This & That…
May 25, 2017
I just put a nine and one-half pound pork roast in the oven. I’ve never actually cooked one of these before, but I know how to read directions and found a great recipe on the internet. Hopefully, it will turn out to be good. I’ll know in about four hours. And if it’s not all that, all of these strays that keep hanging around the house will eat well. So it’s a win – win deal. Family will eat good or cats will eat good. Probably both.

And the phone just started ringing. It never fails. If I sit down here at my computer to write, or watch a movie, regardless of the time of day or night, the phone will ring. Or my cell phone will go off. Or both. I hate a damn telephone. Always have and always will. Alexander Graham Bell, you know what? For inventing the phone, which has been an irritant to me so many times, you know what? Alexander Graham Bell, you just made the list!

I went to Roses earlier today. I will not be going back, not for a while anyhow. I went to get cat food. My cat, Goldie, and the millions (and millions) of strays that come around here to be fed (thanks Mom), were out of food and thus, I had to head out and go get some cat food to keep a (cat)astrophe from happening. And I like Roses. It’s like a small Wal-Mart, but the prices are better and customer service actually exists and is usually pretty decent. The key word here is, “usually”, because today, it down right sucked! Shall I explain? I went into the store and went to get the cat food. A 16lb bag of the cheap stuff for the strays and a 3lb bag of the good stuff for my baby. I come up to the register to be checked out and the cashier isn’t there. She’s standing about three feet away from the register, talking to another employee and another person. They’re loud and really into that conversation about some women they know and her “ghetto kids”. I stood there at the register and they just kept talking, loudly and rather crudely about how she “ain’t nothing but trash”. The woman who was not wearing employee clothing caught my eye and said to her friend, the cashier, that “you have a customer”. She let out a “hmmmph” and came over and started ringing up my two items, never once speaking directly to me or acknowledging my presence. I asked, “how are you today?”, and she just ignored me. I inserted my debit card into the machine, using the chip (I hate those damn things) and quickly concluded the transaction. She handed me my reciept and before I could pick up my bags and say, “Thanks, have a great one”, she was already away from the register and back talking to her friends. I can understand having a bad day or hate having to interrupt your conversation to wait on a customer. I get it. I really do. But damn, that was just freakin’ rude as hell. I don’t know if she’s just new or dumb or just plain hasn’t been taught better, but being friendly or at least acknowledging the customers is part of the job and no matter how great your gossip session is, doing your job and being at least polite and respectful should come first. I’ve been in this store dozens of times before and the cashiers have always been extra friendly and polite and the service has been great so today’s experience is not typical, not from what I’ve seen in that store anyhow. But sometimes, once is enough and I can get my cat food elsewhere for a while. If I want to be treated badly, I’ll just go to Wal-Mart like everyone else. It’s crazy and just freakin’ ignorant. I really don’t like dealing with people sometimes.

Speaking of people, why is it that when you have to call down a person on something, like using their cell phone at the register while being waited on even though there are several signs stating that it is not allowed or when they get upset about having to pay sales tax on an item, or almost anything for that matter, their response is, “I’m from the City” or “I’m from Jerrsey” or something of that nature. So? They don’t expect people to read in “the city” or follow posted policies or rules or pay sales tax or act like adults in public in “the city”. I don’t care if a person is from “the city”, “Jersey”, “Uranus” or three miles up their daddy’s ass. Follow the rules, act like an adult, pay the sales tax and quit complaining. This ain’t “the city”. This is here and now. Get over it! Geez!

Why does the City Manager of Laurinburg, NC, freshly out of college, make nealry $100,000 a year? If this was a thriving and promising town showing growth and improvement, I could understand it, but we have the highest taxes in the state, one of the highest unemployment rates, one of the highest school drop-out rates, one of the highest teen pregnancy rates, an amazingly high poverty rate and one of the highest violent crime per capita rates in the state. But we’re going to build a new multi-million dollar City Hall and spend $35 million dollars on new schools after closing several older schools. And our City Manager makes nearly a hundred grand a year. This is a very screwed up place to live and the priorities are totally insane. Just saying.

I was going to write more, but my head just escalated from a minor pain to major steel toed boots to the noggin’ type pain. I’ve been feeling kind of bad all day, but I’ve been trying to work my way through it and be okay. It isn’t working. I really do need to go see a doctor someday. And I will one day, when I actually either have the money or some kind of insurance coverage. But I aleady know what is going to happen. One look at my bloodwork and test results, a look at my body and the aches and pains and sore muscles and other ailments and they’re just going to hang a condemed sign around my neck and tell me to get out of their office before I keel over there and make them look bad. I’m falling apart badly and if I can manage to keep working for the next few years, it’ll be a minor miracle. Hell, if I manage to stay alive and relatively mobile for the next few years, that’ll be a surprise in itself. I’m getting old. Old age sucks! Don’t do it! I think I’m going to go lay down.

Until the next time…

Ubuntu…