Happy and Blue 2

A local clothing store is offering a free pair of socks with any purchase.
I feel compelled to buy something to get these free socks.

But it creates a dilemma for me.I already have socks. Lots of socks. Many pairs without holes. Well without large noticeable holes in them anyways.

Why do I crave these particular socks?

Is it because the picture shows someone wearing them that looks comfortable and warm.

Is it because they are free.

Who knows why? I just want them. I must have them. Now…..

Perhaps I’ll donate a pair of my other socks to charity. Someone who isn’t able to buy new socks may be excited about getting my old socks.

So, I’d be doing someone who doesn’t own socks with minor holes in them the opportunity to have a pair. For a nominal price. That charities charge for stuff that you give them for free. To help poor people.

Charities kind of make me angry when they do that.

Why do they feel compelled to profit from my generosity.

I’m going out of my way to give away my great junk so someone else can have it and then they charge them for the privilege.

Is it because poor people don’t want handouts. Or is it because charities want money to fuel their lavish lifestyles. Who knows the answer to that question either? Certainly not the volunteers who give up their time to work for the charities.

Maybe it would be better if I just handed some person who looks poorer than me a pair of socks. But that would be awkward. So I won’t do that.

Or maybe I should just not get new socks to begin with. It would save me money if I pass up the free offer.

And it would make me feel better knowing that those charities had less socks to sell.
Maybe my actions would be the ones that prevent them from going on a trip to the Bahamas.

So, that’s it then. No new socks for me..

I love my life. I’m so thoughful……..

Sarah began to cry but no one really noticed. At least that’s the way it seemed. And it made her cry even more.

Of course in life sometimes we cry alone. And sometimes someone hears our cry and comes to see what all the fuss is about.
And the old woman did hear the cry and went to investigate.

“Can I help you?” she asked of Sara. “Is something wrong?”
People tend to ask silly questions like “Is something wrong?” when something is obviously wrong. Not sure why we do it. But I’m also not sure how they make peanut butter cups with the peanut butter part in the middle of the chocolate either so I guess it doesn’t really matter. Life is full of mysteries..

Sara did however stop crying. Which is another oddity in life. Does having someone ask us if something is wrong when we are obviously upset make everything stop upsetting us. Perhaps it does. I don’t really understand why it would. But, life really is mysterious.
And odd..

“I’m trying to get my dolls to Marcie’s house and I can’t carry them all and they keep falling on the ground and they are getting dirty and…”Sarah started crying again.
“My life is horrible. Nothing good ever happens to me. I have the worstest life ever.”

“Calm down” said the old woman. “Perhaps I can help you.”
Asking someone to calm down is another oddity in life. Particularly where children are involved. Is being calm all that important in life. Is it necessary that children remain calm. Suppress their feelings. Perhaps it is. It certainly is in the case of sheep. Which of course aren’t human but the principle remains the same. One wild sheep can upset the whole flock. So remaining calm is an important trait among sheep from the sheep herders perspective. And cowboys felt the same way about cattle drives I suppose. One cow that lost its cool could make the whole herd run in the wrong direction.
So, I suppose we do want calm children. A herd of children who are all running off in the wrong direction would create havoc in our society.

Anyways, Sarah knew about being calm. So she just stood still and didn’t say much.

“We could put your dolls on my lap and I could take them to Marcie’s house.”
The old woman was sitting in an electric wheelchair so she actually could hold things on her lap. Otherwise the dolls placed in her lap would just fall on the ground. Which would be funny, to me, but not so much to Sarah I suppose. And since the story involves Sarah and not me the woman needs a viable lap for dolls to sit in.

“You are so lucky to have an electric wheelchair to ride around in” said Sarah. “I wish I had one.”

“I am a lucky lady” said the old woman. “I used to be able to walk just like you do but then I got sick and had to use this chair. Sometim..”

“Blah, blah,blah” said Sarah impatiently. As kids of today often do. “Let’s go.”

“You can sit on my lap as well if you want to” she continued. “There’s room.”
I’m guessing the old woman was somewhat robust to have an electric scooter wide enough to hold herself, a bunch of dolls and a kid.

“That would be great” said Sarah. “Thanks.”

But, just then Sarah’s Mother saw Sarah talking to the old woman. And as the saying goes “stranger equals danger”. So she ran out of the house and snatched up Sarah and her dolls and ran back into the house and double bolted the doors.
Then she called the police and the old woman was arrested on charges of something or other.

Wow, this story took a turn for the worst pretty quickly. As stories sometimes do.

Anyways, Sarah’s Mother drove Sarah and her dolls to what’s her faces house. So Sarah got to play.

And the old woman was released from the Federal Penitentiary when her parole hearing came up several years later.

As always, everything worked out for the best.

So the question to you is:
1) Do you ever stop to see what is wrong when someone is upset or do you avoid going to prison and ignore their cries?

“I really miss Jim” said Anne. “We were perfect together. Sure he had his annoying ways. Everyone does I suppose. But I miss him.”
“How long has it been now” said Bettie.
“2 years ago today” said Anne. And then, as she always did when she talked about Jim, she started to tear up. And to clarify she was close to crying. She wasn’t tearing anything. The English language is full of stupid words like tear which have many meanings. And if the wrong interpretation is made then it changes the whole tone of the writing. Whoever invented English is an ass. And by ass I don’t mean a donkey. I mean…oh, never mind. I give up..
Anyways, Bettie saw what was coming next so she changed the subject.

“Look at those kids across the street.” she said. “They are so immature.”
“They’re just kids,” said Anne. “Remember when we were that age. I bet we drove our parents nuts.”
“Yes, but kids of today don’t care about anyone but themselves.” continued Bettie. “Their music doesn’t make any sense. They dress like little sluts. They..”

“So,” Anne interrupted “what did the doctor have to say about your hip.”
“He gave me some more pills” said Bettie. “I take so many pain pills now that I think it would be better if I just gave in and bought one of those electric wheel chair things.”
They both chuckled about that.
Electric wheelchairs are so expensive. And so awkward to get around in. And so expensive. It always makes the older crowd chuckle.
“Maybe you should just borrow a walker first,” laughed Anne. “I know someone who isn’t using theirs.“
“I’ll think about it” said Bettie. But she really wasn’t. She was busy trying to decide how to hide that bit of fat that was wiggling near the top of her pants.

“Maybe I should leave my blouse untucked today.” said Bettie.
“Not a bad idea” said Anne. “How’s the diet going?”
“Good gracious I am so sick of dieting.” said Bettie. “Why did my metabolism stop metabolizing. Getting old just isn’t fair.”
“I know” said Anne tugging at her sweater to cover a jiggly spot. “When I was a kid I could eat all I wanted and never put on any weight. Now I look at food and gain 5lbs.”

“Well, I can’t afford to buy a whole new wardrobe.”said Bettie. “I’m on a fixed income.”
“It’s the same for me” said Anne. “It’s a government plot you know. Perhaps it even goes farther than the government into that Illuminati group. The real force behind everyone being just well off enough to survive but never wealthy enough to enjoy life.”
“There is no Illuminati conspiracy.”said Bettie. “It’s just the way life is.”
“Yes, I know” said Anne. “But thinking someone is controlling my lack of money makes it easier to take.”

“Are you going to the..” ..RINNNGGGGGG…

“Well, our next classes are starting” said Bettie. “Gotta hobble.”
And they both laughed.
The life of high school seniors is never easy..

So the question to you is:
1) Do you think conversations really ever change?

” It’s so lonely here thought Billy. I feel I could yell some obscenity and no one would hear me. And with that Billy began to yell obscenities at the top of his lungs.

Of course, doing so in Church has never been a good idea. Even in a Pentecostal Church a string of obscenities are seldom thought of as speaking in tongues. They are just obscenities and as such are not highly regarded.

But Billy didn’t really care about that. He wasn’t in Church. He was alone. In a packed auditorium where his niece was acting in her 3rd Grade Christmas concert.

“Oopsie” Billy said. “My bad.”

But words like “oopsie” and “my bad” don’t really mean a lot to people like the Police who were promptly called to haul Billy away. Actually they don’t really mean much to most people. But Billy didn’t know that.

The crowd in the Auditorium cheered when the Police hauled Billy away kicking and screaming. Well until he was tazered at which point most of the kicking and screaming were replaced by twitching and drooling which also caused the crowd to cheer.

And Billy’s niece was thrilled by everything that occurred that day. She still talks about how her uncle’s actions fueled the crowd to cheer madly for her performance as a Christmas tree in her class’s production.

She even went so far as to visit him once in the asylum he now resides in. But she found it uncomfortable so she hasn’t been back since.

And, that young girl is now a famous actress. All due to her uncle Billy feeling lonely on that one fateful day.

I can’t tell you her real name due to legal issues that would arise but her initials may be A.J.

Anyways, with this time of the year being so stressful for most people I thought you could use a story with a happy ending to cheer you up..

So my question to you is:
Has any random event shaped the course of your life?

Eventually World oil supplies will run out. “Experts” disagree on exactly when this may happen but none disagree that it won’t happen.

Since being an “expert” in any field is, for the most part, a relative term I have decided to provide my expert opinion on what will happen to transportation when there is no more oil to fuel our vehicles.

Year One and Two
In the first year or two people will compensate for the lack of fuel by pushing their cars.
Heading to the Mall on a Saturday will be hardest on the children who will likely be doing the pushing. After all Father has to drive because he has a license and Mother has to tell him how he is doing it wrong. This only leaves the Children to push and they will be taught from a young age.

Traffic on freeways will slow down a bit as those commuting with co-workers get them to push in the commuter lanes and the people driving to work alone push their own cars a few feet and then have to hop back in to steer.
Having friends you actually see regularly will become popular once again and cell phone use will dwindle.

People driving large semi trucks will be hired on the basis of their ability to push large loads of stuff. Steroid use by these drivers won’t be an option so the sleeper cabs will become far larger to accommodate the increased mass of the drivers.

And motorcycle gangs will lose their credibility. Pushing your motorcycle down the highway just isn’t cool. They will eventually give up and just get real jobs.

Year Three to Twenty
At some point people will grow tired of all that pushing and will turn to Science to save them.Science will have no ideas so Scientists will start running. And people will start chasing them.

Word of the chasing incident will spread and more and more people will want to learn how to use those long appendages at the end of their torso’s. Walking and running will become fashionable again. Many new business’s will start up to teach people how to do things like consistently put one foot in front of the other and more complex moves like sidestepping, back stepping and jumping over puppies and such.

Because of the increased contact with other real humans people will need to develop other skills such as actually laughing their ass off instead of just LMAO. Classes will be taught in those areas as well, probably by Hermits who never did embrace technology and bums who couldn’t afford it in the first place.

Year Twenty One to One Million
The Earth will start healing itself. Over time it will flourish once again as the oil based products that were making it sick start to disappear.

People will notice the change as well. Diseases will diminish. The air will be clean. The water will be clear. Plants and animals will flourish alongside human kind. Life will be simpler but good.

One Million One
Scientists will find vast oil reserves somewhere on Earth. After all fossil fuels are the result of years of plants and animals dying on the Earth and becoming fossilized .

Within minutes of the discovery Auto Makers will be rolling out the first vehicles and life will return to normal. Or at least what we call normal today.

And Mother Earth will sigh once again..

So today’s question is:
1) If you didn’t have any fuel powered vehicle to travel in how would your life be different?