What is this world coming to?

Does that make me sound old? Just because the world is upside down, that should not necessarily age me, but it has. I was reading an article about a student who wrote a pro-marriage column in a school paper near Green Bay. You would think that would be a favorable thing. But, oh no, it’s not! Because it was in favor of traditional families rather than the opposing article of same-sex couples adopting children (pretty deep stuff for high school kids!), the author, a boy, was considered guilty of ‘bullying’. Oh, for heaven’s sake!

How would our playing “King of the Hill” in grade school be looked at in this era? Maybe I would view it differently if I were not often King! When the plows cleared the parking lot/playground at FG, huge mounds of snow bordered the perimeter. The ‘big kids’ would play King of the Hill by getting to the top and throwing down anyone who could not stand their ground in getting up there with us. In those days, I could hold my own with the boys, battling my way to the top despite the best efforts of the older, bigger boys. Occasionally I would have a broken bow or nose piece on my glasses but I was King of the Hill. And evidently, a bully! We got no participation trophies for this activity, either, only the broken glasses to show for our efforts.

When talking with my mom earlier, she was convinced that it was primary day here in FL but I assured her it is next week Tuesday. We do have ‘early bird’ voting here, typical of Florida but I prefer to vote on the actual day. The precinct is right here on my property which is incredibly convenient. Thursday night there is a debate at UNF and one of my friends has applied to get a ticket for it. Rita said she had to fill out a short form and jot down a question she would like to ask if a seat is given to her. Having lived outside the USA on a couple occasions, including in China, her question was in regard to how the US is regarded by other nations, our role in the world. A good question to open to discussion in the debate. “You take this one, Dr. Paul”! As I mentioned, Justin and I will be having a margarita at a Tea Party gathering at La Nap instead of battling for position at UNF. The topic discussed is considering the remaining candidates, which should be interesting. The guy I like is still in the running but Justin’s first choice candidate dropped off several weeks ago.

When Justin came home from work Monday he thanked me for getting his car repaired because he actually used it to drive to St. Augustine that day. Wow! First, he was afraid to drive to Winn Dixie and now he goes cross country (well, almost!) with it. He was still apprehensive but did it anyway, having to get a permit in St. Johns County. Next on the list is to get his windshield replaced, as it has a long crack in it. This happened when toting some boards from one site to another and they didn’t quite clear the windshield when he closed the hatch on his car. The boards shoved forward, cracking the windshield from the inside. We have insurance for this type of thing but he was hesitant to report it due to the cause. Using his car like a truck was not a good thing for having things last more than 5 years, it seems. He’s had to haul lawn equipment, the pressure washer, building materials, and moving office stuff back and forth, which has really taken its toll.

Well, anyway, back to today---we play Trivia tonight with a guest player joining us. My friend, Stephanie, has her mom visiting from Janesville, WI for a month and will join us on team Nothing Tips Like a Cow. Last week we took 2^nd place but our most faithful contenders were absent. We can only hope to do better this week, or at least stay the same. It seems the more people we have playing on the team, the worse we do, but the food and company make up for the loss. 


Justin’s new glasses are ready for him to pick up so we will plan that for Thursday. He will have a fresh outlook on life from that point on! To improve his outlook in his room, he is picking up a different light kit for his ceiling fan in hopes of casting more light into the corners of his room. Because of the windows being high on the wall and under the walkway roof, the rooms on this side of the condo are extra dark, dramatically so compared to where I spend my time. That was why I moved the office into my room in the first place---it was too dark to be productive in the extra bedroom, but it is perfect for sleeping!

Later this evening is the State of the Union show, which I should not have a problem finding a channel for, opposite situation of the most recent debates. I should probably just wait to hear the radio programs revisit it tomorrow and read the text instead, but we shall see. Justin might want to watch and we can digest it together. Alka Seltzer at hand...