A Sad Valentine's day

I received a phone call this morning from my friend at the office with bad news. One of our co-workers, Terrance, had been found murdered in his home. I think we've all lost someone in our lives at one point or another, but the senseless taking of a vibrant life is so hard to understand.

What makes it even harder to digest is that a family member, with possible involvement with drugs, is suspected. What could be so important that one would be forced to turn on a fellow human being? And what good comes of it? Terrance is gone and the attacker will bear the brunt of his actions for the rest of his life.

I only knew Terrance a couple of years, but he was a winner. He gave respect and received it in return. He was a team player and let you know that he valued you as a person and co-worker. He was a rightous man in the Biblical sense and I'm sure he died fighting for what he believed.

I pray that God will watch over his family in this devasting loss.

No Way!


Whether you call it Hillbilly Hand Fishing, Okie Noodling or Mud Catting, the answer is, "Oh, hell no!" Why on God's green Earth would anyone want to stick their hand into a muddy, dark hole under the water where anything might be lurking. Then there's the issue of knowingly and willingly jamming your hand into the mouth of a giant catfish.

No, catfish don't have teeth, but they do have sharp spines that hurt when you get stuck. Besides, how would you like it if some jerk came along, invaded your home and stuck his fist in your mouth?

Okay, so I'm a wimp. I admit it, but I just don't get the attraction. Where there's water, you know there's going to be snakes and other creepy-crawlies. You know, like snakes, crayfish, bugs and reptiles.

Now there seems to be a plethora of shows on television about this, "sport" with a bunch of voluptuous young women trying their luck with hairy, toothless men as instructors.

Well...maybe that answers the question for the men, but the women??? I rest my case.

When in Rome...

I was watching a program last night about Rome and was surprised to find out that they had a "Social Security" program called Bread and Circuses. What this consisted of was free bread and games for all citizens.

One of the points made was that anyone could become a citizen if they swore allegiance to the emperor. There was more to it than that, but this is the simple version. Not only were these citizens provided free food and entertainment, they were given nice places to live. All that was required of them was blind devotion.

As you might guess, some citizens put their free time to good use and thought of ways to add to their basic income. You know, like work for it? Many became wealthy and influential in their communities. While others sat back on their fat asses with their hands out saying "gimme".

So in a society where food, lodging and entertainment was a given, poverty set in and the gulf between the poor and the wealthy became an insurmountable gulf. And the people cried, "Gimme more".

Now...if you ask me, this is cutting a little too close to home. Is this what our government and Emperor Obama have in store for us? Remember, Rome, the first mega power in the world fell.

Now That I've Made It

Now that I've actually made it to the hallowed halls of retirement...it doesn't seem real. Everyday I get up and think I need to get ready for work. I keep thinking that they're going to send out a search party to drag me back to my desk. Then I remember, nope I took the VERP, Voluntary Early Retirement Package.

I would have been foolish to turn it down since management made it abundantly clear they want fresh, young voices in the office. That's okay, but there wasn't much to the package part. I figured if I didn't take it, my job might mysteriously evaporate in the next six months or so. I've seen it happen before.

When I stop to think that this was supposed to be a temporary job, I should be thankful. Nearly 38 years later, here I sit at my PC writing and trying to figure out what to do next. I have lots of plans, but the big question is whether they will produce income.

Top of the list is to become a freelance copy editor/writer. I purchased my domain name yesterday and I'm working on getting my web page up and running. One of these days (not yet, though) stop by to visit. NancyKHarmon.com.

Amelia Frump and herPeanut Butter Loving, Overactive Imagination

I said I was going to start doing book reviews, so here's my first. I had not intended to review children's books, but at the request of Debbie Roppolol, the author, I agreed.
This delightful book threw me at first because when I think of children's books, I think of lots of pictures and few words. Then I realized that it is intended for a slightly older group. I had to remember what I was reading at that age, and it all fell into place.

Amelia is right at the age when she's trying to figure out who she is and where she fits in the scheme of life. With few friends, she feels like an outcast. Even though Amelia thinks she's too old for "monsters under the bed", she still suffers a nightly battle with the monsters of her imagination. Finally she confronts the monsters in a dream and comes to grips with them and her imagination.

What a delightful way to deal with the issues facing young children even if they think they're too grown up for such baby things. I intend to mail this book to my granddaughter in California. Although she's too young to read, she loves books and having Mommy read to her.

Count Down

I'm wondering why I volunteered to stay until the bitter end instead of using up vacation time. I must have been feeling magnanimous when my
coworkers said they'd like time off at Christmas.

This is a notoriously slow time of year for construction so there's not a lot going on. I'm taking the opportunity to change email addresses on accounts and newsletters that I subscribe to. I never realized how many there are.

I've finished my copyediting class and will be ordering business cards and endeavoring to drum up clintele. It would be so nice if I could work from home. Maybe I could actually finish one of the novels I've been working on for decades.

I'm so looking forward to retiring, but I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around the concept. I've worked at JCP for more than half my life, but I've been assured there is life outside the office.

Retirement

As of tomorrow, I have 21 working days until I retire. It's been 37 years and 8 month since I went to work as a temp. Not bad.

To use a trite saying, it will be bittersweet. Yes, I will miss some of my coworkers. No, I won't miss dragging my butt out of bed at 5:30 evey morning. It used to be 4:30 when my kids were little and I had an hour's drive.

I've already started cleaning out my office. I have to wonder where did all of this stuff come from? And what do I do with the plaques and awards I've received over the years? They're not something I would put on display at home, but they do have meaning.

I'll figure it out. I already have plans of things I want to do. The first couple of days may be, NOTHING!