking about their mothers day weekend and their plans for the summer. One womans side of the conversation went like this. Her husband didn't fire up the pool heater soon enough in the week and the pool was still too cold to swim in when they had their bbq on Saturday. So it was too hot outside. 97, and the pool was too cold. Mothers day was a real hard day for her as well because her mother hates his mother and so they had brunch with his mother and then dinner with hers. The regular baby sitter couldn't make it to watch the kids at dinner and so they hired a substitute baby sitter which her daughter didn't like so they just took the kids to mothers day dinner with her mother and it was a nightmare. The thing that was most upsetting for her is the fact that the nanny that they used last year can't work for them this summer because she has to take care of her sick father instead. She doesn't know what to do, when the kids are out of school for the summer. The husband wants her to keep them at home a couple days a week, but she isn't really up to that so she is looking frantically for a new nanny. They usually take a summer trip without the kids and she is really afraid that they will have to cancel if they can't find a new nanny. I sat there and realized just how lucky I was not to have her difficult life. A trip without the kids. How nice. I usually have to take my kids on trips, My three dogs, they are part of my family and frankly I like taking them with me. I can't imagine feeling the contempt for my dogs that she feels for her kids. She has two of them I think. You will all be proud of me that I didn't say anything to her. I wanted to slap her with a carp. I think she needs to be lucky enough to wake up some morning on the north coast of Japan so she can see how lucky she really is.

Disappointment in Others.

First, I had a great weekend. Second, people continually disappoint me. I fully realize that I let them disappoint me, but it still happens. Sometimes I still think I'm right. I watched someone I respect struggle this weekend, and it wasn't their fault. I watched uncountable ego's in action this weekend and that wasn't a disappointment because most of them acted exactly like I thought they would. I watched the owner of one of the clubs that I race with run the club this weekend pretty much like I believed he has all the time, as his own personal private playground with little or no regard for the members actually paying the bills. I hate cheaters, I always have, I have to believe that someday they will actually get caught. The Corvette club was fast this weekend, and Corvettes were very well represented. C4's,C5's and C6's 14 in all, Probably the best represented aside from the Porsche's.

The Ultimate Womens Expo.

I had the unfortunate priviledge of working in our companies booth on Sunday at the annual Phoenix Ultimate Womans Expo. Many of you have been patiently waiting for an update featuring just how good the people watching was. Lets say it was Ultimate just like the women. First of all this was not a cheap event. Admission was $10.00, and nearest parking downtown was $12.00. $22.00 before you even get in the door. Upon arrival I noticed that the line for entrance started early and by 10:00 a.m. when they finally opened the doors the scene reminded me of when the neighbor down the road had to milk his cows in the evening. They started lining up by the milking parlor door about an hour before milking commenced. The major difference is that upon the opening of the door, the cows were more orderly. This was my first experience with working at the Ultimate womans expo and I didn't know what to think. I did have some pre-concieved notions about what I expected and frankly I couldn't have been more wrong. I assumed that this was some kind of rah rah womens weekend. They had Ricki Lake, Susan Lucci, and Barbara Heaton as speakers and I thought is was going to be kind of like up with people but for women. I couldn't have been more mistaken. I thought is was going to be women all dressed up, listening to motivational speakers, and learning new make up techniques, getting their hair done, watching fashion shows. All of that was going on, except for the fact that nobody actually watched the fashion show. 200 chairs, 25 women, pretty much the same percentage for the motivational speakers. It turned out to be very much like a two day flea market. Most women were there to get something free. The would actually walk by the table and pick up the bic pens we had there for people to fill out an entry for the products we were giving away. Several and I mean a large percentage actually we so prepared they had actually printed labels with their name address and phone number on them that they could just peel and stick to the entry blanks. The thing that amazed me most was just how many women didn't take a bath before they came. They appeared to wake up, tie their hair up i some kind of knot and put on REALLY ugly clothes and go to the Ultimate Womens Expo. I was appalled. And when did they stop wearing undergarments? I have never seen so many bra less women, and women in poor fitting clothes that weren't wearing any panties in my life. And let me tell you after a while it was really just too much to take. Now I know and freely admit that most men are pigs, We like sex and sometimes some of us aren't too picky, but I am pretty sure that our arms aren't attached at our waists and we would prefer if our women's breasts weren't attached their either. The funniest thing to me was the almost 100% accuracy rate of the fact that when we tried to give a free subscription for our skin care magazine to someone walking by. The ones who refused where obviously the ones that needed to read about skin care and make up application the most. I swear some of them put on eye make up and then rubbed their eyes with their fists. One of the local nail salons was offering free pedicure's if you signed up for their e mail list. The number of women waiting in line was un-believable, frankly you couldn't have paid me to touch some of their feet. I can honestly say my mother never went out in public looking that way. Most of the women that I know would never go out in public looking like that.

My Morning Commute.

I have two trains of thought this morning. It promises to be a productive day. I have figured out how to enjoy my morning commute. I have learned that if I leave my house a half an hour later the traffic is so much better that I can drive all the way to work at highway speeds. This morning was even better than usual because spring is here in AZ and I have the top off the car. Trust me when I say there is nothing like driving with the top off, sun shining in your face, breeze blowing through a nice silk shirt, listening to rock music as loud as you can stand. I have actually found a way to really enjoy my drive to work. I relax and get totally lost in how much I enjoy driving my car. Which brings me to my second train of thought.

I think we should outlaw mini-vans. Just think about this for a minute, I think the invention of the mini-van is close to the invention of all evil. They are too big, and propagating adults try and fill them up. The only mini-van type vehicle available to the general public when I grew up was the V.W. bus, and they were so undependable and ugly that nobody really bought them anyway. Except the hippies and surfers in CA and that is a subject all of it's own. Of course full size vans were available, but they were mainly bought by retirees and they didn't use them as daily drivers. I think the mini-van is responsible for most discipline problems today also. Most of us grew up riding in the back seat of a car, my mother could slap me into submission no matter where I was sitting. You can't reach the screaming brat in the back of the mini-van, they are just out of reach. So they fill the mini-van with kids, their stress level goes up because of all the bills, they aren't having any fun because even the best mini-van has terrible driving dynamics, the kids are out of control because of the lack of beatings, and they get all stressed out and depressed, which makes them less productive at work. They have fallen into this mundane trap all because Chrysler invented the mini-van. Chrysler deserves to be owned by Fiat.

You may think I'm nuts, but in some small way you think I might just be right too.

Decency and Common Sense in a Changing and Tolerant World

I was asked a question yesterday that I am going to share with the rest of you because it seems to have a good deal of relevance to the time's that we are living in. The question was. Should a gay high school student be allowed to use the same sex locker room, and why is that any different than a straight student being allowed into the locker room of the opposite sex. I don't know what the correct answer is, and most of you probably won't like the one I'm going to give but you know me, I've never been short on opinions.

I don't see this as strictly a gay rights issue. Not any more. It is the year 2011 and everybody in the world knows at least one gay person and like it or not I don't see the gay population getting any smaller. I see this more as a common sense and decency issue. Gay or straight, the behavior of todays young adults has deteriorated to a completely unacceptable level. I can remember when it was unacceptable to hold hands while walking down the hallway between classes. No kissing, making out etc. I truly think nobody cares whether your gay or not, but I'm pretty sure that they don't want to have to witness your sexual behavior on display in public. Much the same as the parents and grandparents of the 50's were appalled by the promiscuity of the younger generation of the sixties. Some things are best left to the imagination, or unimagined.

I think it's time we started to set a better example for our young adults, treat them with common decency, and demand that they treat others with the respect that they, and each other deserve. We need to start holding them to a higher standard. I'm not saying beat them with bibles or send them to military school at the first sign of deviant behavior, but paying a little more attention to them and spending a little more time on the difference between right and wrong, and how men should treat women. Regardless of the relationship I had with my mother whether we agreed on things or not. One of the clearest things that my dad taught me is that women should always be treated like ladies with respect and a man should never lay a hand on a woman in a violent way. If we were to instill these values in the youth of today. Just maybe the gay, straight behavior issue wouldn't be such an issue after all.

The Valley of the Sun

For those of you who don't have the pleasure of living here, this is the time of the year that makes Phoenix, Scottsdale, and the surrounding area so special. I'm waiting on a business dinner at the Valley Ho resort in downtown Scottsdale and the weather is incredible. 85 degrees, no wind, no humidity, sunshine and skies as clear as you can possibly imagine. This is the Scottsdale that I fell in love with while attending horse shows here 20 some years ago. I vowed then, that someday I would live here. I've also attended conventions here in the heat of August and still find it just about the best place on earth. The valley has changed dramatically over the past 20 years but the weather and most of the things that make Scottsdale special are still here, along with some new and better reasons to come for a visit. Notice I didn't say come and live here. I'd like some of the people to just visit and not come here to stay. Pure selfishness. The 90 days a year that we have that are in the extreme heat range are easily worth the price to pay to enjoy the rest of the year. Top off the car, sunglasses and one of my favorite Tommy Bahama shirts on and I'm set for a great evening.

Now to be a bummer. The last weekend I attended an event at Firebird International Raceway that I found out about merely by chance. It was the Redline time attack challenge. Nationally know race car drivers dueling it out on the fast main track at Firebird. Sports cars from BMW, Corvette, Lotus, Porsche, and Nissan, and Street tuner cars from several manufacturers. The sad part is the only people in attendance it seems were the contestants and their crews. It is such a shame.

There are many more sports car events in this country besides Nascar. Just last weekend alone besides Nascar, we had the IRL, and Rolex and Continental Tire series racing at Barber Motorsports Park. Not to mention all of the club racing events that happen on any given weekend around the U.S. This Saturday is the American LeMans series Races at Long Beach. Part of what makes this country great is our love of the automobile. WE are a mobile society. We purchase the majority of the cars in the world. Most of the foreign car companies are so in tune with the American car buying public that they have proving grounds and design studio right here in Arizona and Southern California. They use our roads, mountains, deserts, commuter rush hours, and wide open spaces to test their cars before they reach production. Weekly we are lucky enough to see camouflaged engineering mules driving around the valley of the sun. I've personally saw both the new Porsche Panamera and the Lincoln MKX here all camoed up at least a year before they went into production.

We need to take back the auto industry. WE make GREAT cars here in America. I am highly competitive in my mostly stock. I have removed weight and changed my shocks and added aero body parts, but my car is pretty much the same basic C5 Corvette that you can go and buy at any Chevrolet dealer in the country. Just today I had the privilege of spanking a Ferrari 360 convertible while making calls in Scottsdale. Don't pick on the Vette unless you have the balls to back it up. Mustangs are beating BMW's in the Grand Am series, and Chevy and Ford powered Rolex LMP cars are beating the best of Europe and Japan every weekend. Mercedes doesn't even bother to race here and except for the F1 series, they stick mainly to the German Touring Car series in Europe, where only Mercedes and Audi are allowed to play. Club racers all over the globe are buying small block GM V8's to install in their BMW's because they are light, powerful, cheap and reliable as hell. If you want to see some fantastic road racing. Stay up late and watch Australian Supercars compete on SpeedTV. They are basically Ford and Chevy sedans all dressed up to race and competing on road courses throughout Australia and provide some great racing entertainment.

Not too mention the millions of car exhibition clubs all across the country.

We need to promote our car industry, our racing industry, our automotive engineering and our automotive heritage before the government and the liberal tree huggers beat it into a position that it can't recover from.!!!

the government shutdown.

Ok hold on to your panties this is going to piss some of you off. I think we need a government shut down. A systematic planned stopping of government programs. I think everybody on welfare should grab a broom and head to one of the national parks and get to work. We have plenty of highways that need to be cleaned up as well as the inner cities. If they get a check they need to be working. No more volunteers needed to man the parks and welcome visitors. Put the welfare recipients to work. I want to know why we pay for their health care, give them a bigger check each time they get pregnant. There are some families in the inner cities who have never had anyone in their family work. They have been on welfare for generations. Their kids need to go to school get good grades and get jobs. There are plenty of jobs out there all they have to do is look in the paper and pick one. We need farm laborers, trash collectors, hourly skilled laborers, daycare workers, you name it. There are jobs out there if people want to work. If we put all the welfare recipients to work we wouldn't have an immigration problem because there wouldn't be any jobs for them. This is kind of an incomplete thought, but I'm tired of hearing about all the things we will have to do without when the government shuts down. I'm pretty sure that most of the salaried government workers shut down years ago. Have you tried to get good service at the post office lately.

Next issue. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. I think he has some very valid points. Especially when it comes to teachers. I was an Ag Ed major in college, and have spent most of my adult life teaching in some form or another. I've been taking a poll lately and asking my co workers and friends how many good teachers they had while they were in school. The average answer is 2. 2 good teachers for at least 12 years of schooling including higher education. I have teachers as friends and I can tell you which ones are any good and which ones suck. I don't think any teacher in any capacity deserves tenure. They should all be judged on their results. I get paid on producing results as well as most of the workforce.

Don't get me wrong I think that parents need to do their part too. Kids need to go to school and treat teachers with the proper respect and not be a discipline problem. In turn the government needs to stay out of raising our children. I am almost positive that the kid the police sprayed with pepper spray needed it. Obviously talking to him doesn't work. If he felt some consistent pain on his ass from getting it whipped for misbehaving, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be a problem.