What Did You Learn Today?

I learned to mix paint. Yippeee! Was given a class in Paint Mixing 101. No hands on, however. No one was buying paint, including me. And it will be some time before I'm able to do it by myself. Of course, there is no manual or cheat sheet laying around to help you when you have to fly solo. But I understand the basic concept. I'm excited. One more new skill to add to my resume. Learning to make keys comes next.

My real interest comes from the fact that I might receive additional hours as a result. Lord knows I need them. Wally World's policy for part-timers is a guaranteed 16 hours. What on earth can you do with that? Fortunately, while my hours have been cut, I haven't reached that plateau, yet. If that happens, the brood and I will be sharing treats and I'll be reading by candle light.

Back to politics for a minute. I'm still riding the fence. I was sorry to see Edwards drop out; I thought he had good ideas but it wasn't his time. I also like Huckabee's stance on some issues. And while Hillary is pilloried for her looks--"thunder thighs"--has anybody looked at Huckabee's wife? She did not buy into his weight-loss program. And can you please tell me why factual statements are made out to be racist statements? Or why Ted Kennedy's endorsement of Obama, or Caroline's for that matter, is taken to be an anointing? I can understand the importance of Ted's endorsement as an elder statesman but Caroline's? Excuse me, other than running her family's endowment and publishing a book or two--where has she been and what has she done for the cause? And, let's be real. The Clintons were not wanted or accepted by the Washington establishment the first time around--so no one should be "surprised" by the hostility Hil is encountering. All in all, this election is fantastic to watch.

And Ripley is also having its civic moment. Several signs have sprouted for candidates for mayor and city aldermen or whatever they're called. I only know that the former mayor (who had a little scandal attached to his administration) and the current mayor are running, along with a host of others. Seems politics in Ripley follow the lines of politics everywhere. You take it for 4 years and then I'll take it. No signs for the national candidates. A small notice in the paper advising Democrats to attend a meeting on Saturday to determine delegates. I'll be at work and won't attend. I'm sure my absence will be noticed. At any rate, following this process should be interesting.

I'm also up for the Super Bowl. I don't care who wins. Not true; in my heart of hearts, I'm pulling for the Giants. Not that I think they have a snowball's chance of winning but I'm sick of the Patriots. I think I'd root for the hated Cowboys if they were playing. Now that really tells you how badly I want the Patriots to lose. Since I'm not invited to any Super Bowl parties (do they have them down here?), I'm hosting my own. Me, myself, and I, and the brood. Go Giants!