To turn the homework in or not? That is the question.

Okay, kids...I realize that it's been a very long time since I was in high school but I seem to remember that if you didn't turn in your homework when it was due, it was a bad thing. If you turned it in a few days late, you got less credit. If you didn't turn it in at all, you got nothing. Nada, nothing, zilch. You didn't get a third, fourth or fifth chance to turn it in. Teachers were trying to teach you about deadlines and discipline and, oh my God, responsibility! Well, let me tell you something, parents...forget about all that. It has come to my attention that some of today's teachers will let their students turn their homework in WHENEVER THEY WANT and still get CREDIT! Would someone please explain to me how this teaches students anything about deadlines, discipline and responsibility? It sounds to me like the message here is LAZINESS RULES! There are parents out there who have been trying to instill in their children that responsibility and discipline are good traits to have...then the kids go to school and all that talk goes right out the window. And just think, parents...these kids are the future of this country.

So long, car wash.

Okay kids....since the morons who sit in Sacramento and Washington D.C. can't seem to figure out that we really shouldn't have to pay $3.83 a gallon for gas which is mainly purchased from the sick and twisted Middle East, I have decided to cut another thing out of my budget. My local car wash will no longer be seeing my awesome red truck. Sorry, guys. You'll have to find someone else to get your $2.00 tip from. Not that I took my truck to the car wash all the time. Usually I do it myself. But every now and then it is nice to have someone else do it. Sort of like when you go to the salon and someone else washes your hair. I feel bad that I can no longer support a local business but in these rough economic times you have to make tough choices.
The sad thing is, it doesn't have to be this way. We have oil off our coasts, we have oil in Alaska, and guess what? There's oil in Canada. Why are we buying oil from terrorists and murderers? The obvious answer is because a lot of people in high places are making a profit from it and they don't want to give that up. Why aren't we giving grants to scientists so they can develop alternative sources of fuel? The obvious answer is because a lot of people in high places wouldn't be able to make a big profit from it right away. Why are we paying farmers not to grow corn when corn could be used to produce ethanol which can be used to fuel our cars? The obvious answer is because a lot of people in high places wouldn't be able to make a profit from it right away.
But, brother, watch out when they figure it out!

Can I call you "mom?"

Okay kids....as most of my friends and family know, I do not have any children of my own, but I do have a teenage stepdaughter. I have been in her life for 10 years now, so basically you could say I am more of a mother to her than her own mother. She has always called me by my first name instead of "mom" or "mother." Which is fine, because technically I am not her mother. Today she asked me if I would mind if she called me "mom." Without hesitating, I said "Sure, why not? If that's what you want to do." Now, the two of us haven't always had the easiest of relationships, as is sometimes true in a case where the child's real mother is not in the picture very much. But I have always been honest with her and told her the truth. When I promised to take her somewhere or buy her something, I followed through. I've tried to instill in her a sense of responsibility and understanding that a good education can take you a lot of places. I never tried to take the place of her real mother, even though she is basically an awful person who only thinks about herself. So, I guess if my stepdaughter wants to call me "mom," it's okay by me.

Okay kids...I was thinking about music today and all the amazing concerts I've experienced. The four most amazing are also the four that meant the most to me: Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, KISS and Page, Clapton, Beck and Cocker.
I got to see Elvis with my brother Gary, his wife, and my mother. We were all huge fans of The King, so we were all very excited! Elvis put on a great show! I was very young so I didn't really understand why all the women were swooning and trampling each other to get one of his sweaty scarves. Now I know why!
Back in the late seventies, my brother, John, and I took his son, Johnny to see KISS. The rest of the line-up included Bob Seger, Montrose with Sammy Hagar and Ted Nugent. What a show! KISS did not disappoint and it was a concert that has always been a great memory for me.
I saw Bob Dylan twice, but the most memorable was when my brother, Gary, and I went together to see Dylan and The Grateful Dead. All I can say is AWESOME!
In the 80's I went to a concert that featured a line-up that couldn't be beat: Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Joe Cocker. I have to tell you, I was so excited, I actually cried!
These days, I don't get out to many concerts. But I often think about the bands I got to see and how much fun I had! Tom Petty, AC/DC, Neil Diamond, Phil Collins, Motley Crue, Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Cheap Trick, Stevie Nicks, Yes, King Crimson, Elton John. Music does indeed make the world go round!

Some people don't know when to shut up!

Okay....Charlie Sheen needs to shut up! The moron is cutting his own throat one inch at a time. What a bloody mess that will be! He obviously has mental issues that have been exacerbated by his constant drug and alcohol use. He's in such denial about the complexity and severity of his problems that he actually thinks he cured himself with "his mind." Is he kidding? What mind? He has no mind! He snorted and drank it away a long time ago.
I feel sorry for his children who have to live the rest of their lives with this poor excuse for a father. Not only will they have to hear about him from the kids at school, but the media always be wanting a comment or an interview. At the rate he's spending money on drugs, booze, hookers and porn stars, his kids will be lucky if he can keep up his child support and alimony payments.
CBS did the right thing by suspending Two and a Half Men, but it does put a lot of people out of work who were not earning 1.8 million per episode. And let's be honest, is Charlie Sheen really worth 1.8 million per episode? Well, maybe in his own mind!

The end of books & bookstores as we know them?

I am the owner of a Barnes and Noble Nook. And I like it, enjoy it, and will continue to use it. Having said that, I would also like to say that just because I have an e-reader does not mean that I will stop buying printed books and going to my local library. I love going to my local Barnes and Noble and scouring the shelves to see what's new. Sometimes I buy a coffee and sit and read a magazine. Sometimes I buy a book. It's relaxing.
I've always enjoyed the library too. When I was little, my mother used to work at our local library and it opened up a whole new world for me. I couldn't get enough books to read! And the smell of the books was always comforting. It was a nice, quiet place to go and immerse myself in the lives of Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, Little House on the Prairie (yes, I read them all!), Edgar Allan Poe. There were no computers so you had to look in the card catalog.
While technology is great and all that, I still like to occasionally do things the old-fashioned way. It keeps my mind sharp and keeps me connected to a way of life that was comforting and enjoyable.

Stimulate this!

Okay, kids...let's get real. The price of gasoline keeps rising steadily. This morning it was $3.59 a gallon at the Arco by my house. People are predicting $4.00 or $5.00 a gallon by summer. I can't afford this. Most of you can't afford it either. The company I work for will not let me work from home. Amtrak goes nowhere near where I live or where I work. The Metrolink goes East-West, but I need to go North-South. If I take the bus, I would probably have to change buses at least 3 times and it would take at least an hour to go the 12 miles to work. I could ride my bike, but there are no showers at work. I could carpool but I have a kid that I have to pick up at school because the school district has no bus system. This is why I drive my car to work and this is why I'm stuck paying ridiculous prices for gasoline. So I would appreciate it if all those morons in Washington would stop telling me to spend more money to stimulate the economy. Stimulate this!