Traveling Amber

The void that expands inside when one is discarded then forgotten never quite contracts all the way.  The joy  from during and the pain from afterward remain.  Remarkable.  Hurts.

Anyway.

The wind is rising outside.  Began when I was stacking wood into my arms a few minutes ago.  Can hear the bell ringing now.  It'll be cold tonight.  Need to buy more Jameson.  Almost did on the way home from work, but got sidetracked.  Corrective action tomorrow.

I can't remember a single moment in my life that the Bee Gees sounded good to me.  I found it all rather embarrassing - for them.  I hope they enjoy(ed) the money they made.  Two are dead, right?  If I recall, all sorts of incriminations about negligent medical care flew when the first one went room temperature.  Then one of them bought Johnny Cash's house.  Burned to the ground because of some lacquer or something they used during the remodeling.  Sorry, but I found that humorous.  I liked Johnny a lot.  Having a Bee Gee move in just didn't feel right.

One of the young friends in my life met Johnny.  He taught my friend how to play slide guitar.  The kid's got a lot of talent.  I've got two personal stories relayed to me first hand about Johnny.  Both tell of a really nice person.  I'm glad.  We share a birthday.  Did you know that?

I read that some 9-year old said to Michelle Obama that if Romney wins he'll be made to work in a field picking crops. She should have, of course, reassured the lad that nothing like that would ever happen again in our country, and that whatever change comes we always move forward.  Forward.  That should resonate with her.  But something tells me that Mrs. O liked hearing that.  How pathetic the Affirmative Action Baby Generation is.  

So if the opportunity to back up your life were presented to you, and you would lose all the knowledge you gained between now and then, how far back would you go?  If you could instead retain certain aspects of your present knowledge, would you?  Would your motivation for going back be about avoiding mistakes you made - meeting someone much earlier than you did the first time - helping someone else - making a pantload of money because you bought IBM at $2, Apple at $22, and Microsoft at $19, and then bet correctly on the World Series game by game for 30 years straight?  Even if you retained your knowledge, changing one major thing from 30 years ago would alter everything afterward.  It's tempting, and I have a lot of regrets past and present, but I don't think I would.  I'll play the hand I was dealt.

People who cannot hear well turn up televisions incrementally until they are pretty FRICKING LOUD.

Sorry.

I get coupons in the mail all the time.  The one I got yesterday from Go Daddy reads "20% OFF* your purchase of $40 or more!"  I follow the ad copy looking for the asterisk.  It's on the other side bottom in rather small type.  I plow through.  It may as well read "*Does not apply to anything Clyde has ever or would ever buy from us."  But if it applies to you, use what they call a source code - gdc132cb - at check out.

I've toyed with years the thought of finding the heirs of John E. Robison.  He died in the early 1970s.  When he retired from the Magee Carpet Company in Bloomsburg on March 17, 1950, after 35 years of service, the company gave him a really nice gold wristwatch.  Every morning when I dress I wind it up and put it on my wrist.  Maybe I'll pull some courthouse records.  We'll see.  The family must have sold it.  A friend bought it for me from a jewelry store in town.

Got a $7 off $20 purchase coupon in today's mail for Ace Hardware.  Restrictions are minimal.  I'll use it.  Thanks.  Oddly, though, the "minimum purchase" is calculated after the coupon is applied, so I have to spend $27 to qualify.  I think that's misleading. Might be worth a class-action lawsuit.  Ill make a couple of million dollars as the lead attorney, and all the customers will get coupons for fifty cents off seasonal products*

*Does not apply to Easter, July 4th, Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas items.

There's some BBC show about a doctor.  Dr. Martin.  He's obnoxious.  And even more so when it's on really FRICKING LOUD.

Net new jobs created under Obama - 194,000.  New people added to Food Stamps - 14.7 million.  Ouch. Loser.

Michael Barone - Romney 315, Obama 223.  I've thought for some time now that Romney would break 300.  The key is going to be his coattails - can he be strong enough to bring a few Senate races with him?  The numbers run up to 53 for pubs and up to 52 for dems.  All the pubs need is 50.  Ryan will be the full-time tie breaker.  I might watch MSNBC election night just to see Matthew rent his clothes and put on sackcloth and ash.  Wouldn't surprise me if he projectile vomited when Ohio is called for Romney.  If he lasts that long.  I think Pennsylvania is a very real problem for Obama - he could lose it as early as 830PM election night. A spontaneous combustion live on television would put to rest a lot of speculation. Then when us East Coasters wake up the next morning to see Oregon flipped to Romney, it'll just be a sweeter cup of coffee.

Alright, gonna wander outside for a few until the cold bites me.  Bye for now.