I've Been Tagged

Time is a peculiar thing.  There are moments in which some random memory will come to mind that nearly feels like it happened yesterday but in actuality was ...well...maybe 40 years ago.  Other times, something that happened 10 years ago seems so faint in my recollection that I am not even sure that the memory is accurate.

I was just over at  Really?! Wait! What? reading Jewell's post for the day.  She starts her blog post today about the game of tag and how fast she could run as a little girl. (Well, maybe she can still run that fast..not sure, I guess)  Being the "quick kid" is a great thing for winning at the game of tag but maybe not for being "the kid who is invited to play".   Being great at something can set you apart from those that wouldn't want to compete with you.  But, I digress...

I can't remember actually playing tag.  I am sure I  must have played the game at some point when I was little.  I know we played dodge ball, kick-the-can, Red Rover, hide and seek,  and a number of other child oriented games that I remember quite clearly. I don't think I excelled at any games that required speed or agility. What usually got me chosen is that everyone recognized that I would give it my best effort and I tend to get along with everyone.  In other words, I have a great positive attitude while I suck at any given sport or game. 

So, today, I find that I am in a game of "tag".  Jewell has tapped me (or my blog) and yelled "You're It!"
I didn't really see her coming.  She is gazelle-like in her approach.  FAST...right up till the moment of slamming into me, slapping the hell out of me, tagging me.

I have been given a few directions (if I  choose to accept this mission...oops wrong game)  as a result of this game of tag.

Rule #1    No tag backs.  (Frankly, I think that is a lot to ask of me)

Rule #2   Jewell, took it upon herself to change the number of people to be tagged to 6.  I can count to 6 so that should work.

Rule #3 Answer some questions.  She, being the generous person she is, has given me a set of two different questions.  Actually, Jewell has been tagged 3 times this week so she has had to figure out what set of questions to go with.  Three...really??? Who knew that she would be the equivalent of "Miss Congeniality"
of the blogger set.  

To simplify, I will tag 6 of my favorite blogs and you can answer these questions.  (again, only if you want to play)

If you could go back in time and change one thing what would it be?
I would have bought a lot of Walmart stock in 1970 instead of any of the under preforming crap that I really did buy.

What movie/TV personality do you most resemble in personality?

maybe not quite
like this.

I am told I remind people of Carol Burnette.  I am not sure if they mean when she is being herself or if she is being the lady with the mop and bucket. I would rather people say I look like Sofia Vergara but they never do.

If you could push one person over the cliff and get by with it, who would it be?

 HMMM ...so many to choose from....and keeping in mind I am a pacifist...but if I HAD to push someone over....There really are a lot on the list... There's the group of people that have committed horrible atrocities on other people, the group of narcissistic personalities that rake in cash for acting badly and  all the politicians that vote according to  their own self-serving interests and don't consider what is in the best interest of their constituents.  OK, there are probably a lot of people that never ever ever ever should stand near a cliff in my vicinity.

Name one habit you would like to change in yourself?

Not worry as much as I do.

Describe yourself in one word.

Organized

Describe the person who named you in this meme in one word.

Smart  or should I say Funny...no Smart....no Funny....let's go with smart......I got it...

Interesting...that's it ....she is interesting.

In one sentence, why do you blog?

After regularly reading a couple of interesting blogs, I thought it would be fun to learn the process of setting one up, sharing ideas and networking with interesting people that I normally wouldn't ever have an opportunity to meet in the face-to-face world.

OK now for the six that I am sneaking up on...tippy toes...tap tap on the shoulder..

TAG, YOUR IT!!!

Meleah Rebecca at Momma Mia Mea Culpa
Nicky at  We Work For Cheese
Madge at I-Madge-ine The Twaddle
Junebug at Junebug's Musings
Kelly at Writing in the Margins Bursting at the Seams
Nancy at Normalarkey

By the way, If I could reach out and tag those of you that don't have blogs but are my ever faithful readers such as Barb S. in AZ, (more than one Barb) Dale, Wayne, Tom and Larry. and all of you that have hit the FOLLOW button..I would reach out and invite you to play too.  I appreciate all of you that let me vent, rant, tease, whine, and spew nonsense to you. 

The Good for the Day...Making connections via the computer

The Bad for the Day...When there are misinterpretations or misunderstandings in this form of communication.  It is hard to know how to "take" things without hearing verbal inflections or seeing people's faces. 

The Weird for the Day...1 in 8 marriages now are people that have met on the Internet.  Weird huh?

Ahhh...when we were young and could run like a gazelle...

Liars and Fliers and (who?) Cares, Oh My

Another week with some interesting topics for hanging around our virtual water cooler.  A lot of this week's chat fodder has to do with people that have said and done things that have come back to bite them in the butt, so to speak. 

First the REST OF THE STORY concerning the breakup of Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Turns out the Terminator was busy in the governor's mansion with more than official business. 


 In the last several days, we find out that he has been keeping it under wraps that he had a child with a member of the household staff during the time he was Governor of California.

Well, isn't Arnold a dirty dog!!  According to some news reports, his ex-mistress threatened to go public as she was fired from her employment.  (Note to all dogs out there...if you get a subordinate pregnant, you might want to make sure she has job security) Of course, this story changes daily. Today some of the reports say she just retired from her job and everyone is on friendly terms.  (friendly???? Call me crazy...but I doubt it)


In 2003 after an incident in which he was accused of groping women, Arnold made a statement "I behave badly sometimes."  (very well put, Arnold)  New York Times reporter, Robin   Abcarian  stated on the Today Show this morning that The NY Times  stands by the 2003 story that called him a " Serial Sexual Groper".  (Wouldn't that make a person proud to have that as your tag line?  Just think you could have a Twitter account [at]serialgroper)

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Another dirty dog ..err....skunk in the news is French business man, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund is accused of attacking a housekeeper at a New York hotel.  He is being held at Rikers after bail was denied.

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do I look like a casino boss to you?



Another lawsuit is in the news this week.  A San Diego mother is suing Chuck E. Cheese's chain of restaurants for $5 Million because she believes children could develop a serious gambling habit by frequenting the eateries.  Debbie Keller contends that the games within the restaurants are actually illegal gambling devices, similar in nature to roulette wheels and slot machines. 



 Eric Binink, Ms. Keller's attorney, told the San Diego Union Tribune the the money is a secondary issue and his client is asking for a jury trial.   (I am thinking Ms. Keller is taking a gamble by bringing this case to court and finding a jury that would think this is worth 5 million)

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Southwest Airlines is back in the news.  Kenlie Tiggeman, a 30 year political strategist is saying that an employee at the Dallas based Southwest Airlines said she was "too fat to fly". She and her mother were both asked to by 2 tickets to accommodate their size.  Part of Ms. Tiggerman's  complaint deals with the fact that the gate agent discussed this in front of a number of other travelers.  (OK, I think that you aren't much of a gentleman to discuss a lady's weight in front of a crowd.  You are really, just asking for TROUBLE)

This issue has come up previously as well.  A spokesman for the airline said that if a person can fit into the seat between the armrests they can fly with one ticket.  If they need additional space they need to purchase a second ticket.  However, if the flight is not full, the second ticket price will be refunded.

Ms. Tiggeman is saying that at 268 pounds she does fit into the seat.  Also, she noted that on past flights she was not required to buy 2 tickets.  

Note to Southwest:  If you are going to charge by weight, you need to have a weight chart so we can all check the "fat or thin" surcharge.  Shouldn't the small, light people get a discount if those that are heavier are having to pay extra based on weight. 

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A consumer advocacy group is asking McDonald's to fire Ronald McDonald.  (no one's job is safe, any more).  According to The Chicago Tribune, Corporate Accountability International,  cites that the "Chief Happiness Officer" is enticing children to eat unhealthy foods that  is resulting in the growing epidemic of childhood obesity.  The group is planning events in a number of US cities to bring attention to the  problem of "cradle to grave" marketing that is luring children into eating unhealthy foods.

A McDonald's spokesman said that Ronald is a beloved brand ambassador that is the "heart and soul" of McDonald House Charities.  McDonald House provides housing for families of critically ill children so that they can stay near the hospital or care facility where the child is being treated. More than 4 million children benefit from this charity annually.

OK, my blogee friends, those are of few of the topics being talked about this week. 

What are your thoughts?  Weigh in....oops, sorry...and give me your comments on any, some or all of the Friday topics. 

The Good for the Day......I love that Whack-A-Mole game at Chuck E. Cheese. 

The Bad for the Day..... I am thinking we shouldn't blame Ronald for making our children fat unless he has his big ole red shoe on your chest while holding you down on the ground force feeding you Big Mac, Fries and a Shake.  Parents need to take control of what and how their children eat and adults need to take responsibility for themselves.

The Weird for the Day... A man wanted to take  his pony  for a ride on the train in Wales but was denied access even though he purchased 2 tickets. (one for himself and one for his pony)

Poor, sad pony, wants to go for a ride on the train!!!

A song that has Arnold in mind.

The License Plate Game

A couple of days ago a friend of mine was complaining about the fact, she and her husband got pulled over in Texas for not having a front license plate on their car.  Seems there is a lot of confusion in Texas about front plates.  Last year a bill was introduced to remove the requirement of the plate but it failed in the legislature. The big problem though, is a lot of media reported it as having passed.  The drivers of sport cars such as Porche, Corvette, and Viper were pretty much doing the happy dance.   Actually a lot of those people had never put front plates on anyway.   They had been just taking a chance on not getting caught or were willing to pay the fine so they didn't have to put a plate bracket on their car.

My friend didn't take the stop well.  She like others feel like it hurts the aesthetics of the car.  (they drive a Dodge Viper).  I am not entirely sure that the cop didn't just want a close up view of a newer Viper convertible and my friends weren't complying by speeding.  You just have to know that he was following them saying "you WILL do something wrong eventually".   When they didn't cooperate by breaking some law, he had to get creative.

  Ultimately, it is really hard for me to relate.

A. I drive a cheap "nothing special" car and I wouldn't be concerned that a front plate would diminish its appearance or worth.

B.  I live in Kansas.  They don't care if I don't have a front plate. I don't think they hardly care if I have a back plate.

While it had her all riled up, it turns out the consequence is a $12.00 fine and you have to bring your car in to some inspection station and show you have mounted a front plate. (which leads one to wonder, why it wasn't tagged for the offense during the yearly state inspection.  In TX every year you have to bring your cars in to an inspection station to pass all the mandated criteria such as working lights, horn, proper emissions etc.)

Anyway, now they have this horrible (according to her) plate on the front of their car and she is not happy.  To compound the problem she parks next to a fellow worker that has a Porche with no front plate.  Damn life is brutal for the performance car folks out there.

If she wanted to have some fun though why doesn't she join the hoards of creative people out there that think of clever things to put on their plates. 

Kansas has nearly started a war here with a recent change in the rules regarding personalizing plates.  Up until this year, every county kept track of the personalized plates within their own county.  So if your idea was unique to that county it was ok.  BUT NOW only one unique combo of letter and numbers (up to seven spaces) PER STATE.
Holy crap, NOW WE HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM!!!


In other words, our state has 105 counties which had 53 HUSKER plates, 43 JAYHAWK plates,38 GITRDUN, 37 CHIEFS, 36 2FAST4U, 35 SPOILED, 34 SOONER, 34 BLESSED, 33 MYTOY, and 32 REDNECK.


Already my questioning mind wants to know....

1. Why does Kansas have 53 HUSKER (Nebraska team!!!!) and only 43 JAYHAWK  (Kansas team !!!)
Kiddo #2 who is an alum of Univ. of Ne. will tell you because Nebraska  has a great fooball team, but he is willing to concede that Kansas has good basketball.
Simmer down, Kansans, he is looking at it from a Husker point of view.

2. Were there really 38 people in this state that wanted GITRDUN on their car.  It nearly makes me ashamed to live here.  And the 32 that wanted REDNECK are adding fuel to the flame. 

3.  What are the numbers for duplicates for K STATE and MIZZOU.  There would have to be a whole bunch of those too. Why were they not mentioned in the article.  Is the writer anti K-staters or anti-Tigers?

Now people are having to rethink all of those duplicates and try to come up with ONE "unique to the state" idea. 

Seemingly, I am having more fun with this than the person that had one of the Jayhawk plates in her family for 33 years.  The odds of her being the first  to request that plate is not likely.  She better get used to having
SCREWED on her plate.

Which lead to the whole issue of getting by the plate censor guys.  Yesterday, hubby happened to notice something he was reading about a guy with the last name  Annis.  Hubby was thinking that was an unfortunate last name but what is more important is there is NO way that guy can put that on a vanity plate.  Although you can never say never. I have seen a plate that said AZZ BOY.  Tell me how did that get by a censor?  Also, WTF is on a plate.  Do the plate police not text????

Kiddo #2 was telling me (back when he was in college) about some of the requests his moronic yet creative classmates tried to get past the plate censors.  FUQUE for example or the next logical derivative FUQUEU

As far as putting last names on plates, I hardily discourage that.  My one venture into the world of personalized plates was when in a moment of insanity. (I get those moments pretty regularly) I decided to put my last name on a Missouri plate.  We lived in St. Louis and hubby was in a job that put his name out there where most people knew it anyway.  We were already in  "you can run but you can't hide" mode  People knew the car with or without the plate on it.  Then we moved to Grand Island, NE. with our car with a unique Missouri plate that boldly advertised our last name. To totally appreciate that you have to know our last name is extremely rare.  There are only a few and those few are in central Illinois, not in NE.

   To get us firmly entrenched in the town's rumor mill, I proceeded to lose control of said car going over an overpass on an "icy snow packed road" kind of day. Spinning numerous times around and around then into a ditch right down from the entrance of hubby's place of employment.  Everyone coming in to work that morning had something to talk to hubby about.  GREAT conversation starter.

A couple of last comments for those that insist on being creative with posting some hidden message or slogan on the back end of their vehicle is that some of you might not sound as clever as you think you are.  Some guy has a web site with all the plates he has had.  He claims that nobody can readily figure it out which leads to a lot of people following him to his next stop to inquire.  I find this somewhat hard to believe unless he is only stopped by really stupid people or he has exaggerated the facts to make is story more interesting.

His plate is AMIYY4U.  As it would turn out he is NOT too wise for me.  I would not be following him anywhere.

BUT every once in a while there is a plate in front of me that I just can't figure it out. It is like an itch that can't be scratched. What does it mean??? I have never resorted to following the car and its owner somewhere to ask though. Even my inquisitive mind has limits to "need to know".

The Good for the day....anything can be fun if you have a sick twisted mind

The Bad for the Day...That people are having all these huge stressful issues with the overly important license plate.

The Weird for the day.... Sometimes the license plate police have dirty minds