Gasoline Alley

A few years ago somebody in Washington State got the bright idea to get rid of full service gas stations and go to self-service. They used the campaign ploy that if we went to self-service the price of gasoline would go down. It sounded reasonable to most people and who didn't want to save some money?  Needless to say we now have self-service exclusively. 

I miss the full service stations where an attendant pumps the gas, cleans the windshield and checks the oil. I liked that kind of service. It meant that I didn't have to weather the storm, or get my hands dirty checking oil and cleaning the windshield. I didn't mind paying the few cents extra for each gallon of gas I was purchasing for that kind of service.

I generally buy unleaded premium (the middle of the road grade) and have been paying $1.65 a gallon.

Oregon borders Washington to the south, and the beautiful city of Portland Oregon lay just across the border. I work in Portland and since my commute is long, I make sure that my gas tank never gets too low.  

The other morning I realized that I needed to stop at some point for gas. Since I was already on the freeway headed south, I decided to run out at lunchtime and fill up.

I drove into the full service gas station. (Oregon is not a self-service state) The attendant cheerfully greeted me and I asked him to fill it up. In the interim he cleaned my windshield and checked my oil.

I watched the attendant scurrying around in the blustery weather while I sat in my warm, cozy car making a mental note that I was happy to pay the extra few cents a gallon to have this kind of service.

As I was pulling out of the gas station I glanced up at the sign, and realized that I had just paid the same $1.65 a gallon for the same brand and same octane of gas I always buy in the Washington self service stations!

Who's kidding whom?

What a Difference a Day Makes

 

 

Nearly everyone now knows that Suddam Hussein has been finally captured, and the world has rid itself another evil.

Imagine going from palace to hole in the ground; from limo to camel; from rubbing elbows with world leaders to rats; from enjoying seven course meals to eating out of a can. And then to realize that all of the world is watching and can see how you had declined. That must have some serious effect on one's self esteem.  At least one with an ego like Suddam. 

I don't know that any of us can imagine how the thousands upon thousands of innocent women, children and men suffered over the decades he was in power. I've been visiting some of the Iraqi blogs to gain some of their perspective. I encourage you to do the same.

Check out http://hammorabi.blogspot.com/. The Saturday 12/13/03 entry is especially enlightening. Suddam and those who worked with him spared their victims no mercy. I think it will be interesting to find out what the Iraqi people decide is Suddam's fate.

Suddam Hussein is every bit as cruel and inhumane as Hitler was. The world stood back and watched Hitler kill more than three million Jews before stepping in and doing something, and then vowed it would never happen again. Well it did.

This endeavor should never have been left up to a few countries to stop. It should have been shared around the world with all free Nations. Those that did not enter into the coalition should be ashamed of themselves.

I would be.

Sins of the Heart............part 2

One cold day in December, I was in K-Mart picking up some cold medication for Steve. I turned down an empty aisle and to my amazement there laid a roll of bills wadded up. I couldn't believe it! I looked around quickly for a possible owner but there was no one in the immediate area. How long had it laid there? I quickly grabbed the money and stuck it in my pocket. I couldn't believe my good fortune! It was as if this roll of money just fell from the heavens!

I was already planning what I would use the money for when to my dismay I heard a woman's voice, "I can't find my money! I just had it in my hand! That money was for my kid's Christmas!"

For a moment I froze and time seemed to stand still while I mulled over my next move. I knew it was wrong to take the money, but I also knew that we needed food. Suddenly I became the judge and jury, and quickly walked out of the store with woman wailing in the background. I justified my decision by reasoning that it was more important that my son eat than her kids open a gift on Christmas.

I drove straight to the grocery store trying to put the whole incident out of my mind determined to make my son a good dinner.

That night Stevie ate steak, salad and a baked potato for dinner. He was in seventh heaven. I watched as he greedily ate the steak, occasionally looking my way with a big smile.

In between ravenous bites he looked at me and asked, "Mom, why aren't you eating steak? A look of pure innocence was on his sweet face; his big blue eyes absent of any knowledge of wrongdoing. I winced inwardly and replied with a forced smile, "I'm on a diet, honey." I couldn't eat the meat that was bought with another woman's money.

A few years later I converted to Catholicism and confessed this sin to Father Kindal, the priest that baptized me. He assured me that my sin had been absolved and God had forgiven me. But my heart wasn't so sure.

It's been well over 20 years since that incident, but it has remained fresh in my mind and weighed heavy on my heart since.

Every Christmas I dig a little deeper in my pocket than the previous year to give to others in need.

And every Christmas I pray for that woman, her children and my own forgiveness.

Sins of The Heart...........part 1

Most of us, if we live long enough, will end up with one or two skeletons in our closet.  Skeletons from our past that we are at best ashamed of; skeletons we prefer not to think about, skeletons that haunt us occasionally in the wee hours of the morning when we should be sleeping peacefully.

I have a couple of skeletons that I try to put out of my mind when they come sneaking in; skeletons that bruise my self-esteem while creating self hate every time they show up in the dark recesses of my mind.

This was a difficult decision, but I am going to share one of those skeletons with you.  Why?  Consider it another form of confession.  

I was a single mother when I lost my job in March of 1980.  For those of you who either don't know or don't remember, those were the lean Regan years and the country was deep into a recession.  Unemployment was at an all time high and jobs were extremely hard to come by.  1980 found many a college graduate waiting tables or pumping gas.  

I had been able to establish a meager savings account for emergencies, but certainly nothing that we could depend to live on for any length of time.    

Luckily, I qualified for unemployment.  Not very much, but enough for us to eke by. Thankfully, Regan realized the unemployment problem and offered several extensions.

Needless to say by December 1981 our savings account had long since been exhausted.  The unemployment checks were just paying the rent and utilities with a bit left over for food.  However, it was winter and because of huge heating bills our food was at an all time low.  

I remember my 10 year-old son asking if we could have steak for dinner one evening.  I could make a package of hot dogs or a can of tuna stretch for a good week.  But that was in good times and now we were down to some potatoes and a couple boxes of macaroni and cheese.  Period.  Steve was unaware of the financial problems at the time.  I smiled and ruffled his hair, mumbling something about next week.  

These were desperate times and I was a desperate young mother.

Return To Sender

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am getting tired of opening my mailbox every day and pulling out a stack of credit card offers. Not just one or two, but a stack! It's ridiculous and unwarranted.

Think about this for a minute: We have to pay to have the junk mail recycled or hauled off as garbage. These companies are spending our money for us!

I've tried calling each company and asking them to kindly take me off their mailing lists. Companies have to take you off their mailing list if you request it.

I still get the junk mail. Of course that's because my name, along with yours is sold from one company to another. There is lots of money to be made selling mailing lists. Today you may request to have your name removed from a list, but it can show back up on another tomorrow. It's a vicious cycle.

Imagine the millions of dollars that are spent marketing this stuff. Perhaps I should buy a rubber stamp that says, "RETURN TO SENDER". Maybe if the perpetrators started getting their unwanted solicitations back in return mail they'd stop sending it to begin with and wasting their money - and mine!  But that's doubtful.

Perhaps if the post office had to deliver it back they'd take a closer look and appeal to the government for some kind of direction in the form of a law banning such garbage. That's doubtful too.

The Internet hasn't been around long at all and already there are spam controls filtering out unwanted junk mail. People are even being arrested for sending spam via the Internet! 

The post office has been around for a long, long time.  When are they going to figure out a spam control? But then there is big money to be made on the postage, so that probably isn't going to happen any time too soon either.  

Bordering on Stupid?

The debate is on over whether or not countries that have not sent troops to Iraq should be entitled to share in the $18 billion dollars U.S. taxpayers are putting up to rebuild Iraq. Bush's policy excludes countries such as Russia, France, Canada and Germany.

Bush made this comment at a recent Cabinet meeting regarding the situation: ''What I'm saying is, in the expenditure of the taxpayers' money ... the U.S. people, the taxpayers, understand why it makes sense for countries that risked lives to participate in the contracts in Iraq. It's very simple. Our people risked their lives, friendly coalition folks risked their lives and therefore the contracting is going to reflect that.''

Well, I agree with President Bush. Why would the United States citizens and taxpayers agree to let a bunch of yahoos from countries that did not support the cause share in the windfall the U.S. citizens are going to pay for? They shouldn't! In fact, they should be ashamed of themselves for even asking! My God, the audacity!

Don't misunderstand me though. I'm not even sure that I agree that U.S. citizens should be financing this. But since we are, the contracts should be offered to U.S. companies first and then our allies.

Senator John Kerry, campaigning in his home state of Massachusetts for the Democratic Presidential nomination said: ''I think limiting contracts is an enormous mistake. I think it borders on the stupid.''

Senator Kerry, what in God's name do you think you are celebrating? It sure doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that most U.S. citizens don't want to hand money over to people who wouldn't stand beside us in this situation. I think YOU border on stupid!

This morning I listened to a woman crying her eyes out over a son who was just killed in Iraq. It was heartbreaking. There is no way that I can even imagine what that woman is going through, and I think God that I don't. But I can't get her voice out of my head.

I wonder if she'd agree with President Bush or Senator Kerry?

What do you think?

Bud's Light Show

 

I don't put up outdoor Christmas lights. It seems like too much work for such a short time, and besides I wouldn't know where to begin. But I appreciate those that do.

My neighbors, Sally and Bud put up lights every year. Every year I watch as he drags out all the boxes of lights, and stands in the cold and sometimes even the rain hanging them. It takes him most of the day to finish, but when he's done they stand back and appraise his work while he makes small adjustments until everything is perfect. Every year I stand by and watch, waiting for that moment when he throws the light switch and the house is ablaze in beautiful splendor.

Usually right after Thanksgiving Bud will put his Christmas lights up, but this year Thanksgiving came and went and no lights. I was beginning to think they were going to forego adding their personal touch to the neighborhood. After all, he is getting older and it can't be easy work. It saddened me because I looked forward to those lights. Unknowingly and very subtly over the years they had taken on a special meaning, and I looked forward to Bud's lights. They cheered up an otherwise dreary neighborhood for a few short weeks, and the spirit of Christmas was reborn each year.

But Sunday morning found Bud dragging out the boxes and ladder, and even though it rained most of the day he diligently hung his Christmas lights. And I secretly watched. Waiting for "that" moment that would make me feel like a kid again. As always I was not disappointed! Suddenly the whole neighborhood lit up, and I felt that holiday lighthearted feeling once again!

Last night I took the girls out, and while I waited for them to finish their "business" I stood gazing over at Bud's light show that dazzled before my eyes. What a magnificent sight!  Now it really FELT like Christmas and suddenly it didn't feel so cold and damp outside.

What a wonderful way for Bud and Sally to spread the Christmas cheer through the neighborhood and to keep the spirit of Christmas lit inside of us all!