TV Hillbillies (not the ones from Beverly)

This whole business with the duck dude really annoys me.
I refuse to use his name or the name of his show. Get over it.

I get it. He's a religious person.
I support his right to have whatever fracked up beliefs he wants.
I even support his right to not be jailed for expressing those beliefs. (1st Amendment and all)

However - I also have the right to call him out as an insensitive, ignorant, mouth-breathing bigot.

In his GQ interview - he all of the sudden starts talking about genitals and sin. No one asked!
Did you read the thing?

Please - go. Read. Here's the link. That GQ article about the duck guy. It's the whole thing. Not just the snippets.

Ok, you read it? All of it?

Including the parts where blacks were "Happy" during pre-civil rights times?

Yeah. That.

This guy is a moron. Moronosis Terminalis.

The network A&E had every right to "suspend" him because of what he said. He made the network look bad - and that's against his contract. Again - not the government - but a business. If I were to walk into my place of work and start saying the garbage he was saying, first, it would be construed as sexual harassment.
If I were to walk around and get some publicity AND identify myself as an employee of {company} that {company} would fire me!

All of the hand-wringing and bible-thumping about this hillbilly is just religious fanaticism. Yes, religious fanaticism on par with the flag-burning, Sharia supporting Muslims in the middle east.
What?
You don't see the connection?

It's there. These proselytizing hillbillies (and their supporters) would like nothing better than for their religion to be the law of the land.

Just like those fanatics across the pond. (link to Pat Condell Vid)
 
Plenty of links. Things to read. Things to watch.

I'm off to do some laundry.

Feeling old today.

There's nothing like hearing about the death of a former classmate to make you feel old.

Typical Sunday for me - I was just scrolling through Facebook and reading favorite blogs on Bloglovin, when I saw a post on a friend's FB page. He's a friend who doesn't spend a lot of time there, so it's usually a pleasant surprise when there's a post.

Not so pleasant this time.

It was a post by his wife, logged into his account (and tagging herself so we would know it was her) telling us he had died in his sleep last night.

This man was MY AGE. We were class of 1988 - so 43-44 years old.
And he died in his sleep.

This was, as far as I knew, a fairly healthy man. He played hockey. He still played drums.
And now his wife of over 13 years is a young widow.

It does make me think about my own mortality. I'm his age. I'm not in excellent health.
Yes, it crosses my mind that someday my husband might have to log into my Facebook account and do the same thing.

Back when we were in school, death and middle age seemed so far off. Now, it is reality. We've lost so many of our classmates, so many of our friends, so many of our relatives.
The difference now is that we find out about these things on social media. No, this isn't the first time I've found out about a death via Facebook. It isn't even the 2nd. And yes, I've found out about relatives deaths via Facebook.

Maybe someone should invent Deathbook... then us old folks could go read it daily like previous generations used to read the obituaries in the newspaper (remember those, newspapers?).

Bah. Ramble over.

Time for dinner.

Finally, an image or 3

I've never posted an image here. Why? Who knows.

This was my cat, Nike. She was a sweet old girl (to me anyway).
And she was Queen of the Planet.

I still miss my old girl. She passed at 19 years old about 5 years ago.

This was Nike as a small kitten. As you can see from the pics above, she did finally grow into those ears. ;)

Another cool set of giveaways!

It's no secret that I follow a LOT of neat blogs. Mostly crafty/foody blogs.
Well, another one of my favorite follows has a SET of giveaways! All Rafflecoptor giveaways, so they're easy as pie.
Ok, pie can be difficult if you're baking impaired like me - how about easy as EATING pie!

A Night Owl Blog has 5 giveaways in one!

Just go there. And follow - because in addition to the giveaways, there is always fun and information.

I got pulled over...

I got pulled over last night on the way home from work - but it turned out ok.

Normally, I tend to have a "heavy foot" when driving. I live out in the country, and traffic is not anything like it is in the cities. We have open expanses of roads with the occasional tractor and chicken truck.

Anyway, I have been VERY careful lately with my speed. I don't need {cough}another{cough} ticket. Since it is holiday time, the state troopers have been out in force.
I was right on the speed limit. People were passing me - and I noticed someone following closely. Upon mirror examination, I figured it was a state trooper.
Following. Closely.

I followed every traffic law to the letter - turn signals, proper lane changes, proper speed - you know, being a "good driver".
I pulled to a stop at a traffic light - then the trooper pulled in right behind me (even though there was an open lane next to me).
Uh-Oh.
When the light turned green, I moved along - aaaand on came the blues.

Sigh.

I pulled over, turned off my radio, got out my license, and put my hands up on my steering wheel. Yes, I do know the drill thankyouverymuch.

When the officer walked up, I opened my window - he asked for my license and said, "Mrs Womack, you still live at this Martin Address?"
"Yessir."
"You're probably wondering why I pulled you over."
"Yessir."
"Your brake lights aren't working."

I was confused. I asked him if he was sure - because I mostly just let my engine slow me down (remove my foot from the gas).

He said that my turn signals worked and the tail lights worked - but that the brake lights didn't come on.

"I'm going to check out your information, and if everything comes back OK, then I'll let you continue on your way with a verbal warning."

"Thank you, Sir. While you are doing that, I'm calling my husband to tell him about the brake lights."

While he was at his cruiser, I called Jamie and told him what was going on - and I repeatedly tapped the brakes to see if the lights came on.
They didn't. :(

The officer came back and told me to be careful going home. I let him know that I had called my husband, and he would check it out as soon as I got there.

I thanked him, and wished him a happy Thanksgiving.

When I got home, the hubby managed to fix the problem. It was a faulty switch for the brake lights.
So, YAY, it is fixed - and we had a spare, so no cost.
And no ticket.

I wish I had gotten the trooper's name. He was completely polite and professional - and *pleasant*. He was working outside on a freezing night before a holiday - and he was great. I would love to be able to pass that along to whomever keeps track of such things.

I was just so thrilled to NOT be getting a ticket I forgot to get his name.
I was also happy that someone else on the planet was, in fact, looking out for the safety of folks on the road.

If you're traveling - check out your car. Be careful. Be mindful.

I follow some awesome bloggers

I follow some awesome bloggers - and many of them do great giveaways!

Illi Style has a $100 Target gift card giveaway!

It's one of those "Rafflecopter" giveaways, so it's easy.

Go check it out. And read the other posts too. Just sayin.

Whatever happened to...

I sometimes wonder whatever happened to some folks I went to school with. Mind you, I'm in my 40s now - so it has been quite a while - but I still wonder.

Most of my wondering though, is about if I even ever registered on their radar as a person who was ever there or ever important.

I was NOT one of the popular kids. I was poor. I dressed funny. I was very tall and "chunky". I didn't have in-style hair or clothes. I wasn't in on any of the popular activities.

I was pushed aside, ridiculed and bullied by the popular kids.

So was I remembered by any of these people?
Because I do remember them.

I have, on occasion, tried to "friend" some of these people on FB. Rarely will I even get a response. I wonder if it is because I'm still not one of the pretty and popular people, if they have even the slightest inkling of guilt about how they treated another person, or if I was just utterly forgettable.

I just sometimes wonder.