Love a fair...

Going to the State Fair tonight. Yep, gonna do bingo, Cary United Methodist Church ham biscuits, Al Beckwith fries and fresh lemonade. Maybe a bite of my son's turkey leg, too. And, for a sweet something after it will be a candy apple.

I am an aficionado of fairs. I've had more cotton candy, popcorn and candy apples than you'll EVER see. No need to argue with me about it. Trust me. How can this be true you ask? Am I pulling your leg? Exaggeration?

I grew up on a carnival. I am a Carnie. I have saw dust in my veins. Yep. A genuine, dyed in the wool, 100%, no doubt about it Carnie. And I am proud of it.

My Dad was general manager and booking agent for carnivals when I was growing up. We traveled to a new place each week. East coast...name the place and I've been there and done that, got the stuffed animal to prove it. Great memories! Great adventures. Great times.

Unlike a lot of Carnie kids, I was at home in NC during school. The day school was out Mom picked us up and we were gone till the day before school started.

Yeah, I know a little bit about "going to the fair". No brag but at one time I had a list of names of girls from all over the place from Indian to NJ and south to Virginia. I've spent more money on stamps than you can imagine a teenager should ever spend. My first true love was a girl from Vevay, Indiana. I remember her as if it was yesterday. Broke my heart to leave her that week. I called her and wrote her for a very long time. I think of her often when my kids are dating and talking about their "true loves". Don't get me wrong, I don't long for her, I am remembering first love feeling and experience. I think it was a big reason I knew what real love was when I met my wife. I'll always be grateful for that experience. The first time you connect with another person that breaks your heart...makes you feel like your world ends with them...and makes you want to be with them for ever.

Being a Carnie taught me about friendship, loyalty, hard work, being dependable, trust and family. It taught me self respect, self reliance, confidence and what inner strength was. I was visiting Evansville, IN with my Dad. He was trying to convince them to book with his fair. (Fair's compete for business just like other companies.) The committee told us it was up to Mr. Green. So we went looking for him at the fairgrounds. We saw a man on a tractor cutting grass and he stopped to ask if he could help. My Dad apologized for his needing to stop and before he could say anything else I spoke up and said in that simple youngster voice "Hello sir, how are you? You have a nice tractor." My Dad tussled my hair and grinned. He did not apologize for me speaking up, he thought it was great. My Dad and I were close and I went everywhere with him just to be around him. I knew it would be OK to speak. The gentleman grinned and he and I chatted for about 5 minutes. Dad had all day. Finally the man on the tractor asked what he could do for my Dad. Dad said we were looking for Mr. Green. The man on the tractor said he was Mr. Green. He and Dad hit it off and Dad go the business. Mr. Green became a friend of the family and every year stopped in to stay with us on his way to and from Florida. It was always one of my favorite times of the year.

Yeah, going to the fair brings back memories, lots of memories. Some better than others. Maybe I'll share some more tomorrow.

Take your kids to the fair. See all the shows, exhibits and ride some rides. Build those memories. They last a life time. Now, for some cotton candy!

LUNCH is ready...

One of the joys of working from home is a decent lunch. Today is German Bologna with fixing. A good "sammich" ( as a Navy pal of mine calls them) is hard to beat. I especially like mine with lettuce and tomato and a little mayo (Duke's brand). I included a slice of swiss to round it off.

When making a sandwich I think the order of the materials is very important. Bread should be on the outside. If bread is on the inside things get sloppy.

Mayo only 1 side, please. Tomato next to mayo and then lettuce. Meat comes next. Then cheese and finally bread.

The tomato, mayo, salt and pepper combination is crucial. It is like a tomato sandwich with meat and cheese added.

This does not apply to banana sandwiches. They have a totally different criteria.

Here is a pic of today's creation. Notice the great salt and pepper jars Ron Philbeck made for me! Thanks Ron, we love them and use them every day!

OK, you cracked pepper heads. No whining that only fresh cracked/ground pepper is good. I cook a lot and I do both and both have their place. I like pepper and this is not only fast and easy but pepper does not lose is flavor like some spices. Beside, the Barefoot Contessa uses ground pepper! So there!

To my college girl: Hope the cafeteria food is this good! I love you, mean it!

Lunch is over! BTW... It was an awesome sandwich!

Pain in the...shoulder. Better already.

For those that saw my posting about my adventure in Vegas, good news! The orthopedist say I did not tear anything and do not need surgery. Seems I have a calcium deposit (normal) that causes irritation when I lift my arm. I am back already to a full range of motion and hardly any pain. While it could flare up again, he is having me do a couple of PT sessions to work the remaining kinks out teach me some ways to keep it from bothering me. That and nothing strenuous for 3 weeks and Advil and I am good to go!

It was great news. He told me this was normal "for someone my age". When I told my daughter this her response was typical: "Oh Dad! Surgery would have been better to hear than 'for your age"'. Not to me. Wonder what she'll say in 30 years when she hears it?

Joe Plumber's Dream...A commentary

I've tried to not let my personal view on politics come through in my blog. It is fine if others do that, but somehow it distorts why I read their blogs. We all have views and opinions. If you really are unsure and want reasons to vote for one candidate or the other then email me. I'll gladly share you mine. I happen to think this is a personal decision that most of us have already made for whatever reasons.

I write my blog to share about my views on raising children, growing older and families. Those are the things that I care about and am or have experienced. Take for example where I mentioned my colonoscopy. Not a polite subject but I was going through it and talking about it can help me and others to know we all go through it. If you are 50 and have NOT had one, you need to, male or female. Women should have a mammography done regularly. I don't much about them but I know they are important.

I care about the American dream that I had and that I still have and that I want for my children. I care about our country, deeply. I don't think one president from ANY party will make that big a difference. Only a few times has it made a significant difference and then not huge. Please, if you want to debate this, call me or email me. I'll be glad to do it just not one sentence at a time.

My Bar stool Economics was not an endorsement of any candidate. I have studied economics and have 2 degrees in business. I love the stuff and found it both entertaining and informative.

My oldest daughter is trying to buy a house in a weird market. Prices are very low and yet money is tight. Foreclosures are everywhere. Very interesting times. I was studying business in the late 70's when interest rates were 20% and people were still borrowing money!

My brother-in-law sent me this link and I found it interesting. I encourage you to read it and think about it. I am not trying to get you to think about politics, far from it. It is about living, raising families and reaching for the American dream.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/19/schramm.entrepreneur/index.html

I hope each of you continue to reach for your dreams, whatever they are. As for me, I'm living mine. I have great kids that bring me joy everyday.

Barstool Economics...Or...How to get others to pay for your beer!

This was sent to me in an email. Not sure of the author but he/she should get a Nobel prize! Enjoy!

Our Tax System Explained: Bar Stool Economics
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this: The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing. The fifth would pay $1. The sixth would pay $3. The seventh would pay $7. The eighth would pay $12. The ninth would pay $18. The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59. So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers,' he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.' Drinks for the ten now cost just $80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from every body's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay. And so: The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings). The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings). The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings). The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings). The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings). The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings). Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. 'I only got a dollar out of the $20,' declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10! ''Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I got'. 'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks! ''Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor! 'The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill! And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier. For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

Filling a script...less worry

While in Vegas I went to the ER. I've blogged on this so no biggee. What is amazing is the drugstore visit. I've gone to the same store for 20+ years. My store was not available in LV so I went to the Walgreen's across the street from the ER. I watched the Pharmacist fill the script. Interesting. First, he was not hidden behind a counter over which I could not see. He worked at a bench down the side of a wall. To his right was the counter and I could clearly see him filling scripts. What was interesting was after he filled the script (which included verifying the pills and the script) he then scanned the form he had printed for the label and compared the pills to the image on the screen! What a great idea and a good safety check. I don't think my pharmacy does this and since they hide behind a tall counter it is hard to even guess. But I like this extra safety since I've had the wrong pills for my script at least 3 times in the past. Never a good thing and scary.

I'm going to check out the local Walgreen's here. I want to see what they do, which I suspect is the same thing. Might be time for a change.

BTW...even though I knew he had checked them twice I went on line when I got back to the hotel and pulled up the Watson site and verified the script/pills myself. I am paranoid about these things. It took about 2 minutes and I could then take the pain pills with one less worry on a pain taxed mind.

Viva Home!

Made it home, arm in sling and all. The flight back was very nice. Smooth and quiet. Or as quiet as a Southwest flight can be. I don't fly them often but they had direct service to Vegas so I chose them to save hours. They have the best seats, service and personnel of any airline I fly. Seriously. More room between the seats, more comfortable seats and no "hidden charges". I checked 2 bags, no charge. I had cokes and snacks, no charge. I had a good aisle seat, no charge. And it was a cheaper flight than the indirect ones!

Went to the doctor today. She said to NOT wear the sling unless it was really needed. She made an appointment with the orthopedist for Monday. Guess I'll know more then. Shoulder is not hurting as much as it did the other night, but still hurts. Trying to take as little pain medicine as possible.

Going to see friends for breakfast. We're taking doughnuts and such and they are providing the coffee. We'll sit on their deck and enjoy the morning, the coffee and the friendship. I need that after being on the road.

Need to get some pics up and share the butterfinger cake up, too. Hopefully all this week. Saturday is all football and marching band. I love weekends! I think I'll get my daughter to do some cooking with me...never know what will come out of that!