Avast, me hearties!

Ahoy, ye land lubbers!

Today is International Talk like a Pirate day!

By now, I figure everyone knows what this is about, but if not, check here.

I was reminded this morning when our local traffic reporter, Monty Cook from WBAP, did his entire traffic report in pirate talk. Budman and I were cracking up and it was pretty impressive. I wish I had a recording of it...

So, blah blah blah, talk like a pirate (which obviously, I'm not any good at). If you need help, here's a pirate talk how-to.

My pirate name is:
Bloody Jenny Bonney

Every pirate lives for something different. For some, it's the open sea. For others (the masochists), it's the food. For you, it's definitely the fighting. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

part of the fidius.org network

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.

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In related news, I heard a story on the radio this morning about the Grandbury (TX) High School Pirates. Some woman has complained to the county commissioners, because the Booster Club wanted to put up flags around town before a football game.

Since Grandbury is home to the Pirates, these flags have the Jolly Roger on them. Sounds reasonable, right?

Not to this lady. She claims they are "Satanic", and the city will be risking "the wrath of God" by displaying these flags. Never mind that this isn't a county issue.

I am sick to death of people getting offended over stupid stuff!

Pirate flags? Really?

Is there not enough wrong with the world that you can't find anything else to be offended about? Fight racism, sexism, crime, vandalism, poverty, child abuse, injustice and genocide, but leave the poor high school mascot alone!!

Besides the fact that she claims that this flag is "satanic", my quick research attempts this morning turned up no evidence other than the fact that the flags were used by pirates to intimidate their victims. This claim is laughable.

*******

Whew, got on a little rant there, didn't I?

Sorry, but this kind of crap just really chaps me.
Besides, it's my blog, so I can rant if I want to.
(Don't worry, I won't sing the song - even though it's stuck in my head now)

*******

Now this is my kind of pirate... ;)

Yummy!

Introducing Pop

Exhausted today. I haven't gotten to sleep at a decent time in weeks because my husband is a horndog I've been staying up too late and getting up way too early, which doesn't really help the whole insomnia thing.

Last night, Budman and I went to the VA hospital to spend a little time with his dad, who will henceforth be known as Pop. Pop has cancer. Budman's mother was able to go home and get some rest, which I know she really needed.

The VA hospital is such a sucky place. If it ever comes up, and you have the power to keep someone you love out of the VA hospital, I TRULY TRULY hope that you do. Unfortunately, Pop doesn't have any other options.

He looks pretty weak, he has fluid on his lungs (AGAIN, after they just drained it last week). They are installing some sort of drain/catheter-type thing, so that he will be able to drain his lungs as needed, since it takes an act of God to get anything done for him at that hospital. It seems to me, that they won't DO anything (at least not anything worthwhile) unless it's in order to save his life. If he's just having trouble breathing, they put him on oxygen (he has that at home) and breathing treatments (he has those at home) and run tests on him. If he's about to die, then they pull out all the stops and do something.

I'm frustrated, and maybe that's not really the way it is there, but it seems like it. That place was so awful. The air was hot and stale, and walking down the hall to find Pop's room, there was a horrible stench in the air. I whispered to Budman "Someone pooped themselves", and he muttered agreement. The rooms are unlike any hospital I've ever seen. Three, sometimes four beds to a room, and I can tell that the rooms were not planned that way, because they only put two TVs in each one. So, they're just overcrowded, or cutting costs, or I don't know what. The people that fill these rooms, I can only assume that they are the men and women who served our country in the military (Isn't that what the VA hospital is for?), don't they deserve better?? As we drove up, I was surprised at how nice the outside of the building looked, I was expecting a real shit-hole. The lobby is decorated and bright - like a regular hospital. But the upper floors, where the patients are...

As soon as we got there, we had no sooner exchanged pleasantries and sat down, when Pop asked Budman to take him out for a cigarette.

• One could argue that he doesn't need to smoke, that it will only make him worse, his breathing is bad enough, no open flames around the oxygen tanks... (Just kidding about the oxygen tank)

• Or, you can say to yourself, this man is dying, and one or two cigarettes are not going to change that, nor are they going to speed up the process anymore than it already has been. The doctors have basically told him already that all the changes he's made to his diet over the past few years aren't going to prevent the inevitable, so now he eats what he wants. So then the argument becomes: if you're down to your last moments, (however many - or few - there may be left) you might as well live them the way you want to.

After initially telling his dad that he wouldn't take him downstairs (and knowing full well that he can't make it on his own, because he gets winded walking to the bathroom, and he has to use a wheelchair-as-a-walker for that), he has the above mentioned argument with himself (I know, I could see the thought process reflected on his face, and because I was having the same argument in my head - I told you we share a brain) and gives in.

So, Pop gets to go downstairs, outside to sneak half a cigarette. Seriously, he can't even smoke in the smoking area, he does have an oxygen tank on his chair (it was turned off), and no oxygen equipment in the smoking spot. Budman felt a little guilty for taking him down there, but he's a grown man, and he does have a right to decide how he wants to live the rest of his life...

At some point during our visit, a young Doctor comes in, and gives him a marker. She explains: After he is bathed and prepped for his procedure in the morning, he is to take the marker, and write "YES" across the right side of his chest. Yep, you read that right - due to the potential for mistakes, they require that all patients mark themselves as to what area/side their operation is to take place. I told Budman, I would have written "You're the Doctor, you figure it out" across my chest if I were Pop. This does not instill a great deal of my confidence in their skills, people or facilities.

I know that they have a hard job. I know that they are most likely all underpaid. They are certainly overcrowded, and probably understaffed as well, becuase if I were a medical professional with a choice of places to work, I would not choose that place.

I'm pretty sure this is all disjointed, and my thoughts are not organized well, because you're getting them as I think them, and because, well, I'm just plain tired.

I've been meaning to post more detail on Pop's condition since the first time I mentioned him, and after last night, today seemed as good a time as any to get it all out.

I can't believe the nerve of some people!

This morning, I read a post over at A Cowboy's Wife. She wrote about Karen who is a deaf woman, and whose blog I've never read before today. Karen had a "little" problem at the Drive-thru window at Steak & Shake. Apparently, they refused to take her order at the window, instisting instead that she use the speaker, even though she explained that, being deaf, she was unable to use the speaker. You can read the full story here, but prepare to be outraged.

I am continually dismayed at the lack of customer service I see these days. Whatever happened to "The customer is always right?" I have had many jobs, and I have always put the customer first. Why is that no longer a common concept?

I'm all in a tizzy now.

I hardly ever visit Steak & Shake, the main reasons being:
1.) The restaurants here in TX don't have drive-thru's
2.) Budman had one less than stellar dining experience, and can that man hold a grudge! :-) He won't give them ANY more business.

However, had I been so inclined as to darken their door, rest assured, that urge has now passed. They owe Karen a HUGE apology.

Mel