Dateline NBC

I watched Dateline last night and was in tears. Chris Hanson did a piece about foreclosures and it was heartwrenching. The one family that did it for me was a hispanic family who lived in Miami. They came to evict the family, the husband was at work. She was home with their two small children. The sheriff called the man at work and he came right home. This man works for the city, I believe the water dept. Chris Hanson asked him what happened. The man had bought the house and his mortgage was 2,000 a month. 5 years lated they doubled it, 4,000 a month. He had tears and said he simply couldn't do it. They loaded up the car and drove off to go sleep on the floor of a friends house. They showed a man in Vegas, crying on what was no longer going to be his front steps. He just kept saying, "What the hell, my daughter has a loser as a father, a loser, I can't keep a house". I do not have the stomach for this. Yes, we reap what we sow. Some of us have made poor choices. Maybe just one poor choice. What about the poor shmuck who gets up every fucking day and WORKS? Perhaps the collar of his frayed shirt is blue. The farmer with callouses on his arthritic hands, who's crop no longer yields a profit? Do you think the JP Morgans' are concerned? Yes, they bailed out the banks. The banks have money; they are sittting on it and not lending it. I love where I live. I love my country. Sadly I am starting to awaken to the fact that no amount of santizer can clean the hands of those that manage our loans and money. Help must come from our inner core and our belief in the constitution and our rights as Americans. Help will come in the form of neighbors with a roast. The mechanic down the street who will ply his trade to fix your car so you can go look for a job. The community will help the community. I am not going to look to the folks at the top of the mountain. They have nosebleeds and the blood is staining the valley.

Baggy Pants to the rescue!!!!

The boy is good. I re-installed a clean copy of windows xp, and than encountered tech idiots. I was having trouble connecting to the internet and I am hard wired, so it did not make a lick of sense. Well, the 5th techie told me my media card was destroyed and I must go purchase one. That isn't happening as my money has other priorities. So I get Jesse on the phone and he talk me through installing drivers for sound, video, modems etc. We spent about 20 minutes on the phone last night and he talked me through the drivers installation. Than K switched the ports and bam, no money spent on an un-needed media card, and I have a clean, sweet running computer. This Dell was on the verge of being submerged in the lake out front. J amazes me. How does a kid who can't get up for school, can't cook or wash clothing suddenly turn into Techno Man, cape and all, when gadgetry is put in his hands. He has been doing this since he was 15, built his first computer at 17. When he was talking me through the drivers he sounded like a grown man with infinite knowledge. He said, "Ma, this is what I do". Yes this is what he does and I am beaming with pride.

My beautiful baby is sick!

Of course I am referring to my Dell. I have been tweaking it and the sad thing is Baggy Pants was always around to snap his fingers and fix it. Alas not now. I believe it is some type of Vundo virus. Kenny swears this is proof that the internet is one big government conspiracy to monitor our actions. Yes, he is schizo, but some of the statements that come from his mouth have a ring of sanity. This is a man who believes google is operated secretly by the "powers that be". Does it really matter? Everything we do is monitored these days by someone. Move across the pond and you are watched on every street you stroll by an electric eye. That is now becoming quite common in the US as well. There are really no woods to hide in, the lens probaby lurks in the leaves. I wonder about these viral infections, web bots and what-nots. Why create a virus? Why monitor my searches? I am a very boring person. Is there a Dell doctor in the house?

Wants and Warrants etc.

Just when I get settled in I receive a huge sum of mail yesterday. One of which is a court date for Harford County, MD. Turns out I have a civil courtcase today in Md. I owe $869.00 in back child support. That's it. The whole irony of this case is that I have two children. Both of them are from my first husband, who was a drunk. When we split, I kept Baggy Pants aka Jesse, and he kept the older boy Jason. A few years later Jason went to go live with his paternal grandmother. Dwayne, baby's daddy, never paid a dime, worked under the table etc. I worked, I got sued for child support. Jason is 23. I never got ONE penny for Jesse, as his mother always hid him from child support. So I had to pay. I called the courthouse and explained there was no possible way for me to be in Md. today at 1:30, and also told them that I will be able to pay the full amount on January 28th, which will close the case. The agent said she doesn't care, if I am not in court today, there will be a bench warrant issued. This is my question. This is a civil case not a criminal case. Do you think they will pursue transporting me from GA back to Md for $869.00? I have always kept every agreement, paid on time etc. I told her I just got my mail, she said, no dice. I understand she has to do her job and that is fine. Kenny thinks that I will just have an open warrant in Md. and as long as I don't get pulled over ( I rarely drive), I will be fine and we can pay it on the 28th of Jan. I was under the belief that this was paid off, so I was devastated yesterday. I am so happy here and I felt such a release of anxiety. It is beautiful. In about 2-3 months we will be sitting pretty financially. So again, to the few wonderful people who read my dribble, do you think I will be safe for the next month or so until I can pay the money? Do you think they will pursue transporting me? This is making me ill. Kenny said not to worry about things you have no control over. The only way I can change this is through money, which I simply do not have until the date I stated. Just for kicks I looked up some most wanted child support offenders and they owe amounts like, $45,000, $123,000, $10,000 etc. So there is a black cloud hanging over my lake today. I have never not shown up for court. It isn't physically possible. Do you think Kenny is right? I would like to be able to exhale a little. Sorry for not being my normal optimistic sunny self.

No blue money this year..

The town that we have just settled into has a very depressed economy. The kid that delivered our washer and dryer from Sears is actually a trained pipe fitter, but can't find work, so he lugs appliances around town for a living. This is one of the few places where being on a fixed income brings more security than having a job. My brother works for Bank of America. Lay-offs are pending, and I hope he isn't one who receives that random pink slip. I watch people shop in the grocery stores, picking up items, and than sighing, put those items back on the shelves. Soup and grilled cheese are now on the menu for dinner instead of lunch. Parents trying to surprise their children for the holidays, getting cash advances and car title loans to buy all those presents that are becoming hard to pull out of their ass every year. Hawking the mailman for THE CHECK. Whoring out whatever skills you have to stay ahead of the utility bill. Festivities seem hollow this year. I wonder how merry our auto workers are? Optimism seems to be what keeps me moving forward, yet it is wearing a bit thin. Aw shucks, we are pissin' in the wind and it's blowin' on all our friends. (John Prine has great quotes)