This is My World

When I was younger, my great-grandma, Ella Powers, would sit in her rocking chair and tell me all sorts of stories.  As I was getting to be a teenager, her stories were more directed to try and teach me how to act.  When I started wearing make-up, she said girls should look as young as they can as long as they can.  Then, she said the make-up made me look a little older than I was.  So, I quit wearing make-up except for special occasions. 

Time went by and Granny had met my high school sweet heart.  My senior year in high school he left me for a tall, skinny blond.  I wasn’t happy about it, but I went ahead on with life and continued to visit my Granny.  Well, she noticed that he wasn’t around anymore and decided to tell me about how she met my great-grandpa, Cyril Powers.  I knew him as Pap.

When Granny was a young girl, her daddy drank alcohol, smoked a pipe, and cussed a lot.  She told him one day that she was going to find her a man that didn’t do any of that.  He told her that such a man didn’t exist.

Well, when she was about 15, she was working on a farm in Booneville, Indiana.  So, this had to be around 1919 or so.  She was a mid-wife, and as a part of that she would also cook for the men and boys that worked on that farm.  Now a couple of them boys tried getting fast with her and wanted to spend time alone with her.  She wasn’t having any part of that. 

Then, one Sunday this young man named Cyril came up to her and asked if it would be alright if he walked with her to church.  It was just down the road a piece.  Well, she thought that would be alright.  So, every Sunday he started walking with her to church.  That’s how they got to know each other.  He wasn’t fast with her at all, didn’t try to hold her hand, just walked and talked.  He didn’t smoke, drink alcohol, nor cuss.  Later on, he got her daddy’s permission to marry her.  Together, they raised three beautiful daughters.

Well, I got to thinking about this story later in life, trying to figure out what she was trying to tell me.  I think she was trying to tell me to find a man that would respect me.  She didn’t want me to settle for just anyone.  I also think she was trying to tell me not to rush into a relationship.  Yeah, she was right.

When I was younger, age 11-18, I would sit with my great-grandma on Sundays. She was getting on in years and really just wanted someone to hear her stories. She lived in a tiny trailer, where her oldest daughter, Rosa, moved in to care for her. With the aid of a walker, Granny could walk to the back of her trailer, and she did once. She saw that it was still in order and was pleased. After that, she was happy to sit in her rocking chair and watch the birds in the front yard.Granny told me a lot of stories about her childhood and young adult years. Later, I will share some of them with you. However, in this article I’m going to talk about Granny’s hometown, Bristow. Through her many stories, I developed a clear image of what the town used to be.Bristow is now a tiny town in Perry County, Indiana. It has a few houses, a church, a feed mill, and a post office. It is nestled between two sharp curves in Highway 145. No matter which direction you go from Bristow you have to go up hill. You can get to it in the winter time, but you are not getting out without a four wheel drive or a good horse.

Granny grew up not too far outside of Bristow in an area called Oak Ridge. Any goods or services her family couldn’t get from home, they would have to get from Bristow. To get there was too long of a walk, so they used a team of mules to pull a wagon.

In this time, Bristow was a decently advanced little town. There was a doctor’s office and a hospital about two blocks apart. The mill by the creek would grind your corn and wheat. There was even a hotel for out of town folks. The grocery store and separate general store were tiny by today’s standards, but had everything the town’s people wanted. If you couldn’t find it there, you could order it through the catalog. Whatever it was, would then be delivered to the Bristow Post Office.

Of course, even during the Prohibition Era, a lot of alcohol was consumed in Bristow and the surrounding areas. If there was an alcohol related quarrel, a VanHoosier or an Aders was probably involved. Maybe even both. Most of them lived on Oak Ridge. Granny was an Aders on one side and a VanHoosier on the other, but she turned into a fine Christian lady.

There is a 12 year old boy that stays at our house 4 or 5 days a week.  We are trying to teach him to be responsible and earn the things he gets.  At first, we tried being his friends, but that was starting to make his behavior and attitude at school worse.  So, we came up with a new plan.  Step one was to get him to help around the house.  The only things I have ever asked of him was to wash the dishes, keep his room clean, and pick up after himself.  At 12 years old that should be easy. 

Well, one day he tried telling me that he was too young to do the dishes.  As I was explaining to him that I had more responsibility than that when I was three years younger, I realized that I was turning into my mom.  Anyway, he’s fine with doing the dishes now because the other option is if I do the dishes, he can clean the rest of the house. 

Step two, he helps my boyfriend mow grass and gets paid for it.  In this lesson we’re trying to teach him that you have to earn money to pay for the things you want.  And if you don’t have the money for it, you can’t have it.  This, actually, was the easiest lesson to teach because he had never really had his own money or anything.  So, he’s figured out that he can get some pretty nice stuff just by saving his money a little bit.

This whole time we’ve been trying to get him to quit calling people names.  His favorite names to call people are homo, stupid, retarded, and piece of poop or any combinations.  When he first started coming over here, it seemed like every other word out of his mouth was “homo.”  After asking him over and over not to say the word, one day he was in the living room playing the Play Station 2, and called my boyfriend a homo.  I heard it from the bedroom and was tired hearing the word.  I walked into the living room and told him to get up and find a corner to stand in.  He was actually pretty shocked that he was standing in a corner at 12 years old.  However, he has not used the word, “homo,” since then. 

The most difficult thing I have had to deal with is when asking him not to do something.  He thinks you’re getting after him and he gets angry.  For example, I heard him tell some of his friends that he was going to kill all of them.  So, I pulled him to the side and asked him not to say that anymore.  Then, tried to explain to him that he could get in trouble with the police for saying that because it is considered attempted murder.  Well, he started yelling about how he was joking, and he shouldn’t be getting into trouble unless so-and-so does, because he says it too. 

The “experts” say if your child is yelling at you for something like that, then you should stay calm and explain your intentions.  Yeah, I tried that.  I said, “You are not in trouble right now, I was just asking you not to say you are going to kill someone.”  So, I got yelled at again.  Then, I said, “I wasn’t yelling at you, so please don’t yell at me.  I just don’t want you to say you are going to kill someone.”  That of course was followed by a very loud, “FINE!”  And he crossed his arms and glared at me. 

I took a deep breath and handed him his hat out of the back of my vehicle.  My boyfriend suddenly remembered that the hat had been sitting on the beach in the rain and tried to explain to him that it needed washed.  After about 10 minutes of the 12 year old screaming, I said, “That’s enough, go in the house.”  He listened to me without talking back this time, but he slammed the door on the way in the house.  When my boyfriend tried to stand him in the corner for screaming at us and slamming the door, it turned into an angry 12 year old yelling at an authority figure because he didn’t want to stand in the corner in front of his friends.  Basically, nothing was accomplished that day. 

That reminds me of something else he doesn’t understand yet.  Every action has consequences, whether good or bad.  We’re trying.  That is the major uphill battle that is integrated into everything.  And one of life’s major lesson that could determine whether he stays out of trouble as an adult or not.

Honestly, if I would have acted like he does now at his age, I would have gotten a serious spanking, preteen or not.  In fact, I was about his age when I got my last spanking for exactly the same thing.  I never yelled at my parents again.  However, you can’t do that anymore because it’s considered child abuse.  So, if someone has an alternate discipline method for this situation, PLEASE let me know.

I keep trying to tell myself that when I have my own kids, I’ll try to teach them good habits from a young age.  I think when you come into someone’s life in the middle of his childhood trying to teach him good habits, it’s very difficult.  If someone would have starting teaching him properly at a younger age, I don’t think he would have the problems that he does now.

The kids have the television watching a movie right now.  So, I was reading the news on MSNBC.com.  Apparently, Joseph Northington, 27, of Roanoke, VA, who had robbed a bank of $4000 in North Augusta, SC, thought it would be a good idea to brag about it on MySpace.  He wrote, “On tha run for robbin a bank Love all of yall” in the current status section on his MySpace page.  He also had his mood listed as “wanted.”

Of course, “anything you post online anyone can see.” This includes the police if they suspect you in a bank robbery.  This genius apparently forgot this little detail and didn’t have a case to defend himself.  Therefore, he plead guilty to using a firearm in a crime of violence and will be sentenced later. 

MSNBC said his page was still available.  However, I tried to find it and couldn’t.  It’s common sense really.  If you have done something you don’t want anyone else knowing about, don’t post it on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, or any other social networking site.  The right people may read it and you will get caught.

I’ve had an exhausting day today, but I found time to read the Evansville Courier this evening.  The first story I read was about a burglary suspect that got shot.  Apparently, two men in ski masks broke into a home in Evansville to try to rob it.  The first home owner stood up to them, and a scuffle broke out.  The second home owner grabbed a .22 revolver and shot one of the robbers.  Both robbers then fled the scene.  The one with gun shot wounds was caught and will be taken to jail as soon as he is out of the hospital.  The home owners say they will continue to “keep a gun handy” in case of another break in.

This is a good example of why Americans have the right to bear arms.  Had the home owners not had a firearm, the robbers probably would not have left.  Personally, if someone tries to break into my house, they had better hope I find my baseball bat first.  To understand how good of a shot I am please refer to my latest hunting story at http://welcometomyworld.today.com/2009/04/26/deer-meat-one-shot-one-kill/.

All this month in Santa Claus, Indiana the Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari theme park has be running a food drive called “Feeding Families Food Drive.”  When guests entered the park this month, if they donated 2 non-perishable food items, Holiday World workers would give them five “Holibucks” to spend like money in the park. 

This morning in Evansville Holiday World used a truck provided by Kimball International to deliver 20,000 cans and prepackaged meal items to the Tri-state Food Bank.  The theme park’s director of admissions, Eric Snow, said that more shipments will be brought to Evansville, but some will also be delivered to Indianapolis, IN, Louisville, KY, and Nashville, TN. 

With thousands of visitors to Holiday World every year, this should be a very successful program.  I used to worked in a food stand inside Holiday World  in 2000 and 2001.  Then it seemed like the lines of people would never end.  Still more people would pack their own coolers and take a break to eat outside the park.  If everyone that went to Holiday World would bring 2 food items, the amount of donations to these food banks would seem endless.  Thank you Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari for “Feeding Families.”

For more information on Feeding Families Food Drive visit the website at www.HolidayWorld.com/Give.

The second DUI arrest in the Evansville Courier’s headlines online today. 

“A 45-year-old Evansville man who fled from police told investigators he did so because he thought he might be drunk and because he needed to use the restroom.”

The man ran a stop sign and got pulled over.  Then thought, “Oh yeah, I’ve been drinking, and I have to pee.” so he ran away.  Police used a tazer to stop him, which probably caused the urge to pee to go down his legs. 

He got out of jail at 2:45 this morning.  So, Mr. Rick C. Hope, if you ever drink and drive again, which I hope you don’t, remember that the police station has bathrooms.  There’s no need to run and make it worse on yourself.  You’re going to get caught anyway.

This being a holiday weekend, I’m sure a lot of people were out drinking.  I hope you weren’t driving if you were drinking.  Let’s go to Evansville for a moment.  Two DUI arrests are currently in the headlines at www.courierpress.com. 

The first one I read, I young man fell asleep at an intersection and police went to check on him.  Wait this sound like the guy that was from Jamaica and had a lot of pot. No, it wasn’t.  This guy was drinking too much and passed out at an intersection.  Officers just happened to find marijuana in his possession.  So this guy is going to jail for DUI, marijuana possession, and driving with  suspended license.

And the very next day another man passes out at the same intersection!!  That’s two gentlemen that needed to stay home and sleep.

Moral of the story, DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE.

Have you ever found yourself wishing you were somewhere else?  It’s almost like you’re homesick while you’re sitting at home.  Well, that’s how I feel right now. 

I lived in Monterey, California for just over a year while I was in the Navy.  It was gorgeous.  I never wanted to go anywhere else.  So, why didn’t I move back after leaving the Navy?  Well, it’s like this.  The cost of living in Monterey, California is so high that you would have to be a successful business owner to be able to pay your own rent.  However, in an attempt to alleviate my homesickness, I will share with you some of the things I found amazing in Monterey.

Let’s start with the Fisherman’s Wharf.  If you find yourself in Monetery and you are hungry, go there!  The Fisherman’s Wharf lined with restaurants.  You could start at one end of the Wharf sampling clam chowder, and by the time you got to the other end you’ve had a full meal.  It was mos delicious too.  My favorite place was a little stand next to Gilbert’s Restaurant.  They served clam chowder in a cup or bread bowl.  You could sit in a covered patio to eat and watch people walk by.  Across from this stand was a pink candy store called Carousel Fine Candies.  I enjoyed eating clam chowder and watching the salt water taffy machine in the window.  When I was finished, I would usually buy some salt water taffy.  It is still the best salt water taffy I’ve ever had.

A short walk from the Fisherman’s Wharf was Cannery Row with all sorts of restaurants, bars, and gift shops.  The All-American Restaurant had the best milk shakes.   Of course, I wasn’t old enough for the bars then, so I spent my time in the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the gift shops on Cannery Row.  There was also huge arcade with a mechanical bull and behind that was an old rail car that was turned into a gift shop. 

Just beyond Cannery Row and past the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary was Lover’s point.  This is where I saw dolphins for the first time.  You can climb out on these rocks that stick out in the bay and you can see the whole ocean.  Next to it was a place the rent surf boards and wet suits.  It also had an excellent view of the marine sanctuary.  I enjoyed sitting out on the rocks on a quiet day listening to seagulls and watching the seals and otters in the sanctuary. 

Do you ever think that you are the most sane, level-headed person you know?  I know I am.  And that is partially because I live in a calm, country setting near my family.  The loudest sound around here is birds chirping.  It is that peaceful.  For the rest of the world, however, I can’t say that.

I regularly read the Evansville Courier, the Indianapolis Star, and the Perry County News.  The latter of which is my hometown paper.  The top story in it today happened almost a week ago.  A rural gas station/gossip center caught on fire due to electrical problems and will be closed until further notice.  Did you notice that no one caused this to happen? It was just one of those things for which people have insurance policies.  Devastating, but not a crime.

After reading the other two newspapers, I realized how lucky I am not to live in Indianapolis or Evansville.  Both of those papers are full of drug busts, drama, and child neglect.  Admittedly, the majority of Evansville’s drug busts are marijuana related.  Those people could have just kept it at home.

Let’s focus on Indianapolis for a moment.  There is a story on the Indianapolis Star’s website explaining that a police officer shot a man in a head because he was waiving a machete (refer to my previous post for details).  Currently, there are over 200 people in the comment section of this article arguing over whether the officer should have aimed for another body part, or if killing him was the right decision.  There are actually a couple of death threats on there aimed toward people that disagree with the officer’s actions.  Now, that’s crazy and ridiculous.

Another story out of Indianapolis is about a partially decomposed and burnt body found within the city limits.  What amazes me about this story is that no one seemed to notice the smell of burning flesh while the crime scene was fresh with forensic evidence.  Yep, I’m glad I don’t live in Indianapolis.

Evansville on the other hand is slightly less crazy, but not by much.  Apparently, the major problem (other than weed) lies within the school systems.  I have read 3 articles on the Evansville Courier website recently where middle school students are bringing knives to school.  After every article many parents have commented about that particular school not being able to control bullying.  Also, from the same news website I have learned that leaving a 12 year old alone for 20 minutes is now neglect. 

All I’m saying is that I was home alone for an hour after school at 9 years old.  I came home, fed the dog, did my homework, got a snack, and watched TV until mom got home.  I also had a collection of knives that stayed in my collection in my bedroom.  Parents these days have forgotten how to teach responsibility.  I guess they’ll just wait around until Nintendo comes out with a responsibility game for the Wii.  It’s already got babysitting and cooking.  Which reminds me, I learned how to cook in a kitchen not on a video game.

Yep, I firmly believe I live in one of the few remaining sane and calm areas in the country.  So, as long as I stay out of Cannelton’s “Bucktown” and the majority of Tell City on Friday and Saturday night, Perry County life is calm and serene.

I thought I was done tonight, but I took one more look at the Indianapolis Star.  

A police officer in Indianapolis, Indiana responded to a complaint about a man ”acting erratically.”  When the officer arrived, the man was waving a machete (large knife).  So, the officer shot the man in the head.

That’s what happened, here’s my thoughts on it:

It’s obvious the man was having some form of mental breakdown.  That seems to be happening a lot these days.  It’s also obvious the officer was a good shot to be able to hit the man in the head.  Police officers are trained to be able to shoot that well.  They are also trained to make rational decisions in difficult situations and to use the least amount of force necessary. 

That being said, the officer had other options.  He could have shot the hand holding the machete causing the machete to fall to the ground.  If the officer wasn’t confident enough to actually hit the man’s hand, he could have shot him in the shoulder.  The man’s arm would have no longer been able to move.  A bullet to the knee would have prevented the man from coming toward anyone.  That’s three other options to eliminate the threat without killing the man.

There was a man in Evansville not too long ago that tried to rob a gas station with a machete.  The clerk fought him off with a step stool and managed to get the machete out of the assailant’s hands sustaining only minor cuts.  Maybe this officer should take lessons from that guy.

Honestly, I hope the dead man’s family files a wrongful death suit against the officer and the Indianapolis Police Department.  Maybe that would be a wake up call to all the cowboy cops out there.  This man’s death was not necessary.

Remember when Mr. Obama first took office as our president?  Everyone thought he was going to save the country.  So, almost immediately the economic stimulus bill was passed.  Republicans were really mad because they didn’t have a chance to actually read it.  Guess what, I was on their side.  When you are in a leadership position that you can make decisions for an entire country, you should definitely read things before you agree to them.  I always read contracts before I sign them.

Well, it seems like Mr. Obama has done it again.  This bill controlling the credit companies has passed and again no one seems to know what it says.  I’ve been trying to figure out what is in it and see how much of it applies to me, but I can’t seem to find that information anywhere.  So much for the crystal clear government he promised.  When it comes to matters that actually affect the American people, this administration seems to be more secretive than ever. 

So, if anyone has any information about where I can find the contents of this secretive bill, please leave a comment and share it with everyone.

A truck going from Arizona to New York was searched at a routine scales stop on I-70 near Terre Haute, Indiana today.  Police brought out the search dogs and found 6 bales of marijuana hidden in the honey dew melon boxes.  In total police confiscated 133 lbs of marijuana and $4,000 in cash.

If they’d just legalize it, there wouldn’t be these types of packing mistakes.  Businesses would be able to have well marked packaging saying what is marijuana and what is melons.  It was be taxed like other goods and the government would start making money from it instead of spending money trying to prevent something. 

For a stronger case on legalizing marijuana please visit my story called “Marijuana, Curing Cancer Since 1975.”

Marijuana, weed, pot, mj, mary jane, and ganja are all different names for the same thing.  Since before I was born, the government has been using television, radio, and school systems to convince young people that marijuana is bad for you.  Well, I’m an adult now and I have been doing my own research. 

In 1997, the US Veterans Affairs Scientists were researching how using marijuana affects teens.  According to their research, “Marijuana use had no significant impact on physical or mental health care utilization, health-related quality of life, or current socio-demographic characteristics.“  Basically, it didn’t hurt them.

Now that we have established that marijuana is not harmful, let’s move on to it’s benefits.  Many marijuana users I have spoken to claim marijuana relieves headaches, back and joint pain, and stomach aches.  A few people have claimed that when they are overly stressed about something, if they smoke marijuana, they calm down and can focus better on the situation at hand. 

In 1975, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the findings of federal researchers that were studying the effects of THC in cancer induced lab rats.  They found that the THC, found in marijuana, significantly reduced the size of tumors and prolonged the rats’ lives.  In 1994, similar research was completed with the same results. 

So, let’s move from rats to humans.  In 1997, government researchers, that had been following 65,000 cigarette smokers, marijuana smokers, and non-smokers for nearly 10 years, concluded that the lung cancer rate in marijuana smokers was actually LOWER than that of non-smokers.  Again, in May 2006, Donald Tashkin was doing research for the government and found that heavy marijuana users have a lower risk of lung cancer.

Want more recent research?  The May 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation (www.jci.org) has an article called, “Active Component in Marijuana has Anti-Cancer Effects.”  After fishing through a lot of medical jargon, you’ll find that that this article states, “These findings describe a mechanism by which THC can promote the autophagic death of human and mouse cancer cells and provide evidence that cannabinoid administration may be an effective therapeutic strategy for targeting human cancers.”  That is the last sentence in the “abstract.”

So, there is still hope for a cure for cancer.  Why didn’t this make the front page of every newspaper in the United States?  I’ve spent my whole life listening to people tell me how bad marijuana is.  When I want to know why it is so bad, I find medical research that shows marijuana is not bad at all.  In fact, it’s a medical miracle provided by God in a very natural plant.  Yet, the majority of people ignore it because it’s considered a “dangerous drug.”  Well, I tell you what.  You watch someone close to you go through chemotherapy and radiation, then compare the physical dangers of that to the “dangers” of marijuana.  When you are done, tell me which you would prefer.

A Colorado woman wanted the letters “ILVTOFU” on the license plate of her SUV.  The Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles decided that letter combination would not be appropriate.  They said they never allow “FU” to be on a license plate because it could be offensive to other motorists. 

The woman said she wanted to express her family’s love of tofu and the her letter combination simply meant “I love tofu.”  She said the Division of Motor Vehicles misinterpreted her message.

My opinion? While this woman’s intentions were probably innocent, the first time I read that letter combination, I thought it read, “I love to ‘FU.’” So, maybe that’s not such a good thing to put on a license plate.