Hey Guys and Dolls!

Just a quick note to say hello. I realized that my last blog post was talking about tornadoes and tropical storm Andrea. I didn't want anyone to think that I was flying through the sky or treading water, lol. It turned out to be pretty much nothing here but a little rain. Enough to keep me from working outside. Oh well, my day job is becoming a hobby anyway. I'm having way too much fun online.
I know many of you are curious as to what the Ultimate Cycler is so I'm letting the cat out of the bag. Tire kickers and the curious can look here. Don't worry I won't stalk you! Just satisfy your need to know, lol.

http://ultimatecapturepages.com/0005.php?id=2963&campaign=FB1

Y'all take care and be safe!

Scary weather warnings. Are they really necessary?

Hey Guys and Dolls!
   
     We are getting scary weather predictions around here to stay relevant I guess.  For two of the past three days we have been under a tornado "warning".  Up until then a "warning" was issued
when a funnel cloud had been sighted, now apparently it means about the same thing as a prediction of rain, that is, "could happen, might not."  They almost told us that a warning had
been issued due to the destruction in Oklahoma.  I yelled at the tv, "we are NOT in Oklahoma!"
Needless to say, they did not react to my annoyed outburst and continued to blah blah blah about weather that had pretty much no chance of occurring where I happened to be watching
their broadcast.
     Since we have just moved into a mobile home, I was more than a little concerned about tornado warnings as most all of us are aware of the old adage that tornadoes LOVE to destroy trailers.  Today we are under a tropical storm warning.  Although I should probably ignore it and go on about my business of ranting to you, and not be concerned about it, I can't help but wonder if we may not be in peril of the 3 to 5 inches of rain predicted or the potential for tornadoes to spawn off the ocean a mere 12 miles away.  It is my understanding that tornadoes don't give a rat's ass where
they go or what kind of havoc they may reek, and they have no sense of direction either, so it's possible that my fate may lie in the hands of,...... well, ....fate!
     Trusting in God and the humor and sarcasm gods as well, I fully expect to be here once the storm has passed and done its darnedest to mess up someone's life.  So, thumbing my nose at tropical storm Andrea, I am planning my work day for tomorrow.
     Y'all take care and be safe!

I can help people make, save, and manage money! Cool stuff here!

Hey Guys and Dolls!

     I am finally able to help people make, save, and manage money.    

I have found a truly amazing money machine!  It's pure, simple, and very fast!

You are in a "matrix cycler", but you get paid instantly, member to member.   No one

touches  your money but you!  This is a one-time $25.00 entry and you just keep

making more and more money out of profits.

     There is also a facebook  group chock full of people who do nothing but help you

to be successful.  I cannot sell anything, but even I am making this work. 

     Whether you are new or a seasoned professional this will make you money!

We would love to have you join us.  Everyone is welcome to the group and the group

helps you to be successful.  I have never seen anything like this.  The support is just

unbelievable.  The system is unbelievable.  The money is unbelievably fast!

     Inbox me now for all the details.

A Great Example of A Product Driven Company

Hey Guys and Dolls!

     A little while back I wrote a piece about how a real company was product driven, not just a means to make money.  This is a great example of such a company.  The money is there of course, after building a business.  In fact a very good friend of mine in this business has a guaranteed commission of $600 a month now after 90 days and can only go up from there.  Not a bazillion dollars, but it is an honestly built home business that is making money and does have huge potential.  And most importantly, in my opinion, the focus is on the products not the income.

     This fan page is built by another friend of mine in the business. I'm featuring her page, frankly because I am considering joining her in the near future, just as soon as things settle down here in other respects of my life.  Please check it out. I believe you will find it interesting and worthwhile, for the products first and then the business opportunity.  Thanks.

Take care of each other and be safe!

Duh! Here's the link:  https://www.facebook.com/ruthlawrencebodywraps

   

Oklahoma Tragedy.

Hey Guys and Dolls!
   
     The Oklahoma tornado is very much on our minds I'm sure.  All those people whose lives have been shattered makes me really appreciate what I have.  My heart goes out most of all though, to the parents of the children who are now in heaven.  Those of us who have experienced the loss of a child are the only ones who know what they are going through.  Their pain cannot be imagined by anyone who has not had the experience.  It can arguably best be described as feeling as though your heart has been savagely ripped from your body and shredded.  Their pain will never go away, it will only lessen over time - a very long time.  In the future when they speak of their lost ones, they will be able to smile through the tears, but the tears will still come.  They will take their solace in knowing that their babies are in heaven and that they have reached their reward, way too soon in our time, but in God's time.

     But right now, that truth doesn't mean a damn thing.  It's only unbelievable pain.  If you know any of these people and you encounter them, you think you won't know what to say.  Here is what you tell them. If you knew the child and can think of something positive, then say it, such as "She/He was always such a happy girl/boy" or "I remember the picnic (or other event) when she/he looked so cute in the sack race (watermelon eating contest- whatever it was)"  

     If you didn't know the child say to them "I am so sorry for the loss of "child's name".  If you don't know the name or can't remember then say "I am so sorry for your loss."  DO NOT say anything like "he/she is in a better place." "Well, thank goodness you have other children." or ANYTHING else to try and comfort them.  DO NOT tell them a story about someone you have lost or that your second cousin's daughter's boyfriend's mother lost a child.  THEY DON'T CARE!  There is NOTHING that you or anyone else can say that will comfort them or make them feel better!  Just express sympathy, and that is ALL!

     If you say something stupid like the examples above, if they even hear you, they will think you are an idiot and they will be right.

Take care of each other and be safe!

Hey Guys and Dolls!

My wife Jan, and I were talking this afternoon in one our many conversations and she told me a

story that had me rolling on the floor laughing.  I have to tell you that although she is a very warm,

compassionate, and all round incredibly wonderful woman, one thing that really attracted me to

her is the fact that she is often unfiltered.  A lot of the time, in her words "if I get a thought it

just comes right out of my mouth without going through my brain", and she is hilarious.

   Somehow we got on the subject of people that annoy you when they take advantage of you.

Before we met, Jan lived in North Carolina in a little bitty town.  Many of the residents had no

transportation even in this mostly rural area because they were too poor.  Jan became friendly

with one of the poor folk who for unknown reasons was a lady called Big Ear.

For all I know it could have been her real name since she named her kids Puddin, Man, and John.

How "John" got in there none of us will ever know.  (Absolutely true, no names have been

changed to protect the innocent or the guilty, lol.)

   Anyway, Big Ear asked Jan one day to give her a ride to Tarboro NC, a town about 10 miles

away. Now given the cost of gas at the time, and given the fact that Jan had enough to do every

day (due to circumstances) to keep 3 people busy all day and didn't need the interruption, she told

Big Ear that she would do it for 10 dollars.
 
   Once word got around that Jan would give rides to town for 10 dollars round trip, the phone

started ringing off the wall.  This wasn't necessarily a bad thing in that 10 bucks a pop for a round

trip of 20 miles was profitable enough to make it worth her while as long as it didn't interfere with

everything else she had going on.

   Now to the annoying part and being taken advantage of.  One day Big Ear asked Jan to take her

to Tarboro to the Piggly Wiggly grocery store.  But this time was different. After the grocery store,

Big Ear wanted Jan to take her to the bank, then to Kentucky Fried Chicken, then somewhere else.

Jan told her "Look, you gave me $10 to take you to the Piggly Wiggly, not to chase around town

on an errand tour using my time and my gas.  I have a lot of other things to get done today.  Next

time it's one stop and one stop only, and go back home.  Any more than one stop will be more

money and the stops will have to be agreed to and the money has to be paid up front."

   Next month when the food stamps came again, Big Ear called Jan for a ride to the Piggly Wiggly.

After the grocery store, Big Ear asked Jan if she would stop by KFC and the liquor store. Knowing

Jan as I do, I can see the steam that must have been pouring out of her ears.  Needless to say, an

argument ensued and my girl won of course, being the driver, and being right.

   A couple of days after, Jan ran into Big Ear at the local quick stop store.  Jan told Big Ear that

her phone number had changed and the next time she needed a ride to call the new number.  Jan

further explained "Someone besides me will answer, and you just tell them where you want to go."

Big Ear thanked her and went on her way.

   You guessed it.  The next time the food stamps arrived, Big Ear called Jan's new number and

was totally pissed off when she heard "Tarboro Cab Company, may I help you?"

The Bicycle Angel

Hey Guys and Dolls!

Have you ever seen an angel on earth?  If you have then you know what I'm talking about.

Here is my experience with an angel.  In the year 2000, I took a job with a company where

I drove around all day on a route and sold frozen food from a little yellow truck.  I would

go to my customer's houses every two weeks and every time I was there I was supposed

to show our new food products and see if I could talk them into trying the new products.

In all fairness, the food was really good, except for a "miss" here and there.  And it all had

a full money back guarantee which was honored with integrity.  The new products were

to be carried in a "freezer bag" which was issued to us.  If we lost the bag, we were charged

$65.00, so it was not something I took lightly and always made sure that after showing our

new products and getting the customer order, I took the bag back to the truck and put it

back in the freezer compartment, all ready for the next customer presentation.

     One day I stopped at a regular customer's house in the ghetto part of town, not being

politically correct here, it was a dangerous area and I made sure that my truck was locked

up tight.  On this particular day, I was training a new driver so I had him help me find the

food order, carry it to the customer, and generally do the things that I routinely did.  There were

two new products on this day as well, a box of 12 cheeseburgers selling for about 15 dollars

and a roast selling for 25 bucks.  So I have the bag, 65 dollars, the cheeseburgers, 15 dollars,

the roast, 25 dollars for a grand total of 105 dollars worth of product plus the bag.

You know what's coming right?  We left our last stop in the ghetto and drove about 4 miles

to a much more affluent and safer neighborhood.  When we got to our first stop, I opened

the freezer compartment which housed the bag of new products and it wasn't there.  I asked

the trainee if he put the bag in a different compartment, to which he replied "I thought you

had it."  This is one reason why I hate to have two people or more doing a task or project

together.  Someone always "assumes" that someone else is doing the job that either or both

should have been taking care of.  Of course, it was my fault the bag was missing as it was

my truck, my route, and my trainee.  I was mad at myself for not paying closer attention.

     After a thorough search of all the freezer compartments, we determined that the bag

must have been left at the last stop in the ghetto, either at the lady's house or on the truck

bumper, where it probably fell off and someone in the 'hood got some free food and a nice

cooler bag to go with it.  But being an optimist, we drove back the four miles to the 'hood

and knocked on the lady's door, hoping to retrieve the bag from her house.  She answered

and told us that we hadn't left the bag there.  I had been dealing with this customer for quite

some time at this point and we had a good relationship. I completely trusted and believed her.

We thanked her and drove slowly back toward our next route area.  At this point, school had

let out about 10 minutes before we had knocked on her door.  So I'm frantic and looking along

the street for the bag and hoping for a miracle.  Wait for it.............

     As we turned a corner, a huge group of children from middle school to high school age

were all walking down the middle of the road causing us to crawl slowly to avoid running

into any of the kids.  All of a sudden, the crowd parted.  A young man appeared from the

midst of the crowd, riding a bicycle and with the bag slung over his shoulder.  With a huge

smile on his face, he rode up to my side of the truck and passed the bag to me without saying

a word.  I checked the bag and the cheeseburgers and the roast were inside.  As I sat there in a

state of shock, I finally was able to speak and said to the trainee,

"Grab a box of popsicles and give them to that guy for returning the bag".

We both got out of the truck as I was going to yell for the guy to hold up a minute and thank

him for returning the bag.  

     The trainee and I both looked past the truck and on the road.  The young man had vanished

as quickly as he had appeared and there was not a trace of him to be found.

I looked at the trainee incredulously with goose bumps rising on my body and said "Do you

believe in angels?"

His response, "I do now!"

I breathed a quick and fervent "Thank you Lord" and finished out the day completely

stunned by what we had witnessed.

And that Guys and Dolls, is my angel story.  Absolutely nothing will convince me that I

did not encounter an angel that day, and I had a witness.