Sears Craftsman Hand Tools

When I was younger, I liked to work on cars. This meant I needed tools. For just about any job that is done, there is some kind of tool that is needed to do that job. Even a computer could be considered a tool.

Because of their reputation, and lifetime warranty, I bought my first set of tools from Sears. Their Craftsman line was considered one of the best, and had a lifetime warranty. Some people have preferences for tools, for example, they will only buy from one brand name, like Makita.

Those who don't know anything about tools, should always ask questions about what they want from the tools they buy. How is it made and what materials are used? Is it accurate? What kind of warranty comes with the tool?

Tools are made using different materials and specifications. Some lower cost tools can break, due to the type of material/metal/plastic used and it's thickness. And the size of the tool may not be accurate. For example, a 3/8 wrench may not be 3/8 of an inch, it could be +/- some small fraction of an inch.

Tools with Lifetime warranties are made better with stronger materials and tolerances as close to 100% as possible. There are many tools that have Lifetime warranties. One of the better known companies with a Lifetime warranty on their tools is Snap-on.

Sometimes people want to know the difference between expensive Snap-on tools and less expensive Craftsman tools.

If you want to remove a 1/2 inch nut, you would need a 1/2 inch wrench. Both companies make 1/2 inch wrenches in various lengths. If you compare the two, you will see that the Snap-on wrench is thinner and has less material near where the opening is where you would use the wrench on a bolt. Even the shaft is thinner. This means that the metal they use has to be stronger than the metal that the Craftsman brand uses, or else it will fail and break. Also it is obvious that the Snap-on tool is smooth and shiny. That means that after it is cast, it is polished to a mirror shine. This process is time consuming and expensive. These are the reasons why Snap-on tools and others like it, cost more than the Craftsman brand. Craftsman tools are more affordable, and most of the time, they do just as good a job as more expensive "shiny" tools, in my opinion.

Well, I've owned my Craftsman set for over 25 years, adding on more tools here and there. I finally decided to upgrade my wrench and socket sets. There are complete sets of wrenches and sockets available from Sears and I recently ordered them separately. I could use extra wrenches and get sizes that I didn't already have by buying a new set, and the same goes for the sockets. The newer sockets also have special easy-to-read markings.

All was well with ordering the 43 piece standard and metric size wrench set. The socket set cost a lot more, so that was my deterrent to buy it right away. Then, the set was increased from a 299 piece standard and metric socket set to a 311 piece set. Then, it went on sale with free shipping! I placed my order on December 16, 2010.

On December 18,2010, I received an e-mail from Sears, stating that the item I ordered was SHIPPED with a delivery date between December 22-24, and I was given a tracking number for UPS.

On December 20, 2010, my credit card was charged.

I kept checking the UPS tracking number and it said the same thing, “A label for this shipment has been created, but UPS does not yet have possession of this shipment. Once we receive the shipment, the tracking status will be updated.”

After 10 days I contacted Sears about this shipment and was told that it was shipped to me.

I responded by telling Sears that I am aware of that, but I did not receive the shipment, and that there was no Tracking information available for it.

I was sent a follow-up e-mail telling me that the shipment was shipped "from the Warehouse to the store and will take 2-3 more business days before it is shipped to you."

I kept checking the UPS tracking info and nothing changed.

On January 19, 2011, one month after I was told the item was shipped to me, I re-contacted Sears telling them that I still had not received the order but that I still wanted it, even though it now appeared to be out of stock according to the Sears website, and would wait for it to be in stock. I wanted to make sure that they were aware that it was not yet shipped to me.

Sears replied that they would look into it, and see what happened to my order. Another department of Sears wrote back to me stating that I returned the item and they canceled my order right then.

I replied and explained to them what happened, that I never received the item, and therefore never returned it, and that I want my order fulfilled, not canceled.

Their next reply addressed me as “Nasal," mistaking it for my name. And they told me to just re-order it.

I got angry about being called "Nasal," and said that I would not re-order it because it was on sale with free shipping when I bought it, and vow never to buy another Craftsman or Sears product.

They replied explaining to me how sometimes items that show that they are in stock, are not really in stock, due to inventory errors.

However, that point was moot because the item was shipped to me, and upon the first investigation, it was supposedly at a Sears store, being readied to ship to me.

During this time I researched Craftsman tools and found out that Craftsman tools from when I originally purchased them, were made by a company that was replaced in 1994 by another company. The tools that I own were manufactured by the old company, and they now make tools for Home Depot.

So, I no longer need to buy Craftsman tools, as the Home Depot brand also with a Lifetime warranty is made by the same company that made the tools that I currently own.

In fact, I no longer need Sears for anything. No wonder Sears is not doing well.

As a parting note, I wrote this to Sears.

"Good luck staying in business,

'Nasal'”

Their last reply to me, addressed me as "Nasal" again.

Test Driving a Prius

I got into a car accident at the beginning of the year. It wasn't my fault, and no one was injured. However, my Truck was no longer drivable, due to the damage. More on this in another post after it is all settled.

So, I needed a car to drive. I called my brother, who, due to the death of his Father-in-law, had an extra car. This car happened to be a second generation Toyota Prius. I have never driven a Prius before. It is "different."

It is designed as a "futuristic" car, with many displays and controls that are digital, electronic, and/or computerized. This can be a hassle to deal with. For example, instead of moving a lever or turning a knob to adjust the heater, you have to press the "Climate" button, look for the temperature adjustment on the computer screen, then press the up or down button and set the temperature to whatever degree you want. That in itself is a hassle. What's better, 72 degrees? 73 degrees? 74 degrees? You get the picture. How much easier it is to just turn a knob. Hotter? Turn the knob to the right. Cooler? Turn the knob to the left.

Then there's the "Speedometer." It is digital, and more or less in the left center of the dash board. All this information, engine temperature, oil pressure, fuel level, and speed should be right in front of the Driver's eyes, not towards the center of the car. And the center touch screen for the Climate, Audio, etc, controls is in the center of the car, below the dash.

This means that the Driver is constantly taking his eyes off the road in front of him, to look left or center and down, to make adjustments to his speed, temperature, radio stations, etc. This is dangerous. You have to "learn" how to disregard all of this and keep your eyes on the road. A friend of mine has said that she always sees Prius drivers in accidents. Personally, I haven't seen an increase in accidents involving Prius Drivers, but if it does happen, I wouldn't doubt it.

But, I did consider buying one to replace my wrecked truck. So I rented the newer 3rd generation Prius. The Dash board info center is even closer to center than the 2nd generation! It is better that they put it deep inside a "hole" in the dash to help with sun glare, but more to the center? They should have moved it more to the Driver's side.

Some of the controls were made more in tune with conventional cars, as the climate control is now separate buttons NOT on a computer touch screen.

The radio in the cheaper models are also separate manual buttons not on the computer touch screen.

The one I rented had the Navigation option which had all the radio controls on the computer touch screen. And it came with a GPS navigation system. This too was a distracting device, but it can be turned off, and since it includes a back-up camera when you put the car in reverse, it is a good option for safety.

Performance wise, the engine has more "Pep" than the 2nd generation. It also can be placed in 3 different modes, Electric, Evo, and Power. Electric means it will run only on the electric motor up to a certain speed, about 20 mph. Evo means it is in "normal" mode, and drives much like the 2nd generation. Power mode makes noticeable "OOMPH." In this mode, the car uses more of the gasoline engine to power the car and thus gets less miles per gallon.

As I drove this car for 2 days, it impressed me for what it does best, save gas. I got over 50 miles per gallon in a combination of City and Highway driving. I did notice a drop when in power mode.

But it did not impress me as the kind of car I need for my everyday duties. For me, it would be a great second car, just to go to work, IF I had a long commute, which I don't.

And also, it does not make sense to me, but the older 2nd generation one seems to be better than the new one. The newer one has better controls and comforts, even more power. But the older one seems to do it's job better, even though I got less miles per gallon.

If you're interested in a Prius, it is a comfortable roomy car and gets excellent gas mileage. And with gasoline prices set to rise over 4 dollars per gallon in the United States, it may be the hot car to have. I may regret not buying one, but we'll see what happens.

My First Post of 2011

Well, sorry if you've been waiting but I have not had many experiences that I wished to write about. Though I have written about Political things, I really don't like to, and am considering erasing all of my Political posts. Anyway, I recently got into a car accident and thought I'd share something.

I grew up near Downtown LA. It was a great lower class neighborhood that had lots of hard working people, as well as poor unemployed people.

It was a safe area, though there were some street gangs. Things did get a little rough in the early 80's to 90's, but no one in my family was ever hurt or felt scared. But we all developed "Street Smarts" or so, I thought we all did.

All of my brothers and sisters moved out of the area and now live in better neighborhoods. I now work in the area. We all visit our Mother often.

As I was coming over one night, Another driver hit my truck and caused damage to my rear axle, making my car undrivable. I had it towed to my Mother's house and left it there.

The only one I told about my accident was my brother because I had to borrow his car. But it is pretty obvious that I was involved in a car accident, as the damage to my rear axle is obvious.

I was sure that my sister could figure this out, as she came over to the house the next day, and would wonder why my truck was in the yard when I was supposed to be at work.

A few days later, while I was working, an Insurance adjuster came over to assess the damage. I let him in, then had to leave and go on a call. While he was doing his job looking over my truck, my sister came over again to visit our Mother.

When she saw a stranger in our yard looking at my truck, she panicked. "WHAT IS A STRANGE MAN DOING IN THERE!" she was probably thinking. She then called me, left a voicemail AND a text telling me what was happening in the yard.

Obviously, though we all grew-up here and have some “Street Smarts,” my sister has lost some "Street cred." When witnessing someone doing something unusual, one could come to the conclusion that someone dressed like a gang member, with a gun, knife, bat, stick, and/or screwdriver, etc, and sneaking around looking for things COULD be a criminal, and the situation could be dangerous.

However, a short man, thin build, wearing glasses, a pullover sweater, dress pants and dress shoes, taking pictures and measurements of my truck, and writing things down on a pad, doesn't really fall into the category of a threat.

At my sister's expense, I'm still laughing over this.

Shameless Copy and Paste and Editing

I is Ninja

I is Ninja
Ninja I is

That Ninja I is!
That Ninja I is!
I do not like
that Ninja I is!

Do you like this Blog of his?

I do not like it,
Ninja I is.
I do not like
this Blog of his.

Would you read it
Here or there?

I would not read it
here or there.
I would not read it
anywhere.
I do not like
this Blog of his.
I do not like it,
Ninja I is

Would you read it
in a house?
Would you read it
with a mouse?

I would not read it
in a house.
I would not read it
with a mouse.
I would not read it
here or there.
I would not read it
anywhere.
I do not like this Blog of his.
I do not like it, Ninja I is.


Would you read it
in a box?
Would you read it
with a fox?

Not in a box.
Not with a fox.
Not in a house.
Not with a mouse.
I would not read it here or there.
I would not read it anywhere.
I would not read this Blog of his.
I do not like it, Ninja I is.

Would you? Could you?
in a car?
Read it! Read it!
Here it is.

I would not,
could not,
in a car

You may like it
You will see.
You may like it
in a tree?
I would not, could not in a tree.
Not in a car! You let me be.

I would not read it in a box.
I would not read it with a fox
I would not read it in a house
I would not read it with a mouse
I would not read it here or there.
I would not read it anywhere.
I do not like this Blog of his.
I do not like it, Ninja I is.

A train! A train!
A train! A train!
Could you, would you
on a train?

Not on a train! Not in a tree!
Not in a car! Ninja! Let me be!
I would not, could not, in a box.
I could not, would not, with a fox.
I will not read it with a mouse
I will not read it in a house.
I will not read it here or there.
I will not read it anywhere.
I do not like it, Ninja I is.

Say!
In the dark?
Here in the dark!
Would you, could you, in the dark?

I would not, could not,
in the dark.

Would you, could you,
in the rain?

I would not, could not, in the rain.
Not in the dark. Not on a train,
Not in a car, Not in a tree.
I do not like it, Ninja, you see.
Not in a house. Not in a box.
Not with a mouse. Not with a fox.
I will not read it here or there.
I would not read it anywhere!

You do not like
this Blog of his?

I do not
like it,
Ninja I is.

Could you, would you,
with a goat?

I would not,
could not.
with a goat!

Would you, could you,
on a boat?

I could not, would not, on a boat.
I will not, will not, with a goat.
I will not read it in the rain.
I will not read it on a train.
Not in the dark! Not in a tree!
Not in a car! You let me be!
I would not read it in a box.
I would not read it with a fox.
I would not read it in a house.
I would not read it with a mouse.
I would not read it it here or there.
I would not read it ANYWHERE!

I do not like
this Blog of his!

I do not like it,
Ninja I is.

You do not like it
So you say.
Read it! Read it!
And you may.
Read it and you may I say.

Ninja!
If you will let me be,
I will read it.
You will see.

Say!
I like this Blog of his!
I do!! I like it, Ninja I is!
And I would read it in a boat!
And I would read it with a goat...
And I will read it in the rain.
And in the dark. And on a train.
And in a car. And in a tree.
It is so good, so good you see!

So I will read it in a box.
And I will read it with a fox.
And I will read it in a house.
And I will read it with a mouse.
And I will read it here and there.
Say! I will read it ANYWHERE!

I do so like
this Blog of his!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Ninja I is

Why, WHY?

Every once in a while, I do things to remind myself why I don't do those things in the first place.

Touch a hot stove, OUCH! It burns and hurts a lot.

Stub a toe, OWWWIE! That hurts too!

Fall in Love, NO! WHY? Never again! Don't ask! I SAID, DON'T ASK!

Anyway, today I was hungry and I wanted to eat something quick. I was behind in what I wanted to do today, so I decided to eat somewhere close, within walking distance. Getting in my car, driving somewhere, parking, then coming back just seemed like it would put me even further behind in my day.

I had no choice. I had to do it. There was no other way around it, I HAD to eat at McDonald's. NOOOOOOOOOO! Well since I was going to eat there, I might as well order a Big Mac. And though I remember that they have good french fries, I decided that I'd rather fill up on two burgers, and skip the fries and large drink. So I also bought one of their new-fangled Angus Bacon Cheese burgers.

I'm old enough to remember when McDonald's was good. But things have changed. Whether it's because you rarely see them cooking anymore and use Microwaves, they cut costs, and/or use cheaper ingredients, McDonald's has lost my favor. Or should I say, they lost their flavor.

Let's look into this. Here are pictures of the burgers I ordered, pictures I took from the Internet, probably used by McDonald's themselves to advertise their product.

Big Mac



Angus Bacon Cheese Burger



Now here are pictures of the burgers that I bought. In essence, the "Real" burgers, not the dolled up marketing versions.

Real Big Mac



Real Angus Bacon Cheese Burger



Looks NOTHING like the advertisement and not very appetizing.

Here's a dissected look.

Big Mac. Where's all that Special Sauce? I like how the box it came in reminds you that it's 100% beef. Well I should hope so! But I guess when you eat it, you can't help but wonder differently.




Look, the meat is so thin, when I picked it up, it broke in half. Wow, if it was a "real" piece of thick meat, it wouldn't have done that.



Angus Bacon Cheese Burger. Not much to it. It's supposed to be 1/3 pound. Maybe 1/3 pound before 1/6 pound of fat gets cooked away. This looks more like a regular sized meat patty. And what's with the minimal amount of vegetables. Only pickles and onion? Where's the lettuce and tomato?



The bacon is so thin, it looks like paper. See the comparison with the card I'm holding up next to it? It's so thin, it's sacrilegious! Pigs are not thin, why should their meat be thin? Thin bacon is like having no bacon at all!



I guess I'm good for another 25-50 years.

Christine

I have friends who name their vehicles, whether its a bicycle, motorcycle, car or truck. Sometimes it's a proper name like Sam. Sometimes it's a nickname like "The Beast" or "Bumpy." Say Hello to Jenny and Ericka everyone. :)

I'm not criticizing this or making any kind of judgment. It's just something I personally can not do.

Why? Have you ever heard of the movie "Christine?"

Well if I ever name my car, that means it's possessed and it will want to kill you. That's right, you don't EVER want me to give my car a name. You're welcome.

Global Warming

Everyone is talking about Global Warming. Why? Because the weather all over the Earth has been crazy! First off, to be clear, Global Warming does NOT mean that the weather is hot all the time. It refers to the average temperature of the Earth and that it seems to be going up by 1 degree every few years.

This upward trend is blamed for the cause of our weird weather patterns and other phenomenons. They say our world will eventually turn into a wasteland if this trend continues. I don't want to live in a wasteland!

This is where the disagreements start. Some say that the change is man-made, and some say it is occurring naturally.

Regardless, the culprit is what people call "Greenhouse" gases. One of those gases is Carbon Dioxide. When living things breathe, we exhale Carbon Dioxide. Many cars and factories produce Carbon Dioxide.

To prevent this, we need to lessen the impact of this excess Carbon Dioxide that we create. The only thing I know of that does this, is plants. Through Photosynthesis, plants "breathe in" Carbon Dioxide and give off Oxygen.

Oxygen is what all living things need for their bodies to function properly. Oxygen helps keeps us healthy by providing nourishment to our brains and heart. Maybe with Global Warming, our Oxygen content is going down too. That would explain a lot of things. There's more health problems, heart attacks, and more crazy people in the world. It must be the lack of Oxygen! What if all we needed was more Oxygen producing plants?

But what are we doing in the world today? Cutting down the Rain Forests and replacing "green" with concrete in other places. We need to stop this trend. We need more plants in the world to combat the excess Carbon Dioxide that we create.

So I have decided to start a new trend to lessen my production of Carbon Dioxide. Exercise makes you breathe harder and faster. That stops right now. Sedentary is my new motto. Eating "right" means having fruits and vegetables with your meals. That ends too! No more killing plant life for me! Living plants give me Oxygen, dead plants make me go poo. Poo makes even MORE greenhouse gasses! And last but not least, I will eat more meat. Animals create just as much Carbon Dioxide as the next Greenhouse gas producer, so we're better off to have less of them.

So all of you "Greenies" out there in Cyberland, riding your bicycles, and living/eating a Vegetarian or Vegan lifestyle, take a good look at yourself in the mirror. YOU are killing the Earth!

What? So you say my new way of living is unhealthy and will lead to my early demise? Well, maybe it's better than getting old and living in a wasteland.

Firefighters 24/7/365

Firefighters are rarely publicly recognized for their work. And why should we be? It's our job, and we get paid to do what we do. But every so often, an organization shows their appreciation for Firefighters. Usually this comes after large scale incidents like Brush Fires, Earthquakes, Floods, Riots, etc.

Sure, sometimes a citizen will thank us for what we do. Sometimes we even get cookies, cakes, ice cream or food. Sometimes a big hug. We do appreciate it, but really, it's not necessary. It's what we do.

Our Fire Station is near Dodger Stadium. The Stadium was once in another Fire Station's District. Even though we were closer to the main entrance, Dodger Stadium belonged to someone else. About 2-3 years ago, that other Fire Station was closed and a new one was built to replace it. That Station was moved about one mile from where they used to be, so their district was redrawn, and we ended up officially covering Dodger Stadium.

As far as I know, an individual Fire Station has never been personally recognized for their work by the Dodgers. But, for reasons unclear to us, we were chosen to be recognized today. The Dodgers asked us to pick four members to represent our Station, in a ceremony on the field before the game, and gave us four tickets to the Baseline box seats. These seats were in the second row from the field, and included all you can eat food from one of the Stadium Clubs.

The four individual members were chosen by seniority at the Station, one from each shift, and one chosen by our Chief. On the A shift Engineer Don Witty was chosen with about 17 years at this Fire Station. On the B shift, Engineer Richard Villata was picked with about 24 years at the Station. On the C shift, Apparatus Operator Rubin Hunt was chosen with about 20 years at this Station. The 4th was Captain Charles Clark who had many years in and around the Station, and spent the last 5 years at this Station. The last three were also going to retire within the next eight months. Family, friends, and co-workers were offered free tickets to the game. In total, we had over 40 people show up to give us support.

At the last minute, Captain Clark could not go due to an injury and he was not able to walk and/or stand up for a very long time. So, Capt Clark asked me to take his place. Even though I was scheduled to work Overtime that day, I gave it up for this once in a lifetime opportunity.

At Dodger Stadium, we were chaperoned by one of the staff. He gave us field passes and led us down to an area behind Home plate where they had roped off sections. There were many other groups there who were also being recognized or were guests of someone. This is where we learned that State Farm sponsored us for the "Good Neighbor" award. We met our State Farm representative, and invited them to our Station. We watched the opposing team hit batting practice. We took pictures. We picked up baseballs. Then we got instructions on how and where to line up, and we waited.

Little did we know, another group was waiting too. Members of the Morman Church were there, and one of the Elders was going to throw out the first pitch. We thought maybe we were going to do that. Well, we were kinda hoping we would.

Standing there in our roped off area, I was a little bored. Only the opposing team was out there, and no one famous was around. 2 brothers, both retired from the LAFD recognized us and talked to us for a few minutes, yelling from the stands.

Then I noticed something odd. I saw a man on the ground between 3rd base and Home Plate. People were around him. I didn't know why he was down, it could have been any reason. Maybe he got hit by a baseball? Anyway, I walked over to see what was going on, and noticed a man who at best, was not breathing well. Maybe he was choking on something? I removed his dress shirt and tie and checked his pulse. He had none. I immediately started CPR. I did compressions and my fellow Firefighters were asking the family questions and getting the proper equipment. I heard "Get oxygen, call for a Paramedic," and I added, "Get a Defibrillator."

After a few minutes doing compressions, another off-duty Firefighter came up and took over for me. By then the Dodger Stadium medical crew for non-players was there. The Dodgers staff a Doctor, 2-4 Nurses, and an EMT ambulance. All seemed to show up right when I needed them.

I hooked up the Defibrillator to the patient and he was in V-Fib, so I shocked him. Only one was needed to get him out of V-fib. The patient regained his pulse, and seemed to become conscious but did not speak. During this time I started an Intravenous line from supplies that the Ambulance crew brought. It didn't last too long and he was back in V-fib. I shocked him 2 more times, and by then the crew of my Fire Station that was on duty was there. I grabbed the Intubation equipment and intubated the patient. We loaded him into our Ambulance and the on duty crew took him to the Hospital.

The four of us dusted off our clothes and went back to waiting for our ceremony to start. That's when we learned that the man who went down was the one who was going to throw out the first pitch. One of his Church members took his place and Engineer Witty was given a glove to be his Catcher. Right after that, we were introduced to the crowd, given a special Baseball bat with "2010 Good Neighbor Award" printed on it, and then ushered off the field. We changed out of our uniforms, and were escorted to our seats. The seats were awesome.

I called to see how the patient was doing, and found out that he did not make it. I'd like to tell you that he is alive and recovering, that somehow, he would make it. Unfortunately, this time, there was to be no happy ending. And this is how this story will end, with no happy ending.

What About ME?

People say that today's generation's biggest problem is that they mostly just think about themselves. You can see it all around you, volunteerism is down. Getting people to give blood or platelets is like, well trying to get blood from people.

Recently after 2 separate house fires, I had the chance to experience this generation of people first hand.

During a small garage fire that was almost completely extinguished, a woman came up to me and asked me if she could get her car out. I looked over to where she was pointing, and saw that her car was blocked in by our Fire Hose that went from the Fire Hydrant to the Fire engine. Keep in mind that the Hydrant supplies the water that is helping us put out the fire.

I said, "No, I'm sorry, but you can't drive over Fire hose." You see, by driving over it, you could damage the hose by puncturing a hole in it and preventing the supply of water to the fire.

She said, "But I have to go to work!"

I said, "You'll have to call in and tell them you're going to be late."

She said, "But it's my first day of work! I can't be late!"

I said, "I don't know what to tell you. You have to call in."

She repeated herself and I told her I would check on the status of the fire, since it was almost out, and estimate how long we would be.

Luckily for her, the fire was out, and it wouldn't take too long to get her car out.

So I told her, "The fire is out, we can shut down the hydrant for a few minutes and drain the hose to move it and you can get the car out right now."

She said, "I don't have my car keys, I'll go get them."

Five to ten minutes later, she returns with her keys and leaves. I don't even think she said "Thank you."



After we put out an early morning house fire, I was back at my Fire Dept vehicle taking off my Firefighting jacket. Fighting a fire is hard work, all while wearing heavy coats, pants, boots a helmet, and a air tank on your back. As I was "suiting down," one on the occupants of the house that was on fire came up to me and asked, "Do you have any bottled water? We're thirsty."

I did understand that since it was early morning, the occupants were awakened out of bed and had to flee without eating, drinking or being able to use the bathroom as people usually do when they wake up in the morning. But the same was for us, AND we had to put out the fire. Being exhausted and thirsty myself, I was thinking, "You've GOT to be kidding, right?" Besides, a Fire Vehicle is not a food truck, the only food and drink, if any, is personal stuff brought by the individual. Anyway, I said no, and went back in the house to do the clean-up work.



Another time, we were in the clean-up stages after putting out a house fire, when we were approached by one of the neighbors. The neighbor started complaining about the smell of smoke in her house. She left her windows open and the smoke from the house fire drifted in. She wanted us to do something about it. Sorry, there's nothing we can do.

Then she came out again and complained about a few ashes that had landed in her driveway and wanted us to clean her driveway. We did get a hose and wash down her driveway. All this while we were still making sure the fire in the house was completely out and damaged item were removed from the building.

Wolves in Wolves Clothing

Well, the best way I can describe what the difference between a Democrat and a Republican is a joke I once heard.

A little girl saw a homeless man on the street asking for money. She asked her parents if she could give him five dollars. The Democrat parent said, "I'm very proud of you for wanting to help that homeless man." The Republican parent said, "I tell you what, if you mow the lawn, I'll give you five dollars and you can give it to the homeless man." The little girl thought about it for a minute and said, "What don't you ask the homeless man to mow the lawn and give him five dollars instead?" The Republican parent said, "Welcome to the Republican party."

And this is why I'm more Republican than anything else. Everyone should be responsible for themselves, as much as possible.

That's not all though. Republicans are supposed to be for less Government spending. Notice I wrote, "supposed to be."

GW Bush was a Republican, and he surely didn't believe that. Of course, President Obama doesn't believe in it either.

Unfortunately, things have changed. Why? Money. Money is the root of everything now. In order for these crooked politicians and their parties to get money, they have to be in charge. To be in charge, they need your votes. So they try to appease you and tell you what you want to hear to get your votes.

If you are in charge of a large voting block, like a Union, you get showered with promises. Doesn't matter if those promises are kept, as long as those promises are made. Heck, blame the broken promises on the "Other" party.

Honestly, now, it always seems to be a choice that comes down to the lesser of two evils. What ever happened to choosing the best person for the job?

So, even though I am a Republican, I'm not "Today's" Republican. I'm just a relic of what once was. Today's politicians are no longer working for the people. They're working for themselves and their wallet.

Remember this, "Politics. Latin for Poly and Tics. Poly = Many / Tics = Blood sucking parasites."