Insight and Madness From South City

I just received via email the following comment(s) and a letter to the editor of the Shreveport Times.  Makes one wonder if the adage, "no good deed will go unpunished," has some validity after all.  There will unfortunately always be those who will find a way to capitalize on what is supposed to be a kindness to those in need.  Considering the growing number of life-threatening storms of the past few years, a better method to handle emergency situations needs to be devised and put in place. 

As I am not sure the person who wrote the letter to the editor would like their name passed up here I have deleted it ... regardless of the name ... the message is crystal clear.

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This letter is a very sad commentary to what our society has evolved to.  This letter was to the Shreveport Times and we had several like it in the Monroe News-Star.  In Monroe the evacuees soiled the toilet seats, fulshed towels down the toilets and a lot of other BS!

I am sorry that these people were displaced, but please have a little common sense and enough decency to realize that the shelter people are doing there very best to help people out!

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Before everyone thinks I am a terrible, prejudiced, horrible person, just wanted to send a copy of the letter I s ent to the Times editors and Bill O'Reilly.  Please pray that Hurricane Ike will NOT come to Louisiana - I don't think I have the attitude of Christ yet!

NameDeleted by Kim_Just_Kim 

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Dear Editor,

I am a nurse who has just completed volunteer working approximately 120 hours as the clinic director in a Hurricane Gustav evacuation shelter in Shreveport, Louisiana over the last 7 days.  I would love to see someone look at the evacuee situation from a new perspective.  Local and national news channels have covered the evacuation and "horrible" conditions the evacuees had to endure during Hurricane Gustav. 

True - some things were not optimal for the evacuation and the shelters need some modification.

At any point, does anyone address the responsibility (or irresponsibility) of the evacuees?

Does it seem wrong that one would remember their cell phone, charger, cigarettes and lighter but forget their child's insulin?

Is something amiss when an evacuee gets off the bus, walks immediately to the medical area, and requests immediate free refills on all medicines for which they cannot provide a prescription or current bottle (most of which are narcotics)?

Isn't the system flawed when an evacuee says they cannot afford a $3 copay for a refill that will be delivered to them in the shelter yet they can take a city-provided bus to Wal-mart, buy 5 bottles of Vodka, and return to consume them secretly in the shelter?

Is it fair to stop performing luggage checks on incoming evacuees so as not to delay the registration process but endanger the volunteer staff and other persons with the very realistic truth of drugs, alcohol and weapons being brought into the shelter?

Am I less than compassionate when it frustrates me to scrub emesis from the floor near a nauseated child while his mother lies nearby, watching me work 26 hours straight, not even raising her head from the pillow to comfort her own son?

Why does it insense me to hear a man say "I ain't goin' home 'til I get my FEMA check"  when I would love to just go home and see my daughters who I have only seen 3 times this week?

Is the system flawed when the privately insured patient must find a way to get to the pharmacy, fill his prescription and pay his copay while the FEMA declaration allows the uninsured person to acquire free medications under the disaster rules?

Does it seem odd that the nurse volunteering at the shelter is paying for childcare while the evacuee sits on a cot during the day as the shelter provides a "daycare?"

Have government e ntitlements created this mentality and am I facilitating it with my work?

Will I be a bad person, merciless nurse or poor Christian if I hesitate to work at the next shelter because I have worked for 7 days being called every curse word imaginable, feeling threatened and fearing for my personal safety in the shelter?

Exhausted and battered,

NameDeleted by Kim_Just_Kim, RN

When I was a little girl we lived above my maternal grandparents in a four-family flat they owned.  With Grandma being of full german decent and Grandpa full spanish, the holiday season was a very big deal every year.  Grandma was one of those amazing women that could do everything and anything ... cook, bake, sew (and i mean make beautiful clothes), knit, crochet, gardening.  She was a wonder.  The holiday season started right after Thanksgiving for me as a child.  Usually the following night after the stores were all closed, my Mom and older sister would pile all of us into her car and drive us to Downtown St. Louis.  We'd park in the Famous Barr parking garage, bundle up and go out to look at the fabulous window displays of all the stores.  In the 1960s when I was a child every single store downtown had a display.  Downtown was a bustling place.  The windows were magical lighted displays.  We'd walk street after street, one window display being even more spectacular than the next.  It was always cold, but it was such a good time no one seemed to mind.  Then after we'd seen all there was to see, we'd come back home and have hot chocolate to warm us back up again.

One day a year Grandma would bake Christmas cookies all day and evening long.  Since Grandma watched me after school, on that special day I could smell the cookies long before I walked in the door.  Of course I'd snitch few before getting my hands swatted and being told to go do my homework.  She made all kinds, sugar cookies, snicker doodles, chocolate chip, M&M, oatmeal, wedding balls.  There was always a wide variety and she was always cutting new recipes out of the newspaper to try. Then Grandma would store all those cookies in these giant Tupperware containers and bowls until Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve was such an exciting time.  All of us gathered at Grandma's house which she decorated meticulously.  She had a special platform for the Christmas tree and a bunch of little lighted houses so that she created a Christmas village under the tree complete with a mirror sprinkled with white glitter that looked like snow for the little figurines to ice skate on.  I can remember sitting there just looking at that little village for long periods of time.  The mantle above the space heater was lined up with lights and decorations as was the mirror behind it.

As children of course we were all excited to be able to open Christmas presents and naturally could barely wait for Santa to come and deliver them.  We would eat dinner, which was the traditional ham and potatoe salad with all kinds of other tidbits and goodies and of course Grandma broke out the Christmas cookies too.  Dressed in our fussy little Christmas outfits we were all trying to be especially good so that we wouldn't get lumps of coal instead of presents.  Then ... all the sudden ... we'd hear it ... those sleigh bells jingling (Grandpa had snuck upstairs to the attic to ring them) ... that tell-tale BOOGEDY-BOOGEDY-BOOGEDY echoing through the house.  There would be feet stomping upstairs in the attic on the third floor and our Dad's would open up the door to the hall and head upstairs to see what Santa had left.  Of course we would look upstairs and see nothing but darkness, but we were certain Santa had come.

Then our Dad's would come back down and into the living room with their arms loaded with brightly wrapped gifts and set them around the Christmas tree.  By now, us kids were nearly jumping out of our skin with excitement.  We'd hear the sleigh bells jingling in the distance (Grandpa would sneak outside and walk around the house), as our Dad's brought in the last of the presents and everyone would all squeeze into the living room to open gifts.  This was no civilized one-person-at-a-time gift opening ritual ... ohhhh no.  All of us kids would start ripping wrapping paper as soon as the first gift was in our hands and all that could be heard was laughter and happy surprised gasps echoing in the room.  When every gift was opened and every treasure uncovered, each child would go around the room and kiss every adult and wish each a Merry Christmas.

Since we lived right upstairs, we would carry the gifts upstairs and put them under our Christmas tree and I would be allowed to take one toy back downstairs to play with until we all got ready to go to midnight Mass.  The adults would usually watch the news while we played or napped waiting to go to Mass that night.  Midnight after all was such a long time to wait for.  Usually before we left I would sneak upstairs by myself.  All the lights in our apartment would be off except for the Christmas tree.  It would be blinking brightly with all our gifts piled beneath the tree.  I would kneel on the floor before it and just watch the magic of the lights flashing, the ornaments winking, tinsel garland seeming to flutter just a little from whatever draft might be disturbing it.  The only sound would be the hiss of the gas space heater.  I'd say a little prayer and thank God for helping me to be a good girl so Santa brought me presents that year.  Then I'd go back downstairs.

We'd all get our coats on and my Aunt and Uncle would make sure they'd gathered everything they were taking with them up because they'd be going home after Mass, and all of us would drive to the church.  The church always seemed special for midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.  It would be packed with people and everyone seemed to be so happy.  The singing of hymns would seem particularly powerful that night, above all others.  The sound would make me shiver and tremble.  I was certain God was listening and was there with us.  By the time the Mass was over I was always so sleepy I had to be carried back to the car.  But I went to sleep feeling happy and blessed and secure in the knowledge that I would have a blast playing with all my gifts on Christmas Day!

Last night I went to Arbys and used some of the coupons that came along with the weekly grocery store advertisements.  Since I had the coupons I ordered a little differently than I usually do.  My son who is now 15 and is autistic kept whispering to me, "Arby melts Mom, Arby melts."  I turned to him and said, "Trust Mom, Bryan, you'll get your roast beef with cheddar cheese."  There was a lady standing next to me and she laughed a little. I explained that Bryan is autistic and he is used to hearing me order a Five for $5.95 for him and that he just doesn't realize that ordering a Beef and Cheddar on a regular sesame seed bun is the same thing only bigger (cause you all know that those sandwiches on the 5/$5.95 menu are juniors right?).  This lady peeked around me and looked at my son with a kind of awed gaze and then told me that her son had two autistic children 10 and 8.

She went on to tell me that the children were in school in the Special School District in the County and she asked if Bryan was in special school and I told her he was, but in the City.  While we were waiting for our food we talked a little and it became clear to me that her son's children were more severely affected by autism than my son.  Both are nonverbal and neither is potty trained.  My heart just broke for her son.  She told me that she asked her son if he could get governmental assistance and that she was shocked when he told her he had looked into it, and that he would have to be just above the poverty level to qualify for help.  Though it has been a long time since I looked into it, I knew it was true.  Any governmental help you can get for your child with autism has some very stringent requirements you have to meet to reap any kind of benefit.  The cost for professional help outside of the public school system is very very expensive.  Before I left I wished her Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and told her I hoped God blessed her and her family.

When your child is initially diagnosed as autistic you are treated to dealing with a lot of bureaucracy.  First you get to deal with a myriad of medical bureaucracy and batteries of neurological and psychological tests.  The entire time you're hoping for something to prove the diagnoses wrong.  Then when you find out your child can be getting help through the public school system you get to go through some more bureaucracy with them ... more testing.

This entire time it's the parents feelings and emotions that are in near constant turmoil over what their child is having to endure in the form of slights and the negative results of various tests.  All of this goes right over the child's head ... they thankfully, are oblivious.  It is the parents and caregivers that bear the brunt of the shuns.  Who agonize over the child's potential and future knowing one day they may be alone.  Who eat stress for breakfast every day.

Many people do not realize the range of severity of autism is vast.  Those severely affected are offstandish, do like like to be touched, will not make and will actively resist eye contact with another person, are extremely routine-driven and are likely to act out if there is any deviation in their routine at all, they do not speak, cannot be potty trained, cannot be taught to dress or wash themselves and have little or no communications skills at all.  Then there is the other end of the spectrum.  Some being barely affected and appearing to be simply shy and/or mildly mentally retarded or slow.

My son Bryan fell somewhere in the middle.  Never in my life have I been an overtly materialistic person.  But when Bryan was young and I was struggling to find any reason to have hope I used to wish on a daily basis that I would hit the lottery, some obscure unknown relative would will me a large amount of money or some other such miracle would occur.  Funds that I could use to get Bryan more help.  More occupational and speech and language therapy.  Money I could use to get him into programs that were so far beyond my reach financially it seemed almost cruel to even find out about them.  Of course, I didn't experience any financial windfall.

When you have a baby, you know when you take it home from the hospital it is going to be completely dependant upon you for everything.  Babies cannot talk, eat by themselves, use the toilet, walk, and are unaware of the dangers surrounding them.  They cannot tell you when they're sick or hurt.  You must anticipate and provide for all their needs.  Normally you will potty train a child between the ages of 2 and 4.    At the ages of 2 or 3 they will begin clearly communicating verbally.  They will start learning what will hurt them, being taught general hygiene ... how to brush their teeth and comb their hair, wash their bodies.

Autistic children do not follow this normal pattern.  Their dependence goes on, and so do the costs associated with that dependence.  When my Mother became ill I had to quit working so that I could be home to care for Bryan.  I did some part-time contract work and tried to go back to work a few times but my problems arose on the days that I would have to work and Bryan would be home from school.  My Mom used to insist that surely someone would be willing to work with me on a schedule but the truth of the matter is, employers in general do not give a whit about their employee's personal lives.  They care about what the employee can do for them and how that employee's personal life will affect the job they do.  In spite of these facts getting governmental assistance is a difficult and often fruitless process.  The work I am able to do from home is sporadic at best.  I am hoping to be able to go back to work full time in the next year or so.  Until then we'll continue to tread water financially.

With every one in 150 children being diagnosed with autism now, I hope that the powers that be in government will realize the costs associated with it and that those costs are not strictly health-care related.  While I am always glad when I read a story of a "recovered" autistic person or new treatments it can be irritating too because often these "recovered" persons or new treatments are dependent on financial means.  I was sorry to read celebrity Jenny McCarthy has an autistic child and happy to hear of his progress.  But even while I was reading the article I couldn't help thinking, if I had the earnings potential she does maybe my son would have made that kind of progress too.  Sadly, as is the case with most health care issues, the cost of treatment is outrageously expensive.  While an autistic child may not require any more general medical care than any other child, their special needs still warrant financial assistance.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to police children on a day-to-day basis on their use of computers, cell phones, cable and satellite TV and such.  Tough love is absolutely vital for their well-being.  Instead of worrying about being friends with your children, step up and be a parent/guardian instead.  Be involved in your children's lives as much as you can.  The computer, video games, cable/satellite TV and cell phones are no replacement for parenting.  Despite what they may think, they need you.  Recent events should drive that point home even more.

When I was young, I was told to stay within calling distance.  This meant my Mom standing on the back porch and yelling my name and me being close enough to home to be able to hear her and respond by coming home.  If I was going to be in someone's house I had to tell my parents where I was going.  I was asked if that friend's parents were going to be home and my Mom did not hesitate to check my story whenever the whim suited her.  This might be days later when she ran into that particular friend's parents.

These days staying within "calling" distance takes on a whole new meaning with children having cell phones.  It works two ways.  Sure, you can reach your children on their cell phone, but you can't always tell exactly where they are.  These kids are clever I've seen and heard it for myself.  They'll go somewhere quiet to call home and report in when they're actually somewhere they're not supposed to be.  Before letting your child have a cell phone let them know there will be rules.  This includes sixteen and seventeen year-olds who are working a part-time job and can pay for it themselves.  Create the rules together, lay them down and then make your children adhere to them.  More importantly, follow-through on the rules yourself.  These days everyone is busy, but be aware and police the activity on your child's cell phone every month when you get the bill.  In my humble opinion most children under 18 do not really have a need for internet access on their cell phone.  They can email from the computer at home.  Texting does not require the internet.  Downloading music can also be done from the home computer and downloaded to their phone later if it is capable of that.

Every child is different, but it is my humble opinion that no child under the age of 18 should have an internet-capable computer in their room without some very serious parental controls being set up on it beforehand.  I would sooner recommend all internet-capable computers being used by children under 18 be set up in a common area in the house where their activities can be easily monitored.  As a parent you have the right to be suspicious if you catch your child engaging a screen saver, or minimizing a window on the computer when you enter the room.  You also have the right to pull the chair away from the computer (with the child sitting in it if necessary), and open up that window or disengage the screen saver and see just what they're trying to hide.  They will have plenty of time to explore the concept of "privacy" when they're older.

Please don't be foolish and let your children con you.  In most cases, children know far more about computers than their parents do.  If you are one of those parents who is technically challenged but still have computer equipment for your children who are not, remember this:  you are completely justified in calling friends or family members who are techno-savvy to help you set up the computer so you can make sure your children are protected from themselves.  Don't be afraid to ask for help.  Go to a computer professional if necessary.  Same thing with setting up your cable or satellite TV programming features.

If ever you see your child walk away from the computer or hang up the cell phone crying or in a state of depression find out what happened.  Talk to your children and listen to what they're saying.  You don't have to agree with them but don't be fooled, your opinion means something to them even if you disagree.  If they won't talk to you, remember you are their parent(s).  If you think the computer or cell phone is responsible even partially for making their lives miserable you have the right to take it away.

It's also a good idea to discuss the use of ATM/Debit cards with your children before they get one.  Not long ago I was in the bank standing in a long line with a college kid behind me looking like he wanted to be anywhere else.  I struck up a conversation with him and found out he was there, with his Mom, to get his checking account straightened out and take care of some overdraft fees.  Before long I found out he landed in this dilemma because he was trying to play the bank system and messed up.  He explained how if he charged something as credit with his debit card it actually was not deducted from his account for three days so he could actually spend money from his paycheck three days before he deposited it.  I told him the best way to manage a checking account was to balance it every month, and not to spend any money that isn't in there.  To my amusement he actually stood there and tried to argue the point with me to which I responded by pointing out how he ended up in his current situation.

As a final note remember this ...  a great many generations did their homework, grew up, had fun and got by just fine without all the digital conveniences we are now able to use.  Do not for one moment forget that as a parent you also have the right to take those little gizmos and computers away from your children.  The digital age has brought us a great many conveniences but a great many additional responsibilities in dealing with them.  Tough love, in any instance, and in any era, is still effective and still works.

I spent a lot of years working for a big firm that had profits in the millions of dollars every year. There were many many times I wondered just how much profit would be enough. If in fact there is ever enough profit.

You never hear of companies saying, okay we made a million dollars in profit this year, lets do it again next year. No, no my friends, it's always, we can do better next year. It was 25% in profit this year, lets go for 30% next year.

More money, more money, more money. Greed, greed, greed.

Lets be truthful, it's not only businesses that are greedy ... so is a fair portion of the working american public. I honestly hate to have to say it, but there it is.

I personally always had what I would call an old-school work ethic. I could not sit at my desk and goof off. Could not sit and read a fashion magazine or a book. I worked with other people that did and oh yes it ticked me off, but it was just not in me to take advantage of an employer that way.

More and more these days you hear people laughing gleefully at how they managed to do next to nothing or goof off on the job all day, from blue collar workers to upper level management. They didn't do this certain thing or that certain thing because it wasn't in their job description. Whining and crying at the injustice of it all when their jobs go south of the border or overseas because lets face it, the people in those countries are grateful to have a job at all.

There was a time when the US was completely justified in being a proud and relatively self-sufficient nation. There was very little we needed that we could not produce ourselves and we did so with pride in ourselves and the products we made. Greed has infected every facet of our lives and businesses until we're literally drowning because of it

Now we are a nation severely reliant on a myriad of other countries to keep our heads above water in the economy. Pets dying, children in constant danger, food supplies compromised and we're all wondering now what other infractions will be discovered in the coming months.

How much is enough?

Well, the last few weeks have been busy for me having Bryan home from school and dealing with other family issues, but I have to share what happened last week.

It sure doesn't take long to get out of routine and sleeping late is such a treat for me it was no great surprise that Wednesday morning  the day of my hubby's doctor appointment last week neither Bryan or I were up early enough to have breakfast before we had to leave to be on time.  Naturally we were hungry after the appointment (including the hubby), and ended up deciding to go to Denny's on Lindbergh at Watson Road for breakfast.

It was busy at that Denny's but it always is in my experience.  By the time we all got to sit down and order breakfast our stomaches were growling and it was closer to lunch time than breakfast.  We had just gotten our drinks when an older lady walked up to me and said, "Excuse me, but could you by chance use a coupon?"   She handed me a coupon sheet that had a $5 off a check over $15 dollars coupon and several others she apparently hadn't used.  I thanked her and told her to have a wonderful day and of course proceeded to carefully fold the page and tear the $5 coupon out.

After handing the coupon to my husband he pointed out that there was also a Free Child's Meal with the Purchase of an Adult Meal coupon on the sheet and the family seated behind us that had several adults and children.  I happily tapped the father on the shoulder and asked him if he could use the coupon.  He misunderstood and only saw the coupon for Buy a Burger Get One Free and gave me a rather amused smile and replied, "Well, maybe someday, but not today."  I was puzzled and then pointed out the coupon I was referring to and he hadn't seen it.  He thanked me and took the coupon.  On the way out, his wife thanked me too.  I wouldn't be surprised if they passed that burger coupon to someone else on their way out. 

The following day Thursday, is my normal grocery shopping day.  Shop 'n Save had again had a no-coupon necessary $10 off coupon with a $50 purchase in their ad last week and since Dierbergs takes competitor coupons, I did my usual routine of cutting out each one from the newspapers and ads I got through the mail for a total of four.  I delight in offering these coupons to people in the store that look to have over $50 in groceries that may not have the coupon, particularly elderly persons.  To my surprise, after successfully giving all my coupons away but one, a lady stopped me and asked if I needed the $10 off coupon.

The truth of the matter is, kindess can be contagious.  Sometimes the old adage, what goes around comes around really hits home.  It did for me last week.  If everyone spread kindness imagine what a wonderful world it could be.

Well as promised I took my son, Bryan to Six Flags on Friday the 13th. He had gotten a free ticket from school for participating in a Reading Program. Bought my ticket at Schnucks before we left ($32.50), and it came with a free child's ticket that I wasn't going to use. No big problems driving out there on Highway 44 other than the usual idiots in a #@%&! hurry to get wherever they're going. Pulled up to the park and paid my $15 to park the car in general parking, (if I were wealthy I might have paid $25 for premium parking). Of course, some guy in a camaro cut me off so he could get in front of me to get to the parking lots (these idiots are everywhere).

I found a pretty decent parking spot and off we went to walk up to the entrance gate where there is a security checkpoint. On up past the ticket purchase windows where I left the child's ticket I was not going to use with one of the cashiers so that someone else could benefit from it and up through the gate. Bryan was bouncing he was so excited.

It was hot, but not unbearably hot. Still, the first place we hit was Hurricane Harbor, the water park. Since I was there with Bryan by myself I had to rent a locker to put my cell phone, keys and our other stuff in for safe keeping. The rental for a small locker was $9 and another $5 deposit. Could have rented a tube and took it with us everywhere we went in the water park, but that would have been another $15 so I passed.

Bryan likes Hurricane Bay, the wave pool best, but we also rode the tubes around Gulley Washer Creek and went to Hooks Lagoon where there's always a splashing good time. Several times I asked Bryan if he wanted to go on one of the water slides and his reply was always, "No thank you Mom." This remark is Bryan's equivalent to a normal child saying, "No WAY Jose!!!" We stayed at the water park until it closed at 6:00 p.m. When I turned the key in from the locker rental I got the choice of my $5 returned, or two large soft drinks. Since we were both thirsty, I got the drinks.

Bryan was ready to leave as soon as we got out of the water park, but I tried to explain to him that there is more to Six Flags than the water park and it is too expensive to just go swimming. So he relented and we rode the Steam Locomotive Train, the Log Flume, and last but not least, he drove one of the old-fashioned cars. By the time we waited in all the lines it was already 8:15 p.m.

We stopped off at one of the gift shops close to the entrance and picked out t-shirts (two adults tee's for $20 was the best deal we got all day). We finished off the expedition with a stop at Imo's Pizza in Eureka sharing pizza and salad and large drinks for the drive back ($15). Needless to say Mom was pretty worn out by the time we got back to the home front and it was a little after 10:00 p.m.

I know Bryan loves the water park at Six Flags, but I'm pretty sure unless we get free tickets this is the last time we're going to go. Bryan isn't too keen on riding the rides and it's just too expensive just to go swimming. Altogether it was a $96.50 day and that isn't counting the gas spent to travel out there or the McDonalds I picked up on the way out.

Well, I sure had a great time at Blog-A-Palooza 3.0 ... as far as I'm concerned it was definately a HIT! Long fly ball out into deep center too! Thanks to P.O.B. and all the others involved in putting this together for all of us.

To my fellow bloggers and blogettes (and I WANT one of those t-shirts too ladies!), I enjoyed meeting and talking with you for even such a short time.

To the Fox2 TV personalities that came, and I was impressed by the turn-out I might add, thank you for coming and making what was already a special night even better!

Okay folks ... shot 49 pictures and I'm posting 36 of them in 5 different slide shows in the order I took the pictures. Hope you all enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Slide Show 1 of 5

Cavo I hope you read this. In the blog you posted about parking meters downtown you asked for help, but for anyone to be able to comment, you must Go To My Blog ... click the Settings tab and put a check in the Enable Comments box for us to be able to respond to any of your posts.

Now ... being a veteran former downtown worker I will admit the parking meters are a bite in the butt but take it from me, they are everywhere. No one can be constantly winging it back to the parking meter to feed it again in a timely manner and do an effective job.

Ever notice all the women in suits and dress clothes wearing sneakers? I used to work on Market, but to save money I parked three or four blocks away down under Highway 40 and hiked to the building every morning and back to the parking lot every night. Some of the smaller parking lots in might be an option too. You have to find which ones are the cheapest. From experience I can tell you, they cheaper ones will be farther away from the heart of Downtown. Downtown is not a place that you drive to lunch everyday, you walk because if you're at one of the smaller lots, they will not hold a space for you. The bigger lots under Highway 40 you will have to pay again (unless you're a monthly parker).

It's gonna cost you any way you go, but paying a lot to park versus paying a parking ticket is at least a little less annoying! Good luck!! :)

Are people in the US just more gullible than most or what? I saw Elliott Weiler's report on the Secret Shopper scam last night and that was the first thing that came to my mind. These kinds of scams have been all over the news for months now.

I was watching one of the Court shows (no shortage of those in the afternoon on Fox2), and there was a pair of sisters on where one sister got scammed but didn't realize it and talked the other into cashing the check for her. The sister that cashed the check went to Court to get her money back. The sister that got scammed didn't think she should have to pay it back because it wasn't her fault it was a scam. It was so ridiculous it was funny, but the money involved in these scams isn't funny in the least.

There are a bunch of scams out there today, each one more clever than the next!

Anytime someone proposes to give you money and wants even a portion of it back or sent some place else ... it's a SCAM to get your money.

I know common sense is rare these days, but please think twice folks.

Something for nothing is usually nothing.

Last night I decided to seek out a professional fireworks display since it is supposed to be raining tonight.  Since the prospect of being Downtown with just my son wasn't too appealing, I looked here and found out there was a celebration going on in Webster Groves right off 44 and Elm.

 
Packed my son up and headed out and we had a great time.  There were rides and though the lines were long, everyone was having a good time and had great attitudes.  Never saw barbeque pits as big as they had and it smelled delicious.  The fireworks started almost down to the minute on time and it was a good show even though tonight's is supposed to be better (photos probably won't be available til tomorrow, give them a look).  No doubt I'll be going back next year!

Reading and seeing reports about fatal accidents makes me so sad. I know there are a lot of highways and byways and people in and around Metro St. Louis that leave a lot to be desired. Nevertheless, please, please, please ...

• Do not drive if you have been drinking alcohol. A friend or family member would be happier to have to come pick you up wherever you might be when you're incapacitated than to have to identify your body at the morgue or sit in a courtroom listening to testimony about the horrific injury you caused to another person.
  
• Wear your seatbelt. It can be an annoyance, but more often than not, they save lives. Next time it might be your life.
  
• Use your turn signals. It's a good idea to let the other people on the road know what you're going to do rather than take it on faith they're telepathic.
  
• Avoid multi-tasking when driving such as:
• Eating something that requires constant use of a hand or God-forbid, both hands.
  
• Looking at a passenger while talking to them.
• Turning around and reaching into the back seat for a child. Pull the car over instead. I guarantee it will make a bigger impact on the child.
  
• Constantly looking into the rearview mirror speaking to someone in the back seat. They can hear you even when you're not looking at them.
  
• Holding your cell phone to your ear. Most Dollar Stores have after-market hands-free devices you can hook up to your cell phone that will leave your hands free and won't slam your wallet.
  
• Trying to look down to dial your cell phone.
  
• Reading the newspaper or anything else for that matter.
  
• Admiring yourself or applying makeup in the vanity mirror or rearview mirror.
  
• When you find yourself getting annoyed at the speed (or lack thereof), the person in front of you is going, ask yourself if it's more important for you to go faster, or for you to arrive safely and alive.
• Do not tail gate. Remember a rear-end collision will be your fault and no one wants their insurance to go up.
• If you have to pass someone, please remember you are supposed to pass on the left side even when on a highway with six lanes.