Whatcha' Doing?

Sending out resumes. Praying. Unpacking boxes. More electrical work. Watching the grass turn brown and disappear. Trying to beat the heat. Praying. Learning about my new neighbors, nepotism, and the politics of a small town.

Five people have died in the past week from the heat wave. The forecasters are saying they don't expect temperatures to leave 3 digits before the end of the month. Water restrictions are in place in many areas. I put myself on water restrictions some time ago. No rain in the Big Rip. Sky gets dark but nothing. Understand DC is at least getting rain though the heat is rough there, as well. Send some this way.

Made significant inroads into the box inventory. With shelves up, I was able to dispose of quite a few. Some will be repacked because of the number of chatskies I've collected over the years. As someone is fond of telling me, everything does not have to be on display. But I'm trying. Still haven't located a very important box but perhaps the contents were redistributed among others that haven't been opened yet. Here's hoping.

The electrical work is bordering on horrendous. Every time that man goes into an area, he comes back with something that curls my hair. Incorrectly spliced wires; wires gnawed through; wires dragging the ground; bare wires; overloaded circuits; a fuse box under the house? Good grief! It has to be older than me. And, I don't need to tell you that if the fuses blew, I wouldn't know where to have looked for it or wouldn't have tried to access the underbelly of the house, now do I? Pray for me; the job if far from finished and we know about electricity, don't we?

Nepotism is nothing new. Happens everywhere. But it is a fine art down this way. Talking about family members taking care of family members! Saw an article where the head of the power company was suing the city for $6 million. Claimed they, the city, inappropriately terminated his contract. Let me back up. He is the current head of the power company (and owns other businesses, as well) but he also signed a contract to head the gas and water company. The intent was to merge the two. Somewhere along the line, the merger didn't work out. They went back to separate departments and, I assume, that is when his contract was terminated. The court partially ruled in the city's favor last week but left a major part of it open. Turns out that his father-in-law was the mayor of the city at the time. Hmmm.

And I was "introduced" to the legend of Gladys Crain, a multimillionaire and major power broker in Lauderdale County. Unusual in that females don't usually hold that kind of overt power. Being a supporter of women's rights, I can only say, "Go Gladys, Go Gladys." However, she is definitely a piece of work and not to be crossed. Take a moment to read about this powerhouse: http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050814/NEWS0201/508140398
As was stated in the conversation I overheard: "It's not what you know but who you know in Ripley." Think I can meet Miss Gladys?

Say a prayer for me. So, whatch' doing?