View From The Ditch Bank

BLACK FRIDAY: Did you survive it? How about Cyber Monday. Now, I don't have a problem with either of those days, on a personal note. I don't participate in them as a lot of people do. I do wonder, though,about a couple or three of things. One of those things is, What is so important in a store, that would warrant camping out, in cold to freezing weather, for a day or more prior to Thanksgiving, just to be the first one in a store to buy something. And how about Cyber Monday. I heard that many people shop on line on that day, from work. Ummm, Uh! aren't these people supposed to be at work. Being paid by an employer to do work for said employer. On said employer's computer. Do employer's condone employees using company computers to shop online during business hours? I wouldn't, but then I'm old and old fashioned. Still, a days work for a days pay should be the mantra. And I wonder how many spend money they don't have, to buy things they don't need, to impress people they probably don't even like. And then spend most of the following year paying off the credit cards or store charge accounts. For said unneeded items. Well, maybe this year, not so much. I heard a tic ( that's a politician, for any who may be new to this blog ) say on the news a few days back, that the economy wasn't rebounding because the American people weren't spending money. Well, Duh! A lot of them are out of a job and don't have any money. Many that do have a job, are concerned that they might not have a job for long, so they are saving money. And the tic wanted those people to spend their money and not save it. Guess when you are a tic, you have enough money that you just don't understand that most Americans just don't have the spendable income that they do. Course, most of what they spend is the tax payers money any way. Maybe, when, and I'm optimistic enough to say when, the economy rebounds, people will spend money throughout the year, and businesses won't have to depend on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Then people can visit family on Thanksgiving day and employees can actually work and not shop on Cyber Monday. Yeah! in a perfect world. We could only hope. And That's the View From The Ditch Bank.

View From The Ditch Bank

NO, I DON'T REALLY NEED IT. Just this morning, on the Today Show, some gentleman was telling Matt Lauer about the latest electronic gizmo's. ( Heh, Heh a little play on words ) I don't remember all the things he was talking about. Fancy phones that do a lot of things. Some of them even make phone calls. There were gadgets that you can play on the TV, and I don't know what all. My point here is, he said These are things YOU NEED. Wrong. I don't need them.
Now, I have a cell phone. Sometimes I turn it on and make a call. I have several camera's, from a number of old 35 mm's to newer 35 mm's to a fancy digital camera. No added lenses, but still a nice camera. I want another camera, and I have one in mind I would like. I also want a Droid. I may get both of them next year, I may not. BUT I DON'T NEED THEM. I don't even need the ones I have. I lived very well with out ever having a cell phone. In fact, I live very well now without even turning on the one I have most of the time. I don't have a HD TV. I would like to have one, and probably will get one. But I Don't Need One. I don't even really need a TV. MLWFAE and I have friends that don't have TV's or if they have a tv to watch rented movies on, they don't have tv service. And they do just fine, thank you very much.
So, all these fancy things are very nice. And I use some of them, and will continue to take advantage of many of them. Like this computer that tells me when I misspell a word. Which is often. But, I don't need them. Oh! wait. maybe I need the computer. And how many of the other things I mentioned will eventually become needs. No! I resist. I will not succumb! I will not! I will not! I will not! I will not! I will not! And isn't that the way we are. We resist until we are wore down by the ads and the people telling us that we need these things. Well, I will succumb to some of the wants, but I still say, we do not need most of the things we are told we need. Food, shelter, clothing, those are needs. Transportation is necessary, but not as fancy as we are told we need. In this Thanksgiving time, there are so many in the world who have very little, or nothing, when most of us have so much, that I think we need, yes need, to contemplate on just what it is we actually need, and put it in perspective with the rest of the world. I wish for all, even all the world beyond those few who actually stoop to read this blog, a happy and satisfying Thanksgiving Day and a good Holiday season. And that's the Wish From The Ditch Bank

View From The Ditch Bank

WOULDN'T IT BE FUNNY. You know, if animals actually had a sense of humor. The fall deer hunting season is about over. Bears are getting ready to hibernate for the winter, many animals will be moving down from the high country to the low lands. Deer will be wiping the sweat of tension from their faces, as they won't have to be looking out for the legal hunter. Turkey's may have to be aware for a little while longer. That includes those with beaks and feathers. The other ones are always in season. But; maybe just one last prank, you know, to get the tension out. Before settling down to the activities of winter and having to put on a red nose and fly away, pulling a sleigh. Oh! different deer. Sorry. Well, have a good Thanksgiving day and a good holiday Season. May only post once next week, then back to some serious posting after that. Maybe.

And that's the wish From The Ditch Bank

View From The Ditch Bank

DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE A BOOK? One that is seldom read. I think a lot of people in this country could feel like a book, with the book ends being Los Angeles in the West and Washington D.C. in the East. Probably New York City backing up D.C. And what makes these book ends alike. Well, one makes the laws and the other ignores them. Or thinks they are above them. Wait, don't a lot of those making those laws think they are above them also. Guess they are a lot alike. Have you been keeping up with the Charlie Rangel thing. In case you haven't, you haven't been keeping up with the news. Good time Charlie has been under investigation by a House ethics committee for the past two years on ethics violations. And now they have found him guilty. And he is upset. But will he be sent to jail. Nope, Just censured by his "peers" in the house. Maybe. And, Maybe he will lose a few perks. He could be ousted from his job, but probably won't be. We will be watching, though. And perhaps commenting. Still, a house ethics committee finding one of its own guilty of ethics violations is kinda like a cop that speeds up and down the high ways when they are not in "hot pursuit' and then pulling over a private citizen and giving a ticket for speeding. Makes you wonder how they can do it. And with people like Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Charlie Sheen crying foul when they are arrested for their crimes, and people like Nancy Pelosi wanting to stay in power in the face of people not wanting her there, and the many other politicos wanting to keep the tax dollars rolling into their pockets, those of us that try to pay our taxes so they can fill their pockets, and abide by the laws of the land, feel squeezed between these two bookends. Those who make the laws and those who ignore them. Oh! wait. Maybe there are a lot of books in the middle that fit the bookend mold after all. And maybe "mold" is a good word to fit them with. Maybe it is actually people like me that hopes for a better future that fits the party mentioned in the Andy Capp cartoon. And That Is The view From The Ditch Bank.

View From The Ditch Bank

CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE? Flashing red and blue lights behind you and you pull over. Officer: "I need to see your license and registration and insurance papers. OK, I am citing you for littering and spreading a hazardous material on a public highway. You may choose to see a judge if you like." Driver: Well, I like.
Judge: How do you plead?
Driver: Not Guilty, Your Honor.
Judge: But the officer has the indisputable evidence.
Driver: May I present my defense, Your Honor.
Judge: OK go ahead
Driver: Well, it is like this. I saw an ad on TV for a brand of oil that would get me 30% better gas mileage, so I bought it and had it put in the engine of my car. Then I saw an ad on TV that said that their tires would give me 40% better gas mileage, so I bought them and had them installed on my car. Then I saw an ad in a car parts store for a spark plug that would give me 30% better gas mileage, so I bought them and had them installed in the engine. Then my dealer told me that if I would have their new improved air filter installed it would save me 15% on gas mileage, so I told them to go ahead. So you see, your honor, that added up to 115% better gas mileage and my car was making gas, so I had to remove the gas cap so the gas would have somewhere to go. And that is what the officer saw. If you need to blame someone, blame the advertisers that show all the savings that their products will bring about. And that's why I am not guilty. And that's the tale, er View From The Ditch Bank.

View From The Ditch Bank

AS THE SUN SETS: How was your morning. Last Sunday morning, to be exact. If you live in Arizona, USA, or Queensland, Australia, it was the same as any other Sunday morning in early November. Most every where else, you got an extra hour of sleep. Uh! sure. the body and mind will wake up according to what they have been doing for the last several months, regardless of what the clock said. And the birds will sing, the roosters will crow and the cows will need milked and the other animals fed according to a schedule that has nothing to do with the clock. Except that those things that have to do with human interaction will also change, according to the human set clock. The sun rises with only a minute change in time and latitude as the earth continues it's tilt to the north, sending the sun to rise more fully in the south for a period of time. On December 21, we here in the northern hemisphere will experience the shortest daylight day of the year, winter officially begins, and the earth will begin it's tilt back to the south, bringing the sun back north to lengthen the daylight time here. And in March 2011, except in those places more attuned to whatever it is they are attuned to, we will once again experience that change of the clocks, back to daylight saving time. I sure would like to know where they save it. The daylight, that is. And who they are. The Indian says daylight saving time is like cutting a foot off of one end of a blanket and sewing it on the other end to make it longer. Well, just like that blanket, the day is still 24 hours, regardless of where the hands point on the face of the clock. So, as the sun sets on the 2010 daylight saving time season, I think we would be better off to just decide where we want the hands to point on the clock for a 24 hour period and leave them there. Changing the clock don't change the sun, the spin or rotation, or tilt of the earth, or the time the rooster crows. Sometimes us humans just aren't satisfied with the way nature regulates things. And That's The View From The Ditch Bank.

View From The Ditch Bank

IS IT REALLY OVER: The election. No it isn't. Seems that a couple of States have yet to finish counting a few ballots. But THE ANNOYING ADS ARE GONE. I really didn't think I would revisit the political scene this soon, but decided I have a few thoughts to put to paper, uh! computer, before leaving that topic for a time. Maybe I'll wait until January 2011. Probably not, but who knows? And why then? You ask. Cause the new State legislature convenes for the 60 day session to decide what to do to us in 2011. New Mexico also has a new Governor to begin the new year. To me, she is the governor, and, I HOPE, will be a good one. But for those who like to keep track of those kind of things, she made history on two counts. First, she is New Mexico's first woman governor. Second, she is the Nation's first woman Hispanic governor of any state. While news media types have mentioned this item, many times, she has never mentioned it at all, that I have heard. Her opponent, Democrat Diane Denish, stated that the people made a mistake and she would have been the better choice to move this State forward, but she did ask her Democrat friends in the legislature to work with Mrs. Martinez and the Republicans in the legislature for the good of New Mexico. The legislature, like the State, is heavily Democrat populated. We will see what actually gets done. The first thing that Mrs. Martinez said she wanted done was to audit ALL State Departments and see which ones could actually sustain cuts and which ones could not. While many of us agree with this, there are those who say she can't or won't do it. We will see.

On the national scene, the President has decided the people want a change from his politics and was upset the the enemy ( that's what he called us Republicans) gave his party such a shellacking. He has decided that maybe he needs to work closer with the repubs now and see what can be done to get the economy moving. Of course his government pumped an additional $600 billion into the "Economy" right after the election, to the dismay of the Republicans and a lot of the people of the country. Just ran up the country's debt some more. A debt that the young people will have to pay off, if they ever can. He has called a meeting with the new and old leaders of the house to work on this. Oh! wait. he can't do that it yet. He's out of the office, again. Even out of the country until the middle of November. He's making a stop in India. Maybe he's checking out the Billion dollar house there. Getting ideas to remodel the White House, perhaps? Or a place to retire to, when he is out of office. Well, we can only hope that all works out in 2011 and 2012 for the good of the country. And that's Oh! the picture at the beginning of this post. Well, read the title of this blog.

View From The Ditch Bank

IT AIN'T ABOUT YOU: I assume that the few people who actually choose to read my ramblings took some time out of their day to vote. Assuming you were eligible to do so. And except for a possible few County or State politicians, most of the people running for office that said it was all about you, well, it ain't. It's all about them. And the power and perks that they envision they can collect.Especially the power. And about Democrats staying in power, and Republicans taking it away from them. But never about the people. I will note here, however, that the Republican Lady, Susana Martinez, did win the Governor position over the Democrat, Diane Denish. Mrs. Denish in her concession speech said that she would have been the better choice. Mrs. Martinez paid honor to Mrs. Denish for the years of service she had given to the State. Then she gave a good speech, and told what she wants to do. Time will tell if it happens. I hope so. Now, for most of those elected yesterday across the country, If they really wanted to be of service to the country, and since most of them in the National arena politic have more wealth than those of us average people can even dream about, they would take of that wealth and do some good with it, like Bill and Melinda Gates do. Quietly, going about doing good. But since it ain't gonna happen, I will comment on that in my usual uneducated manner.

Does the weather seem to be getting a little cooler now. It is, after all, fall, but the weather predicting type of people say it is one of the warmest falls on record since records started being kept over 100 years ago. Well, it will cool down now. In spite of what the weather people say, you know, about jet streams and La Nino or La Nina, or what ever is in the atmosphere, the warmth has been all that hot air coming from the mouths of those tics wanting to get your vote. And the burning of the millions of dollars on TV ads. Now that the mouths have been closed, and the fires have been doused, the weather will cool.

I was not raised in Arizona, but spent some of my youth visiting that State from time to time. Being in my teens during the 50's, that's the 1950's, I visited a cafe in St. Johns, Arizona from time to time. And on a placard on the wall was a poem that I memorized. Since we are now much removed for the 50's, and I am much past my 50's I have forgot exactly how the poem went. But, I have filled in a line or two of my own, and will quote the most of what that poem said. Here goes.

ELECTIONS ARE OVER

RESULTS ARE KNOWN

THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE

IS CLEARLY SHOWN

SO LETS FORGET ALL OUR SQUABBLES

AND SHOW MY OUR DEEDS

THAT TOGETHER WE HAVE

WHAT THIS COUNTRY NEEDS

AS WE LET ALL OUR DIFFERENCES

BECOME PART OF THE PAST

I'LL KISS YOUR ELEPHANT

AND YOU'LL KISS MY...DONKEY

I have often wished I could find a copy of that poem again, although that is mostly how it was written. Well, I hope all of you who are eligible actually did exercise you privilege to vote and did so for the candidate of your choice. But today many are probably seeing red and many more are feeling blue but whatever your feelings are, if you did not exercise your right to vote, but could have, well then I will quote another placard from the 50's that was on the wall of the above mentioned cafe. It simply said

KWITCHERBELLYAKIN

And that's The View From The Ditch Bank