One year ago today: August 28, 2014, writing vs. memoirs.
Five years ago today: August 28, 2010, trouble in paradise.
Six years ago today: August 28, 2009, war heroes.
MORNING
That hurricane is heading straight for my house. So this morning I am driving across the casino lot, a shortcut for coffee, and what do I find? A bag with four newspapers, including today’s Herald with my crossword puzzle. So I’m chock full of news, or at least what passes for it nowadays. Let’s see, the NYT says the stock market troubles are over. You have their word on it.
Shown here is part of the inside patch taking place on my motorcycle tire. The clamp is holding down the leather patch over the hole plug, forcing out any air bubbles in preparation for a large rubber patch to coat the entire area. I am to be commended and you know why?
Because on the other side of this clamp, not shown, is a flat metal disk that is being used to squash even the other side of the plug assembly. And let’s face it, there are just not that many people alive today who ever found a real use for a Susan B. Anthony.
I have a new term, the “newsfink”. That’s one of those half-wits who think they are going to be famous by becoming the one who asks Trump the “big question”. The question that slaughters his campaign. Oh, it doesn’t have to do with anything Trump says or thinks, it just has to be that ultimate “boogey-man” question so studied at journalism school. I never heard of these people before, but I’d say the three that need to figure out they are not gods are:
Jorge Ramos – so prejudiced he has gone blind and deaf
David Pakman – indoctrinated hater who mean-mouths anything pro-American.
Some blond bimbo whose name I haven’t bothered to learn yet.
[Author's note 2016: I have no doubt the bimbo was that Megan who had all the plastic surgery and got the butch haircut. It's common with women types of a certain age.]
Which will it be? Or will Trump continue to do the right thing and simply not answer the bozos. There’s general agreement this Ramos is a glory-seeking agitator, but you heard that expressed here first.
And there’s another group who is getting on everybody’s nerves. The assholes who ask other people questions about their church or religion need to put a cork in it. Those are questions you ask people in private. (If you never get to question them in private, it is probably your own fault.) Who appointed you the questioner of other’s religious beliefs? Do you know why a lot of Americans no longer go to church? Because churches are full of assholes, such simpletons they don’t understand Trump is running for President, not Pope.
They pretend they want to know about your religion only because they want to compare it to their own. That’s their only talking point because they don’t know shit about anything else. The country is going to the dogs, it’s under seige with 95 million people are out of work and another 36 million on welfare. But all they care about is whether Trump went to Sunday school. What complete assholes! Then they show up at political rallies and waste everybody’s time.
NOON
Not willing to throw out $25 of perfectly good rubber, I decided to cut that Honda tube with the sheered off stem into small working patches. No problem, all I have to do is get the fix-a-flat gunk off. Easier said than done. It won’t wash or scrape off, so there must be something that dissolves it without attacking the tire. If so, nobody wants to say.
This photo, as is common on the Internet, shows tire slime being briskly wiped away with one pass of the rag. But that is slime, not the dried on, caked on substance from inside the fix-a-flat can. That’s the Internet, they tell you how to do the easy part, stopping at the point where anything requires any brainpower. If I include the original cost of the tire that went flat, my cost of this repair is now $605 not counting the time and aggravation.
As it stands, I haven’t the time or equipment to clean the entire tire, so I am using a drill-mounted wire brush to scrape the area to be repaired down to bare rubber. Otherwise, the sealant forms a layer that simply will not allow contact cement to adhere. I can peel it apart by hand even it left clamped overnight. Other cleaning compounds which had no effect are Pine-sol, 90% alchohol, tile cleaner, 70% acetic acid, stain remover, and Calgon, the cold water wash.
The only good news is I think I found a spare Honda rear wheel for $65. Well that, and I got a call, a personal invite to a new Karaoke show tonight. I can’t recall these people at all, (Vinnie and Heather?) but maybe when I see them.
NIGHT
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. There was nothing that would take the sticky tar off the tire, so the alternative was to neutralize it. You remember that can of corn starch in the cupboard. Well, that guck was probably GMO anyway. This technique worked fine, the tire is smooth and feels like it was coated on the interior with baby powder.
And the Karaoke? When I got there, I did not recognize the host at all. And the show was pretty terrible and the microphone was not balanced. I sang three songs. Then the mystery was solved. One of the barmaids had made the invitation, remembering when I used to stop at Buddy’s Place after bingo.
I sang my standards, but the place is basically not a hotspot. That’s where I go when I need to read something or work on some computer code. The locals know I’m busy and pretty much ignore me, which suits me fine. However, one thing that is starting to really annoy me is that mouthy pony-tail crowd who, thanks to Trump, now think every veteran is a war hero. I understand they were forced into a situation that very few of them agreed with, but strip it down to the fact that unless you were born rich, such is the very definition of life.
Don't over-think what I'm saying here. It is a subtle difference, but one I don't like. I didn't say anybody or anything was right or wrong, I merely said I don't like it--in anybody. This is where indifference isn't enough any more, indifference becomes a form of insult for these complete strangers. Now they demand some form of constant demonstration on your part that you are respecting them "enough". And we already get all we need of this from the queers and the gimps. I hope vets never resort to that.
Nobody disputes the trauma and we agree the system is responsible. But I’m not talking the big picture, which I am not qualified to judge. Just the small picture of the odd goof or two that won’t go away. For those who automatically side with such folks, you are not taking into account how it is quite possible to fully respect people—from fifty feet away.
ADDENDUM
It almost happened! I stood off my chair and ran over to twist the volume knob, but I was not fast enough. It was NPR. For a few seconds, they began interviewing the neighbor (when she answered the phone) of the woman they had intended to talk to. No, she kept answering their questions. No. No. It took them few seconds to get the other lady on the line.
So for that brief, shining moment, NPR almost, that’s almost interviewed a normal person. Not a minority, not an illegal, not a welfare mother, not a fringe case, not a Liberal, not a gimp, not an ethnic, not an ignoramus who wanted to talk about “her feelings”. I’m telling you, it nearly happened. It was all over before I could cross the room, but I could already hear their ratings slide. How dare they interview somebody who isn’t playing the total underdog?
As for that, NPR is now talking about Germany’s “duty” to hold the European union together, and Germany must be saying, “Pardon me?”
If I recall, not that long ago, some of the people screaming the loudest recently did everything they could to kick the Germans out of their country. So, let’s get this clear. They want the German money, but not the German culture or the German way of doing things. Just the money. There is something familiar about all that that I just can’t quite put my finger on.
Where I draw the line is people who claim “refugee” status when in fact, they want into a rich country to take advantage of the social welfare systems. Cubans ain’t running to Mexico, and the Syrians are not running to Turkey, both of which are closer to their cultures. No, no, they want YOUR country. They are “only seeking a better life”, they claim.
But isn’t that why we have legal immigration? To make sure everyone incoming has a useful skill for self-support and really wants to change. Maybe learn the language? As it stands, these illegals consider themselves culturally superior—and only an idiot would expect that such types would ever change.
Last Laugh
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