Happy 4th of July

Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July

I Have a Few Questions

I am a question asker or maybe I am more of a question thinker. On any given day, I think of  a few... more than a few...OK a  lot of questions, to which I would love to know the answers.  Mind you I don't always ask them aloud  or pose these questions to other people but still I question a  LOT of things. 

This has not always been the case.  There were times that I should have asked questions and didn't.  I got off to a rather shaky start  regarding  WHEN and WHEN NOT to acquire further information before moving forward.

When I started first grade, I was a nervous and timid.  These  traits would stay with me  for quite awhile  but the worst day was the FIRST day. (our school district didn't have kindergarten back then, so this was the first time I had been in a school)

After we all got seated  at our desks, Mrs. Wolfe passed out some paper and told us to get out our crayons.  I noticed the girl next to me started drawing a picture on her paper.  That seemed like a good idea at the time. So I start a little picture of my own.  When Mrs. Wolfe noticed "girl next to me" was drawing she had her come up to the front of the classroom scolded her and gave her a swat with a paddle.  (this was pretty standard fare in the late 1950's)

I had never been so frightened in my life (well...up to that point, I have topped that level of  being scared many times over since then).  I am expecting to be spanked in front of the class on the very first day of first grade. Of course, I had to get caught first.  I was shy but not necessarily stupid, so I had already flipped my paper over and now was waiting for further instructions.  By lunch time I was a mess.  As I sat crying in the cafeteria and proceeded to throw up my lunch. Someone from the school sent for my mother to retrieve me.

 I did, by the way avoid getting paddled for several reasons. (1) The other girl was repeating the 1st grade and had a history of being "a problem" so she had that going against her. I am not saying that was right, I am stating that it was a rare day when she wasn't in trouble over something or another.  (2)  Being really small for my age, I  looked like a baby  and seemingly acted like one too.  I was sent home at lunch time every day  for the first couple of weeks but hardly ever did I leave prior to crying and throwing up. (3) Mrs. Wolfe truly was a wonderful teacher and was patient with me.  I could read and write really well at that point and my missing some afternoons didn't seem to shake her up much.  Maybe she knew that I would be the subject of conversation for years to come and had pity on me.  My vomiting stories still are a  hot topic in the "remember when" category when I see my old classmates.  It must have left a lasting  impression as that was 51 years ago. 

Back to the premise...I should have asked the question...what next?  What are we doing here with this paper? 

 Over the years I have developed the tendency to be cautious  and make sure I have all the information I need before preceding.  This comes with some dos and don'ts, however.  There is definitely a protocol to asking the appropriate questions and the number of allotted questions before the people around you start begging for your head on a platter. This protocol is commonly referred to as O' QUAP. (official question asking protocol.)  I respect and adhere to O'QUAP as much as humanly possible.


For example:  Continuing education classes.   There is always that person that turns a 3 hour class into a 4 hour class because of their incessant questions.  Not only do they ask "not-stop" questions but they are STUPID, DUMB ASS questions.  Whoever said there are no stupid questions is NUTS.  Of course, there are stupid questions and there are stupid question askers.  These, by the way, are referred to in "question asking circles"  as SO QUAPPY (Stupid Obtuse Question-Asking People Perpetually Yammering)

As a Realtor, we take a lot of classes about ethics.  I suspect as Realtors we need a lot of classes on ethics as it seems a lot of the group still doesn't understand the concept.  In these classes we go over and over the fact if a real estate agent knows of a material defect with a property or something that can adversely affect the value of a property we need to disclose that to a potential buyer.  What each state considers "material defects" differs greatly but frankly if you want to CYA you really should be disclosing what you know.

 Invariably the instructor will be talking  ad nauseam about disclosing defects when someone will ask 

 Annoying Person "Do we need to disclose if the basement has flooded?"

Instructor "If you know this to be a fact, yes you do."

AP..."Do we need to disclose a leaking roof."

Instructor  "Yes"

AP "How about a murder?"

Instructor  "That's not really a material defect but yes if you know it, disclose it."

AP... " How about termites,....how about wood rot....how about mold....how about ghosts...how about the sinking foundation...how about recalled siding...how about the Walmart slated to be built next door...how about the pedophile that lives next door...how about the lead paint, how about crack in the basement floor, how about the previous owners meth lab, how about train track behind the fence..... on and on and on

I might mentioned that nine times out of ten, the person that keeps asking these questions has been a real estate agent for 15, 20, 25 years or some such thing.  The brand new agents think they have all the answers.

So...while I do ask questions, I try to NOT ask so many questions that it annoys the people around me.  Therefore, my plan is now to ask my blog readers to sporadically answer some of my questions.   On some days instead of the Good, the Bad and the Weird, I am going to throw out some of the things that puzzle me. 

Such as....here are a few questions on my mind today...

Why do the guys that spend the money to buy Corvettes drive 30 miles an hour in a 45 mile speed limit zone when they are in a residential area?  This isn't just once in a while.   This is chronic.   They have spent big money to buy a bright yellow car that is capable of going 60 miles an hour in 3.4 seconds but drive substantially under the speed limit in town.  WHY?

Conversely, why do the drivers of these powerful performance cars drive 85+ miles an hour in a 65 mile an hour zone on the Interstate?  Isn't he just asking for a ticket?  I mean he is in a canary yellow car? OR bright red OR metallic blue..whatever... aren't they "rolling the dice"  with both their insurance rates and the State Cop that is waiting  to nab them? Why do they still have a valid driver's license?

Why do all the schools have those signs that say this is a drug free zone?  If they are referring to illegal drugs, all the streets are drug free zones. If they are talking over the counter drugs and you have taken your Zantac or Sudafed, do you need to take a different route?

Why do people buy some piece of trash disguised as marketing genius off of an infomercial and then act shocked that it is a piece of crap?  THEN they throw out the "the man said it would do this and this without you having to ever do that and that".   Really, when you are buying something that is supposed to be miraculous for the low price of "not one but ...wait...two for $19.95", why are people surprised that it is garbage.

NOTE:  As a salesperson, let me point out something while we are here anyway....salespeople are trying to SELL you something.  It is their job to slant things creatively to get you to BUY what they are selling.  This is true of any product, service or political agenda. 

Why do people at funerals go on and on about how wonderful and/or beautiful  the deceased looks?  I have been to a lot of funerals and I will even admit that some morticians do  remarkable work.  Still the deceased is not looking their very best.  Never have I thought the guest of honor looked the best they have ever looked.

My friends, have you any answers to these questions?  I have plenty more to ask and I don't want to impose BUT I would welcome your insight to these little mysteries.

I would also, welcome your questions?  What troubles you? 

This video isn't really about questions but it was one of the things I listened to on my afternoons at home.  It was a big hit in 1958. 

Friday Around the Water Cooler 7/01/2011

I have decided that I will be putting dates on the Friday Water Cooler posts so when I need to go back they should be easier to find the appropriate one that I am in search of.

This week is still looping the CRAP news loop from last week  (conflicts, rising water, Anthony trial and politics) from last week with a few additions.

Here are a few of the lesser aired stories that you might of missed.

DUSTY THE KLEPTO CAT DOES COMMUNITY SERVICE




In case you aren't familiar with Dusty and his ongoing life of crime, here is a video to get you up to speed.



Well, while no one is entirely sure if Dusty is reformed but last Saturday he did give back to his community by sponsoring a "Steal Your Heart" event for the Peninsula Humane Society.

Dusty was adopted from the Peninsula Humane Society as a kitten in 2006.  Reports said that Dusty remained calm as people made their donations to the cause and received a little towel with Dusty's name and paw print.  As community service goes it sound better than picking up trash along a highway...oh wait...I think Dusty likes picking up stuff.

I think Dusty looks good in black and white.  

Gardening with your Husband

Gardening could be a great hobby to do with your husband providing both the wife and the husband are breathing.  

In 2010,  it came to the attention of the Raleigh police department that something was amiss at the home of the now deceased Ruth Bostic had lived.  The mailman reported that the mail box was over flowing and she hadn't come out to greet him in over a month.

While the articles don't really tell the circumstances surrounding Ruth's demise, it does say that the neighbors were under the impression that David Bostic, Ruth's husband, was placed in a long term care facility after suffering a stroke. The police started the process of trying to find him. 

Prior to her death the  eccentric Ruth, had told a number of people that she had put David in a nursing home in the mid 1990's.  She went on receiving Social Security benefits deposited into their joint account for the next 15 years before her own death.  In fact, she collected $93,000.00 in benefits for David.

While her house exterior and interior were both shabby and unkept her flower garden flourished.  The neighbors said she tended the garden regularly and appeared to talk to herself.  Because Ruth had no children and had become estranged from any remaining family members, no one actually went searching for David until Ruth died. 

So in the news this week, we find out where David is.  He was planted in the flower garden.  One of the detectives starting putting together the pieces of the hours Ruth spent tending the garden while talking and decided to dig it up.  Sure enough, David was there.

I think both hubby and I would agree not to bury the "other" as it frankly would be a lot of work.  Kansas soil is crappy and that would be hard digging a hole big enough to accommodate a body.

Turtle Fun Run at JFK

This year as in previous years, there have been some flight delays due to the turtles that come out of Jamaica Bay in Queens to look for higher ground to lay their eggs.  It turns out that there is a nice sandy spot on the other side of the runways at JFK airport. 

This week flights were delayed for about 30 minutes because of the closure of Runway 4L. Reports from the  airport stated this wasn't of any significance, they just had to move approximately 150 turtles to clear the runway. John Kelly, a spokesman, said in regards to the sandy area "It is a naturally provided turtle maternity ward.  When your airport is surrounded by water, your neighbors sometimes come in the hard shell variety."

On the Jet Blue Twitter account..Running over turtles is not healthy for them and it isn't good for our tires.

Another airline posted on their blog "the turtles were unsuccessful in getting a flight to the Caribbean. Maybe next year fellas."

From the control tower...One pilot said "We've got a couple of turtles storming the access road here to our right."  The response was " Are you really using the word storming about a turtle?"

In response to the headlines referring to the turtles as being SEX CRAZED, one Twitter account @JFKTurtles has the tweet  "we aren't as much sex crazed as we are motivated."

There was also the tweet "We go straight to the runway because it takes 5 hours to get out of our shells for the TSA."

Anything can be fun if viewed in the right perspective.

One more story for the week of a more serious nature...

What is worse than texting or sexting while driving?

A Florida man was arrested after another motorist reported that he had spotted a man smoking a bong while driving. 

Phillip Winters, was taken into custody by the Cape Coral police after being stopped in a van with 5 young children passengers. He had been toking a marijuana pipe while driving.  Within the van there were additional pipes and marijuana residue.  At the time of the arrest the driver was showing signs of impairment according to the police report. 

I am shaking my head in disbelief that people can be this stupid.

The Good for the Day...cats can be cute, even thieving cats.

The Bad for the Day...doing anything while driving other than driving

The Weird for the Day...sensationalizing a story to the point the the headline reads, SEX CRAZED TURTLES CLOSE JFK.   That is pandering to the salacious.

With that in mind, I was thinking about giving the turtles a theme song.  Doesn't everyone need a theme song??    I was torn between Avril Lavigne's Runaway, because of the line  "you can't kick me down, I'm already on the ground" ...perfect huh?? except for the part about crashing the car and the phone not working.

So I ended up choosing Runaway by Three Doors Down.  To make this theme song work, you have to think about it from a runaway turtle's point of view.