Sexual Harrassment and the Media Hypocrisy

Matt Lauer of NBC got fired today. He was fired for sexual harassment. The women working at NBC were heart broken and talked about how he was their friend. The network has also claimed that this is the first time they heard of it and that they had never heard any complaints in 20 years. At the same time, they said that they are under new management that wasn't there when it was going on. Hmmm, then how can they say there were no complaints if they were not there?

Watch the video, watch how they talk about what a wonderful man he was. Watch how they talk about how they talk about forgiveness. Watch the love and concern for him and his family. Now go and look at how they described Moore and Trump's mere talking about pXXXy.  Hypocrites. Not because they are on the left, no far from it. Because they believe they are better than the rest of us. Look at how they have discussed Trump's voters.

I was watching a guy today named Tim Black. I get tired of his putting things into race; but, he makes some good points sometimes. YouTube - Tim Black - Matt Lauer, Trump = Money, Bernie vs Cruz, Conyers' Demise #CWTB.  Go to 21:56 in.  He eventually discusses how all the people being accused of sexual harassment are rich and powerful, that you don't see it as much in the working class or even business class anymore. You don't. If you are just a working person, they would have fired you. Most businesses are so super fixated on a fear of being sued for sexual harassment that they put a stop to it in the 1990s. I know, I was working then and each year had to take a class on sexual harassment even though I also gave the classes over the years. If you live from paycheck to paycheck you cannot afford to get fired for this stuff.

I have stated before that I have only been with one woman in my life. During my career I probably supervised more women than men. Actually, I am sure I did. I have promoted many women, more than I remember. Even after my divorce I never made sexual advances on the women I worked with. I think someone tried to accuse me of being a misogynist once; but, they got laughed at by the women who worked with me. After the divorce, when I was dating, I only dated women that had nothing to do with my industry. I actually met a woman at work who was very attracted to me and I found intriguing; but, I ran away. She was not in my industry but regularly dealt with other departments.

The "in crowd", the media, government and business elites that socialize with themselves look down on you. They believe you are crass, stupid, afraid of new things and bigoted in everyway possible. They see themselves as better, smarter and more caring than the average person. They believe that if not for them telling you to help people, you would not. They do not understand that most charity comes from the poor and middle class.

Fox News - Anti-Trump MSNBC host Joy Reid thinks rural Americans are 'core threat' to democracy.

If you don't understand that you are in the middle of a class war, then you are just not paying attention. It is not left versus right, it is not black versus white, it IS rich versus poor. When Joy Reid talk about rural America, do you think she didn't know that a large percentage of blacks live in rural areas? Do you believe she is unaware of all the Mexicans working on farms in rural America? She included them in her claim, if you are rural, you are bad.

UPDATE:

I have to add something to this. You know, the people that die fighting for this country are not the New Yorkers or coastal elites. It is the middle and working class that die in our wars, that fight our wars and live with those memories. When people like Joy Reid or Hillary or W or Colbert or the others that believe the middle class and working class are xenophobes, homophobes, racist and sexist, do you think any of them volunteer to fight for this country. As they support wars in Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan and all the other countries our people fight and die in. Do you think any of them would even consider jointing the military. How bout Miley Cyrus, think she is going to join?

Watch the media and how they talk about Trump and North Korea. They call him war monger for talking about attacking North Korea. I would be happier if we had attacked North Korea than our having attacked Iraq over weapons it did not have when we know what North Korea does to it's own people. Libya and Iraq stopped exporting terrorism decades ago while North Korea lobs missiles over Japan.

A bit of history. Rome fell because nobody would fight for it. The well to do, wouldn't fight because they lack any character and are opportunists. The middle class and the poor wouldn't fight because they did not share in the success and were despised by their leaders. This is just history. As George Carlin said, "There is a big club and you and I aren't in it". A good shepherd loves the sheep, a bad shepherd sees them as a commodity only.

Newer Stuff

The Atlantic - What America Is Losing as Its Small Towns Struggle.

Reuters - London introduces vehicle pollution levy in new blow to diesel. Let's just start by limiting where you can take your gas vehicle.

GreenCarReports - Pollution Perspective: One Giant Cargo Ship Emits As Much As 50 MILLION Cars.

The Mercury News - Trump tightens H-1B visa rules: What you need to know.  The believe the horrible thing is that Silicon Valley might have to hire Americans.

MSN - Newsweek - The Universe Should Not Actually Exist, Scientists Say. Does believing that the universe is real therefore make you a science denier?

Happy Rambling Thanksgiving

I made an amazing lasagna for thanksgiving. I used parts of different recipes from all kinds of really good chefs, including the Bolognese that Gordon Ramsey makes with only minor differences. After assembling, I put it in the fridge and started watching some shows on the computer. I also watched some things on YouTube. I came across a channel called, "Cheap Charlie Chronicles' about a guy who lives in Thailand. He seems preoccupied with finding a Thai girlfriend.

In the early 1980s I went to college and had a friend from Thailand, a wealthy friend. He lived in a luxury condo in Boston and was known to blow over $10,000 in a day in Vegas. I was living on a couple of dollars a day. One break he said I should come with him to Thailand. I told him I couldn't afford it. I don't remember the exact dollar amount and this would have been in about 1981; but, he said for maybe $5 a day, I could get a room that came with a woman who would cook, clean and have sex with me. The minimum wage in 1981 was about $3 an hour in the United States and I made more than minimum wage when I was working. Heck, in 1978 I made $8 an hour doing woodworking and I was only 18. I did not go to Thailand and never even really took it seriously.

I started watching more videos to see what it was like in Thailand today. Today you can live in Thailand for $1,000 a month. I don't know what the woman and her making the food would cost. Prostitutes, even live in ones are cheap in Thailand. Thailand used to be and may still be where Japanese men go for sex tours. It is a popular destination for Europeans and Americans because it is inexpensive and you can get anything you want; but, jail for drugs is long and harrowing.

While I watched the videos of Thailand, I was amazed at how little things had changed. I'm thankful I was born here.

Rumors and Unverified Claims

The Pimpernel is cautious about what he writes. I have been given names over the years of people accused of being involved in the murder of Pastor Carol Daniels, I don't publish accusations. I have approached on more than one occasion by people who have wanted speculation regarding specific people, I don't give them. I do not post on Facebook or Twitter. I also do not make a penny from this blog, nor do I advertise it or ask anyone else to. People are free to link to anything I post and they are free to comment anonymously; but, if they accuse someone of a crime that the person has not been charged with, I will not post their comment. I do not wish to be accused of defamation.

The internet is a wonderful thing in many ways and problematical in others. The internet is still young. The issue of what the internet will become is an important one as speech on the internet is not protected in the same way that mail is, nothing you say on the internet ever leaves, it is all recorded and kept. At the same time, anyone can express their beliefs using this tool.

The internet has allowed people in repressive countries to revolt, to band together to call out tyranny. It has also been used to post naked pictures of people's exes without their permission. It can be used to make false claims against enemies. It can be used to publicly publish the most vile lies against others, anonymously. I allow people to publish anonymously comments; but, I do not allow them to publish unverifiable accusations of crime.

What limits should there be on what you can use the internet to accuse people of? I would say none, I don't believe in "prior restraint", I don't believe in stopping free speech. I am however okay with using existing law, like libel and slander or criminal conspiracy against people even if it was done over the internet.

I would ask others to be cautious of what they post, don't say people are guilty of crimes until convicted. It is okay to ask if what they did is a crime; but, it is for judges and juries to determine guilt and innocence. It is okay for the President to say something should be investigated, it is not okay for him to say someone is guilty prior to them being found so in a court of law. It is okay to say the President should be investigated, it is not okay to say he sexually harassed without it being found so. It is okay to repeat what others have said about themselves; but, one must be careful. It is okay to say that someone accused someone else of a crime; but, it is not okay to say they are guilty and take sides. I do not assume that someone is guilty of sex crimes until convicted.

We have reached a point where everyone is being accused of sex crimes. I don't know who is guilty; but, I can comment on what they have said about it. I can post the picture of Al Franken putting his hands on a sleeping woman's breasts. Res ipsa loquitur (the thing speaks for itself).

Why do I bother writing all this. It is a warning to my readers to think about what they post on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and any other social site. The internet provides the opportunity to slander people and cost them their jobs, this will not last long, don't be guilty of it.

A Little Drive - Chapter 7 and some thoughts.

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5, Part 1
Chapter 5, Part 2
Chapter 6

Chapter 7 - Ciudad De Los Angeles.

As Charles left Monterey he debated visiting Judy at the coffee shop to say goodbye and decided against it. He thought that if he had meant anything to her, she would have said something to him that morning. He had hoped for a moment, the night before, that she might have even come along with him; but, that seemed silly now. Just because you have make love to someone doesn't mean they will love you and just because you spend a moment with someone doesn't mean they will drop everything and go on a trip with you. Charles thought about these things and past few days as he drove towards Los Angeles down the glittery Pacific Coast Highway. He drove through the beautiful hills and passed the serene beaches and thought about these things and missed all that was around him. He did become of aware of the scenery hours later, as he drove through Santa Barbara. He became aware of it just in time to come to a screeching halt at a red light.

At first he couldn't figure out how he got where he was. He thought perhaps while daydreaming he had meandered down an off ramp; but, then decided that there was in fact a streetlight in the freeway. The light changed and he continued down the road. A little while later he decided to get some gas and pulled off in a town called Thousand Oaks. 

After filling his car with gas he asked the attendant how far it was to Los Angeles. The attendant responded that it was just over a couple of hills.

"Great," thought Charles. "Los Angeles, Hollywood and Disneyland. Now this trip should get exciting."

He drove his car further and further, past the hills and then he was in Los Angeles County. He drove along looking at all the lights thinking how pretty the city was, like a million stars. Not far down the road he pulled off and into a hotel in Van Nuys which was not too expensive.

When he checked in with the clerk he asked where the downtown area was and the clerk told him that it was about 25 miles away down the Ventura Freeway. Charles was a little surprised as he had not expected the city to be so spread out and big.

Because of the lateness of the hour, Charles decided to get dinner and turn in early so that he could explore Los Angeles all the next day. He had a hamburger at McDonalds and picked up some beer, returning to his hotel. At the hotel the television was not working well so he just had the beers and smoked some cigarettes.

Sitting alone in the hotel room alone he thought about what Aunt Terri had said to him when left Monterey and he asked himself what things he was discarding. He thought about Judy and decided that it was he who left her and not she who had left him. He thought about the job and apaertment he had left just for a chance to see other apartments and people doing the same jobs that did in Sacramento. Then he began to think about his brother and sister in law and remembered the book that Dee Dee had given him. He went to his luggage and took it out.

______________________________________________

PIMPERNEL COMMENT:

That my friends is all I have. It is about one third of this particular story. After writing the rest of this story, I wrote a second about a girl and in the end I put the two characters together. My concept was two different stories, one about Charlie and one about a female peer, how their illusions about what is possible (he believing everything is possible and she believing nothing is possible) end up together. Charlie's experience is one of naïve hope continually dashed by reality.

As I typed this for you my dear readers, I was pained by my writing style 35 years ago. I do hope my writing is better now. I don't believe I am particularly suited to writing novels. I feel my plots are okay; but, I think my writing lacks emotional indicators for others.

Somewhere I have the other couple hundred pages that I wrote. I just don't know where. I have an old floppy disk that I put the stories on; but, I don't know if I can find it, if I have it or if it still works if I could find a computer with a floppy to read it. I gave you what I had and while I may be embarrassed by it, I hope you found it of interest. Take care.

Charles Manson is Dead

Charles Manson is dead. The words seem strange. His people killed Sharon Tate when I was about 9. He used to travel the same area that I lived in. His people would sneak into houses in the area and rearrange the furniture while the families slept. After he was convicted and it came out, my mother was freaked out knowing that they had been operating where we lived. It effected her sense of security. I had no such illusions. My father's job ensured that.

I remember the trial, what a circus it was. Every day in front of the courthouse, three young ladies would sit on the sidewalk protesting. When Charlie carved a swastika in his forehead, they did to. There are moments in this world where you cannot turn away, where we all look at the same train wreck at once. Watergate and OJ come to mind. The prurient, voyeuristic, knee jerk fascination with the slightest disgusting detail being discussed for days. Manson provided that level of entertainment.

Let me start by saying that I am glad that Charlie never got out of jail. There is a slight problem, he didn't go to jail for killing anyone. He went to jail for murders that others committed. He did not kill Sharon Tate or the La Biancas. Many murderers have spent less time in jail than he did. What made hi special?

Charlie grew up in the system, he grew up in jail, he grew up being abused and he got used to it. He used to say that we created him and to a degree we did; but, he failed to take responsibility for his choices. In the end, Charlie was jailed for the evil in his heart and not the evil that he did (and he did plenty). Charlie's greatest challenge to our beliefs was his accusation that we let evil happen to him as a child. On that issue, he was correct. We can argue over the options he had, our responsibility to take care of one another and our ability to have protected him; but, in the end, he saw us as those who allowed him to be abused as a child. He saw us as the evil ones, he never killed anyone and yet he saw us killing hundreds of thousands in Vietnam and he was the one that went to jail.

Who shall pray for his soul, who shall give forgiveness? God will, his challenge will be accepting it, accepting that he had no excuse, that he is responsible for his actions to himself. That can only be bought by forgiving others. Charlie did not make those young girls leave their homes, they left them on their own and he found them. He took them in and made them feel loved. He told them that they were the family after their own families had turned a cold heart to them.

A community is a type of family. If we reject the pain of others, a time will come and is coming when we create a society of Charlie's. I read that one of Tate's relatives said a prayer for him. I think she might just get what I am talking about and I am quite sure God will credit her forgiveness as righteousness.

UPDATE:

By the way, the idiots at the Washington Post referred to his as a serial killer. He was not. He is believed to have committed two murders with purpose, not thrill kills. He did not kill Tate or the La Biancas personally. He does not fit the profile of a serial killer. Son of Sam was a serial killer, Zodiac was a serial killer, BTK was a serial killer, Manson was a sociopath who influenced others into believing it was okay for them to kill people.

A Little Drive - Chapter 6

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5, Part 1
Chapter 5, Part 2

Chapter 6 - Judy

Charles woke up the next day at 9:30 a.m., more or less. He showered, dressed and had another soggy bologna sandwich and then headed to the hotel office.

"Hello Mr. Leed. Are you checking out? asked the clerk.

"No, I may be here one more day. Listen, can you tell me how to get to Hooper Street?" asked Charles.

The clerk told him how to get to get to the bank and Charles left. Two hours later he reached the bank and after some slight difficulty managed to receive his new traveler's check. He cashed on in and took a taxi over to the restaurant that Judy worked at. He sat down at the counter and Judy came up.

"How you doing today?" she asked.

"Oh, better than yesterday. The police found my car in Prunedale and I managed to get some replacement traveler's checks." he explained.

"Hey, that's really nice. What can I get you?" she asked.

"A coke and a burger will be fine please and could you tell me if there are any buses around here that go to Prunedale? Charles asked her.

"Not that I know of. You may have to go to San Francisco and take one from there", she said.

"Damn", he said, "I've got to get there by five or wait until tomorrow."

"I'd give you a ride after work but I've got to go to my mom's for dinner." she said. "Let me see if anyone here is headed up there".

Ten minutes later Charles was all set. He had a ride on an eighteen-wheeler headed for San Francisco.

After getting to San Francisco and taking a bus to Prunedale he got to the garage where his car was. They took him to see his car, or whatever was left of it. The left side of the car looked as it had been made from leftover pieces of a ship wreck. The metal was bent and twisted. Fortunately the doors opened and only the back window was broken. The interior was unchanged except for a couple of rips on the drivers seat. Charles was happy to see the radio was still intact. He loofed for the key but couldn't find them. After asking at the office he was told that the keys had not been found in the ignition. He then asked to borrow a crowbar so he could open his trunk.

The pain he felt as he pried open his trunk and busted the lock was not as great as the joy he felt upon seeing not just all of his possessions; but, also his spare key was still safely tucked away in his tool box.

After leaving the garage he picked up a lock and chain to secure his trunk which after meeting witht he crow bar no longer worked the same. He filled his car with gas and headed back to the hotel stopping along the way for dinner. After eating he went to another store and picked up plexiglass, an exacto blade and some wide duct tape. After picking up everything, he returned to the hotel and proceeded to fashion himself a new window for his car out of the plexicglass, tracing the shape of the window with a large piece of paper over the hole where the window used to be. He inserted the plexiglass window into the space and taped it firmly in place with the duct tape, both on the inside and outside.

As Charles was feeling better, and running out of money quicker than he had anticipated, he decided to leave for Los Angeles the next day. Before going to bed he repacked of his things and set them next to the door and then he went to sleep.

The next morning he filled his car up and refilled his ice chest with ice from the hotel cooler. After getting everything ready he went to the office to pay for his room.

"Let's see Mr. Leed, you've been here for three days at $105 a night, with taxes and charges that comes to $350.Will that be cash, check or charge?" the clerk asked.

Charles could feel the blood drain out of his face he mumbled the word "Cash". As he left he thought about how much he had spent since leaving his home and was shocked that the had spent much more than he had ever anticipated and had only travelled 225 miles. He decided that once he had spent half his money he would head back home regardless of where he ended up.

Charles drove over to Judy's coffee shop for one last breakfast in Monteray and to say good bye. Sitting down at the counter he was once again greeted by Judy's smiling face.

"Hi Charlie. I see you got your car back", she said.

Yeah, it's a little worse for the wear but still drives fine. I'm leaving for Los Angeles today and just wanted to thank you for all your help and get some breakfast in me before I go". Charles said.

"Too bad your leaving because I was thinking you might take me out for a drink after work, if you were going to be here for another day". Judy told him with a smile.

Charles ears perked up and as Judy left to serve another customer, he began to weight the pluses and minuses of sticking around a little longer. When she returned he told her that there was nothing pressing him to go and that he would enjoy the opportunity to take her out after she got off. It was decided that he would pick her up at three in the afternoon. After eating she told him that rather than waiting for her, he should look around and see more of Monterey.

He took her advice and visited Cannery Row, stopping goff at the many galleries and going into the Wax Museum. The best part of his tour he thought was the slide show on old Monterey at the Wax Museum. He was interested in knowing that the oldest government building in California was in Monterey.

When he returned to the restaurant he found Judy outside. He was not sure if it was her at first because she had changed into her street clothes and out of the saucy little dress uniform that she wore for work. It wasn't that she looked more or less pretty; but, that in jeans and a tee shirt she seemed somewhat different and perhaps for this reason he started feeling slightly more awkward around her.

They left to go to a local bar which was not too expensive; but nicer than the ones he was used to in Sacramento. As they sat sipping their drinks (she had a Margarita and he had a beer), he began to ask her about herself for the first time.

She explained that she had been born in Modesto, that her father was a truck driver and that after her parents divorced her mother had moved them to Monterey where an aunt lived. Judy mentioned that she had spent a year at college in San Francisco and had gotten discouraged and left, although she admitted that money had also been a factor. "I'm still paying off the loan I took out to go there", she explained.

While Judy was talking Charles began wondering what he should do next. He hadn't dated much and wasn't sure that if he had he would now what to do anyways. He wasn't sure if he should take her home or go on his way or if he should offer to take hor out somewhere, perhaps a movie. As he debated, she solved his problem by asking him over to her house for dinner.

He followed her in his car to a very nice house. It was not a mansion; but, was of fair size and looked as if it belonged in one of those old movies that takes place in New England.

As they walked up to the house, Judy began to explain that it was her aunt's home, that her aunt was nice; but, had some strange ideas about manners and etiquette. Judy also told him that her mother wouldn't be home for another hour because she was out with some friends bowling.

When they got inside, Judy yelled out for her aunt and as she did a woman of about 50 came down the stairs explaining as she walked that it was not necessary to yell. When the lady reached the bottom of the stairs Judy told her, "Aunt Terry, I want to introduce you to Charlie Leed, he's the young man whose car was stolen.

"I'm happy to meet you. I hope you have since recovered your car", she said to him.

"Thank you. I got it back yesterday" he informed her.

"Has Judy invited you for dinner? she asked.

"Yes, thank you. I do hope it won't be too much of an imposition." he asked.

"No, not at all. We love to have guests by for dinner. Please come sit down int eh parlor and have some tea, or do you prefer coffee?'

Charles said tea would be fine and then they all went into the living room. The room was large, bright and airy with flowered, lacey furniture like he had seen in a television show about English country homes. When Judy's aunt returned from the kitchen she poured Charles and her a cup of tea and gave a cup of coffee to Judy. She also offered him some odd looking cookies which tasted rather nice.

"Judy tells us you are on vacation. May I ask you what you do when you are working?, asked Judy's aunt.

The woman introduced herself as Terri and began to ask him another question; but, as she did a woman her early 40s. She was tow or three inches taller than Judy with red hair. She had a deep tan and heavy perfume. Her clothes were modern; but, not too flashy.

"Hi Terri, Hi Judy. Is this your friend with the missing car? she asked in one breath. As Judy said "yes" and was about to make introductions, the woman continued on. "I was so sorry to hear about that. I remember once when I was living in Modesto some guy tried to break into my husband's truck. Well, he sure got himself a surprise because my husband was sleeping in it at the time because of this fight we had. He just kicked that man's ass all over our front yard."

As the woman talked on he was able to learn that she was Judy's mother, Jane. He also learned that she had bowled a 150 and enjoyed drinking Vodka martinis. While she talked, Aunt Terri went into the kitchen and began to serve the dinner. A few minutes later, Terri returned and instructed everyone to go into the dining room.

Dinner was pleasant and one of the best meals Charles had ever eaten. The meal consisted of soup, salad, potatoes in some sort of cheese sauce, spicy green beans and Chicken Kiev. The conversation at the table was fairly light as Aunt Terri told Charles about Monetery's history. Jane talked about when she had gone to Las Vegas last and Judy talked about how she wished she were going across the country.

After dinner, Judy took Charles up to her room. "I'm sorry for making you go through that", Judy told him, "I love them both but I know that they can be hard to bear sometimes."

"No, not at all. I liked them both. As much as I'd like to stay, I think I had better get going if I'm going to get to Los Angeles tonight". Charles said.

"If I were you I would wait until the morning because the view of the coast is really beautiful during the day". she said.

"I would but I gave up my hotel room and it was over $100 a night and I'm just not sure I can afford to stay there again, I had planned on staying at places in the $50 range." Charles explained.

"You could stay here for the night and leave in the morning?"

As she said it Charels couldn't quite believe his own ears. "You don't think your mother or aunt would mind?" he asked.

"No, I have people stay over all the time. It's okay. Why don't you let me get changed and we can go out to a movie or something?"

Charles accepted her offer to stay the night and then started to leave the room; but, she stopped him saying, "You don't have to leave, just turn around".

Charles could feel his heart beat faster inside him as he heard her clothes hit the floor and only with the greatest effort in control could he stop himself from turning around to watch.

"Okay, you can look now." she said. When he did he found himself confronted by her obvious charms and sensuality. "Let me just tell them that we're going", she said.

The movie they went to see was a comedy about some guy who had died and came back to life as a parrot. His ex-wife buys the parrot and the parrot proceeds to interrupt her life by upsetting her lovers. In the end she ends up dying and is reincarnated as a cat and eventually eats the parrot. They both enjoyed the movie immensely. When the movie was over they went out to the car to go home.

"You know Charlie, you're one of the politest men I have ever met and I think you're attractive too." As she said this she continued to move closer to him. His eyes were filled with her and he could feel his body as it began to get more and more flushed. He decided to try to kiss her and moved to do so. The first kiss was slightly awkward and Charles was sure she would not want another; but, when she kissed him he was happily surprised. After a few more kisses, Judy said, "Don't make wait, take me home now".

Charles started the car unable to focus and drove off. At first he felt great thinking that he and Judy might enjoy each others company that night; but, as he drove along he began to think that perhaps Judy had only planned on going back to her house. He wondered if maybe she had hurried to get home because she didn't want the two of them to get carried away any further. He decided that he was right the first time when she reached over to touch him.

Once they had returned to the house, Judy led Charles up to her room. When they got inside the room, she lit two candles and began to kiss him. He kissed her back and caressed her back. It seemed so fantastic to him as she sat on her bed and then undressed in front of him.

Afterwards, while he lay in bed, she went downstairs to make herself a sandwich and watch "The Tonight Show". When he woke up the next day, she had already left for work. There was a note on top of his clothes telling him how she had enjoyed meeting him and how she wished him luck on his trip. As he read the note, he had the feeling that he was being discarded, a disposable person used once and then thrown away. The ended with her signature, address and phone number and the words, "If you ever come back here, look me up."

Charles got showered and dressed and went downstairs where he was greeted by Aunt Terri. "Hello Charles. I see you're awake. Would you like some breakfast before you go?" she politely asked. Charles was unsure of what to say and felt funny about how nice she was being. He was confused as he somehow still thought of himself as a teenager and as such had a problem with trying to understand why she was not upset about his sleeping in Judy's room with her.

Charles agreed to the meal and sat down at the table in the kitchen. Aunt Terri served him some pancakes and orange juice and then sat down across from him with a cup of tea.

"You shouldn't feel uneasy Charles", began Aunt Terri. Judy has had gentlemen stay the night in our house before. Where exactly do you plan on going for your trip, if I may ask?"

"I was hoping to go to Los Angeles and then to Texas, New Orleans, Florida and then up to Boston; but, I'm not sure now since I don't have as much money as I had expected any more."

"Do you plan on coming back to California", she asked.

"Yes, I do ma'am. I have a brother in Sacramento and will probably go back there when I'm done." he replied.

"When I was married", she said, "I lived in St. Louis and one year we decided to take a trip to California. As we were driving to San Francisco, we stopped in Monterey. At first, we thought what a wonderful place it was and it is, and we were so enchanted with it that we decided to stay. As the years went on, the newness and difference wore off and I discovered little difference between it and where I came from, except that we are closer to the ocean. It seems to me that one place is very much like another. People are the same as far as their relationships with one another and also as the community goes. The one thing that moving does is remove you from your friends and family, those you love, everything else is the same. Even the scenery is the same once you stop paying attention to it. And most of us stop noticing it once we have lived in a place for a bit. Think about that if you ever find a place that you love away from your home.

"I will. Thank you. Thank you for your hospitality too, also." After a pause Charles made his farewells and left.

I Just Have to Say This

When I point out on other sites online that the media is lying about Trump or that Hillary did fix the primaries, people sometimes assume I am a conservative or alt-right. My readers know, I am as far from the right as I can be. I am a socialist who believes in universal healthcare and actively supported the Occupy Movement, going so far as renaming this blog, "Occupy the Truth is Inside You". I supported Bernie Sanders on this blog up until he became co-opted by the Democratic Party. I am still for breaking up the big banks and the media as they have become anti-competitive and oligarchical. I was a preacher to gay illegal aliens. Online I have been accused of being a Russian bot, an alt righter and whatever else you can imagine, including a racist. Oddly enough, they never directly respond to my questions and my readers know, I have questions and I will ask them. I have some very serious questions about Trump; but, I also don't make statements I cannot back up, those questions will come later; but, for now are only raised in private and in person with my friends who are Trump supporters.

I just read an article in The Boston Globe which is attempting to claim that Trump is responsible for someone becoming a neo-Nazi, that the person felt emboldened (embiggened for the Simpsons viewers) by Trump saying whatever. Their intent is to say that Trump has been responsible for Nazis in the United States. This is incredibly unfair and outrageous. Do you remember when President Obama's Homeland Security organized the takedown of the Occupy Movement in contravention of federal law? I wrote about it at the time.

Lets take a quick review of what the Nazi's believed in. They believed that some races and sexes were inferior to others. Hmmm. Now people claiming to be on the left (they are not truly on the left if they don't believe in regulating industry for the benefit of the nation or if they believe it is okay to have monopolies) are against free speech, pro war, against freedom of assembly, pro-monitoring opponents and against your being able to pick a President they don't like (to the point of denying the requirement of charging "high crimes and misdemeanors" for impeachment.

Totalitarianism is the problem and it doesn't matter if it comes from the left or right. If you create a repressive society, eventually it only benefits the rich and powerful. The neo liberals call for regulating speech on the internet and protest violently against free speech rallies calling people who believe in free speech fascists. I may not agree with someone but I would still defend their right to say what they believe with my life.

I was typing up the next chapter from my story and my fingers got tired (arthritis hits when it hits); but, I saw this article in the globe and it just ticked me off. Well, I also had to take a moment away from reading my 35 year old story as sometimes it makes me cringe to see my writing from that far back.

Here is my point. If you are truly for freedom and against tyranny, you will not promote denying free speech, you will support whoever is elected constitutionally as a valid representative of those who voted and you will not shout down those you disagree with. I tell you now, if you promote restricting rights, you will be the victim of those restrictions. Imagine getting the right to free speech limited online and then having someone like Trump not impeached and able to use that limitation on those who fight him. Take a moment and ask yourself what rights you would be willing to give up today to defeat Trump if he is then allowed to use those same limits on rights. Well that is the question and if you truly believe he is a Nazi, why would give anyone that power over you?

Let me make it even clearer to the left and right. Bush got the Patriot Act passed which does away with Habeas Corpus and it was used by Obama and Bush. Do you really want to see Trump use it? Every law that you support can be used against you as the winds change from east to west regularly.

MSN - The Boston Globe - When the pizza delivery guy is also ‘Nazi Bob’.

Ask yourself, why can't someone fire an employee for being gay or black; but, you can fire them for their political beliefs even if not expressed at work? We have been seeing a lot of that lately. Not just on the left, we have seen it on the right too. Here is a question. Remember the bakery that refused to bake a cake for a gay wedding? What if they had refused to bake a cake with a Nazi on top saluting Hitler, would you still say they had to?

Kiddies, if you think my questions are going to get easier in the future, you are far from correct. As the hypocrisy of the establishment and the media is further exposed, our own hypocrisy should be addressed by ourselves. I'm not that nice.

Just Messin With You

A Little Drive - Chapter 5 - Part 2

When Charles awoke he found himself being in the throes of the flu. "Damn" he said to himself and the rooms green walls. "I guess I'm going to be stuck in this hotel for longer than I thought." He ached all over and felt as if his skin was being rubbed with ice and then being set on fire. His head felt as if it were full of soup busily sloshing around and sometimes spilling out of his nose. The one part of him that wasn't sick was his stomach and that was calling out for nourishment. He decided to call for room service and hoped that the hotel had it as he had neglected to ask when he registered the night before. The number of the office was written on the phone so he called the front desk clerk.

"Hi, this is Charles Leed in room 16," he said, "I was wondering if I could get some food delivered to my room."

The clerk told him that the hotel was not equipped with a restaurant. Charles considered which was the worse fate, to starve to death or crawl to the nearest restaurant.

"By the way, Mr. Leed, will you be checking out today? If so, remember that checkout is at eleven-thirty", said the clerk.

"No, I think I'll stay at least another night. Could you tell me if there are any restaurants that deliver around here?" asked Charles.

After a short pause, the clerk said, "There is a pizza parlor that delivers here; but, they don't deliver until after five."

Charles said goodbye and then left to find a restaurant and a store. He found a coffee shop that looked good for breakfast about five miles from the hotel. He parked his car, went in and sat down at the counter.

A pretty young brunette of about 25 approached him and after saying her name was Judy and that she would be his waitress she asked if he wanted a menu. She stood about five feet six with lightly tanned skin. As she handed him his menu, he noticed that her eyes were not quite right. One seemed to pay little attention to where the other was looking, a result of which was it's wandering around ever so slightly while she was talking to him.

"Thanks," said Charles through stuffed nasal passages. "I just want a large glass of orange juice, some bacon, scrambled eggs and a cup of coffee".

"That's our wayfarer special and it comes with toast, an English Muffin or hash browns" she replied.

"I'll have the English muffin", Charles replied.

"Would you like jelly, jam or marmalade?" she continued.

"Just butter, please," said Charles, "and some extra napkins." Then he blew his nose in the one napkin that he did have.

When the meal arrived he put some ketchup on his eggs and began to eat. After every other bite he would blow his nose or cough in one of the napkins. When he had finished his eggs he noticed that the other patrons were looking at him. He could feel his ears getting hot and began to imagine that people were laughing at him and began to eat quicker so that he could leave sooner. During one of his coughing fits the waitress came over to refill his cup (though it was only half empty and he preferred to usually finish his cup before getting a refill).

"You don't look to good, you should be at home," said the waitress.

"I would be; but, I gave up my apartment and am driving across the country," said Charles.

"No kidding. Damn. I always wanted to do that." said Judy. "Problem is it takes a lot of money. A lot more than I can afford and I have never been able to save enough up, something else always seems to come up. Anyway, I don't think I could ever really find the time", she said.

"Sure you could, I only have a couple grand and I'm doing it." Charles explained.

Judy seemed to think about it for about a tenth of a second and then said, "I don't know, I just don't think I could. Oops, I'd better get to the other customers."

After finishing his breakfast and paying the bill, Charles got up to leave. Judy wished him good luck on his trip and waved goodbye.

When Charles got outside a young man in jeans and a tee sheirt with a denim jacket came running up to him. "Hey, are you headed south and if so can you give me a lift to Cannery Row?" they young man asked.

"I'm sorry, I'm not from here and don't know where it is", said Charles.

"That's okay, it just right down the street and I know where it is", said the young man.

"II'm sorry", said Charles, "But I'm really just about to go looking for a store to pick up some things."

"Great, look there's one on the way to the Row", answered the boy, "come on, be a friend, it's just a couple of blocks."

"Alright, hop in", Charles said. When they were both in the car Charles asked him where to go.

"Just down the road about a mile and then make a left", said the boy.

Charles started the car and they drove away as he had been directed. Hoping to make some conversation, Charles said, "You lived her long"?

"Shut up faggot and give me your money", was the young mans reply.

"Huh?" was all Charles managed to say.

"Give me your money mother fucker or I'll blow your fucking nuts off asshole". was the next response from the young man who proceeded to pull out a gun and point it in Charles' direction.

Charles took out his wallet and the young man grabbed it and removed all the cash that it held.

"Where's the rest of it, this is only $400 and I heard you tell the waitress you had a couple grand." said the man.

"The rest is in traveler's checks," Charles explained.

"Give them to me too." he was told.

Charles turned over the checks and was told to pull over to the side of the road. Once he had he was told to get out of the car.

As Charles watched his car pull away he cursed everything he had ever heard of  with every curse that he had ever known. Then he blew his nose on his hand and coughed.

Charles looked around not quite sure what had just happened and tried to decide what to do next. He chose to walk back to his hotel then decided to go to the restaurant instead and call the police as it was closer. As he began walking back he noticed the sky for the first time that day and it was turning grey looking as if it might let loose some rain.

"Damn", he thought, "I don't even have my jacket."

He walked down the road and actually noticed where he was for the first time since arriving. He thought about how beautiful Monterey was and hoped that he would once again have the chance to enjoy it from the privacy of his own car. As upset as he was over losing his money and his car, he was thankful that he had left the receipts for the traveler's checks in his suitcase at the hotel. He tried to get a ride by sticking his thumb out but after being passed for a good half hour he decided that he wouldn't pick up someone who looked like him either and gave up.

An hour later he was within sight of the restaurant. While heading for it a police car came up behind him and stopped him.

"Boy, am I glad to see you. Some asshole just stole my car and my money," he said to the approaching officer.


"Would you put your hand on my car?" asked the large man dressed in blue.

The officer patted him down and then turned him around;;but, not quite face to face. The policeman eyed him suspiciously then less so as Charles explained what had happened. The officer told him to wait where he was and then called in the report of the stolen car and ran a check on Charels' license.

When the policeman returned he was slightly more pleasant. He asked Charles where he could be reached and Charels told him the name of the hotel he was staying at and some other information. The officer then returned to his car and drove off.

"Shit!" Charles thought, "I should have asked for a ride back to the hotel." Charels walked into the restaurant and sat back down at the counter.

"Back so soon? Did you forget something?" Judy asked him.

"Yeah, I forgot to never give rides to hitchhikers."

"What happened?" she asked.

Charles told her the story and then didn't now what else to say. "I was coming here to call the cops; but, they stopped me on the road and I already told them. I'm not quite sure what to do now."

"Would you like a cup of coffee?" she asked.

"Don't have any money left and won't till I call the traveler's check people and I can't do that till I get back to my hotel." Charles explained.

"No problem. It's on me." she said.

As Charles drank his coffee and had a cigarette he found the need to continue to blow his nose on the napkins. He heard Judy telling one of the other waitresses about what had happened to him. Judy returned and asked what he was going to do.

"I guess I'll go back to my hotel, try and get new travelers checks and watch T.V." he replied.

"Where are you staying?" she asked.

He told her and she said that he couldn't walk the five miles back as sick as he was.

"Listen," she said, "I get off in three hours and I'll give you a ride there. It will take you about that long just to walk there anyways in your condition. Looks like I have a new customer, I'll be back in a minute.

Forty minutes later the lunch crowd came in and Judy was too busy to talk to Charles. He watched the people come in and out and began to think about how all the coffee shops were the same no matter what the tables looked like.

When Judy got off work, she drove him over to his hotel. "Thanks a lot for the coffee, the ride and everything", he told her as she stopped the car. "I would ask you to come in but I don't have anything to offer you and I'm pretty tired."

"That's okay, Maybe I'll see you before you go. What do you think you are going to do, go home?"

"I don't know, I'll have to see if I get my car back tonight or not."

After Judy left, Charles went into his room to look for his travelers check receipts. He called the 800 number of the check company and was told he could not get new ones issued until the next morning as the banks that took that checks were closed in Monterey on Sundays.

Charels got undressed and watched T.V. from the bed. While watching some documentary on the life and death of the Mammoth butterfly and eating a soggy sandwich that he had made from his soggy supplies that he had kept in the cooler the phone rang.

"Hello, Is this Mr. Charles Leed?" a voice asked.

"Yes sir".

"This is officer Garr, Monterey Police. We have found your car."

"Great! Thanks, where is it."

It's being held by the Prunedale police. It can be picked up tomorrow between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the Harrison Garage on Twelfth in Prunedale. There is a charge of $50 for garaging the car.

"Thanks, thanks a lot. I'll pick it up tomorrow." was Charles response.

After hanging up, Charles began to try to figure out where Prunedale was on the map and then he tried to figure out how he would get there. He decided that he could take a bus there after he got her new travelers checks. "Well", he thought to himself as he went to bed, "by this time tomorrow, I'll be back on the road."

Impeachment calls by Democrats are not about Trump, they detest Demcoracy

Breitbart - HuffPo’s Grim: 54 Private Jets at Meeting to Stop Trump.  The meeting happened in March of 2016 before Trump even won the primaries and while the media was claiming he never would.

Fortune - Conservatives Grasp For a Plan to Stop Trump.  Another article from March of 2016. The article outlines a plan that if it looked like Trump would win the parties nomination, the party establishment would run a third party against Trump with the intent of having Congress pick the President rather than the people.

New York Daily News - Here’s how the Electoral College could prevent a Donald Trump presidency, even if he wins the popular vote.  Even before the Presidential election, the establishment was calling for voiding the election if Trump won.

New York Post - The one scenario that could still get Hillary into the White House.  Immediately after the election last year, there were calls to ignore the votes and have the Electoral College decide who would be President and give it to Hillary.

AOL - How Hillary Clinton could still get in the White House.

The establishment of the left and right want Trump out. Impeachment calls were made in the media even before Trump got elected. Nothing has changed.

YouTube - A Group Of Democrats Just Officially Moved To Impeach Donald Trump As President | TIME.  Now, we have six Democrats calling for Trump's impeachment, partly based on their claim that he denigrated the Court and the Media. Scratch your head on that one. If allowed, it would mean that you cannot vote for someone who does not respect the media or the courts. Congress does not get to create the requirements for being President, the Constitution did that already.

While the corporate media wants you to believe that denying your right to choose your President is about Trump, it is not, they would have done the same with Bernie Sanders. The difference is that the Democratic primaries were so rigged that Sanders never had a chance.

You have to ask why the establishment is so afraid of Trump. They are not, they are afraid that the public is waking up and will no longer support them. The Occupy Movement and the Tea Party scared the establishment to the core; but, Trump and Sanders could not be eliminated as easily. The establishment fears the people taking control of our democracy back. They deride "populism" (democracy) and the voters as stupid and uninformed. They do understand what is going on, the people are fed up and are tired of seeing a system where all the benefits go to a few and the rest continually lose out.

Lets say they could prove that Trump paid hackers to hack the DNC server, guess what, even his supporters would be okay with him being impeached for that. If he were impeached for insulting the media, expect to see dead politicians that voted for that impeachment. You cannot expect to deny people the right to choose their President and have it go well, that is insanity and desperation.

The problem with the trade agreements and the climate accords is that they gave away power to other countries to decide our laws. Those agreements deny nations their right to self determination and people know it. An establishment that will not share decision making with the governed is not long for this world.

UPDATE:

MSN - The Hill - Clinton: DOJ investigating me would be 'abuse of power'.  Hillary believes that the Justice Department investigating her over Uranium One would be an abuse of power even though her foundation took $140 million from people involved in the deal. Still, she had no problem with President Obama telling these same people to investigated Trump after he won the election based upon a bogus dossier that she commissioned and paid for that was compiled by foreign agents and Kremlin officials. She really does believe she is above the law.

A Day or Two

I had to do a little physical labor today and it really took it out of me. My legs are still killing me. Fortunately a friend of mine did the heavy lifting. As a consequence it is going to be a day or two before I get back to retyping the story. I will finish typing what I have.

A Little Drive - Chapter 5, Part 1

A Little Drive - Chapter 1

A Little Drive - Chapter 2

Chapter 5: Time to Go

When Charles awoke he could smell the coffee and bacon being prepared in the kitchen by Dee Dee. He walked out to the kitchen and said hello. "Good morning Charlie", Dee Dee said as she handed him a warm cup of coffee fixed just the way he liked it. "Looks like today is the big day", she said.

Charles coughed a couple of times and then thanked her. "I must of have a beer too many last night and a few too many cigarettes cause my throats a little sore and so is my head". Charels finished his coffee and then took a shower and dressed. After getting dressed he went out to the kitchen and finished his breakfast with Dee Dee and Stuart.

"Hey Chuck", said Stuart, "How much money you got left?"

Charles said, "Well after getting my checks I figure I had a little over six grand, spent about $400 on parts and things so I got about $5,500 left."

Stuart frowned, "Did you think about how much need when you get back? Your going to need first and last months rent, deposit for utilities and money to tide you over while you find a new job. You gotta be looking at $1,500 when you get back".

"How much of your money are you bringing with you in cash?" asked Stuart.

"All of it". said Charles.

"What? Are you crazy?" asked Stuart. "Listen, you'd better get some traveler's checks. What if you get mugged or something? When you go down to the bank to cash your check, see if you can get two grand or so in traveler's checks and keep the rest in cash for the places that won't take the checks>

Charles stood up and said, "Well, I packed everything last night and I think it is time to go." Charles said. He kissed Francine and Dee Dee goodbye and they all headed out to the car. After kissing Dee Dee one last time and hugging Stuart he drove off to the bank and then to San Francisco.

As Charles drove down the freeway he began to feel sad about leaving his family. For a few seconds he even thought as if he might cry. These thoughts eventually passed as he began to thing about what lay ahead. He thought about the places he would be seeing and the people he would meet. As he drove through Vacaville he could smell the onions that grew there and swore that he would try to avoid driving there ever again.

He pulled into San Francisco around four o'clock and, after driving over the Bay Bridge he headed for the Golden Gate Bridge. He drove over the Golden Gate and then immediately turned around and drove back. He went over it just so he could say he did.

By five-thirty he had managed to find Fisherman's Wharf, so he parked his car and took a short walk to look at the different sites. Charles was amazed by the mime he saw and by how colorful and lively the city seemed.

Charles at dinner at one of the fancier restaurants, spending nearly $60 for his meal. He had a steak and lobster and while he ate it he looked at the others in the restaurant. He thought the restaurant was incredible and was surprised that nobody in the restaurant noticed how nice it was or to be in the slightest bit impressed by the service or food. It was like they took it for granted. The otherse seemed as comfortable as if they were in a Denny's.

When he left the restaurant it was already dark. He headed to the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum and then over to the Guinness Book of World Records Museum. As the he left the Guiness Museum he was considering staying the night; but, he was interrupted by a man in a nice suit who asked him if he would like some company. Charles was a little taken aback by the man and decided to head further south before deciding on a place to stay for the night.

Getting in his car, Charles was still trying to decide where to stay for the night. He thought he could drive all the way to Los Angeles but wanted to enjoy the drive and stay in at least San Louis Obispo, which was a couple miles down the road. He drove further south and as he was leaving San Francisco he found that he needed to stop at a gas station to get some throat lozenges as his throat was sorer. He also picked up some aspirin and face tissue.

Drivng down the freeway while sneezing and coughing he was listening to one of the local jazz stations. A tune called "Groove Yard" was being played and Charles began to imagine himself as a modern day Jack Kerouac. Still, as he drove, he could not seem to settle into the drive and was beginning to feel more chilly.

By the time he got to Monterey he was too sick to continue and ended up pulling into some small motel along the way and checked in for the night. Somehow he managed to get all of his possessions into the motel and after settling in he went right to sleep.

________________________________________________________

PIMPERNEL COMMENT:

I have to be honest. I haven't read this in well over a decade. I wrote it in about 1985 and updated in around 93 or 94. I wrote it before the internet existed. The original car in the story was a Rambler with a cassette tape. Most people wouldn't know what I was talking about today. There were no cell phones when I wrote this story. There were but nobody had them, people used pagers and that was just for a few businessmen.

So much has changed since I wrote this. In the end the story is about disappointment. It is about the difference between aspirational images of the world and the reality of it. I had graduated from graduate school, got married and got injured. I couldn't work or walk well for a year. My ex got a job for that year and I took care of my step daughter and learned to cook and clean. I found myself having lived in multiple states, graduating law school and having to move back to the same apartment buildings I had lived in when I was very young.

You can do all the things they tell you that you should to succeed and still fail. That was what I was trying to convey at that time. Yes, I did do very well later and still have many options open to me; but, in the end I learned you can lose it all in a second. I have asked this before. On 9-11 there was a guy sitting on a toilet in the Twin Towers. He was complaining about the stock market or his wife or his car or welfare or whatever and a plane flew into his rear-end and he died not knowing what had just occurred.

This story was about how we fool ourselves into believing that anything is possible for everyone. Take a moment with that. It is hard for me to retype this, not just because of my arthritis. I want to rewrite the whole thing, every sentence. I would word it and write it so much better today; but, I don't want to rewrite the story. It spoke for a time in my life and a point I wanted to make. I wrote this 32 years ago. I was in my 20s. LOL. I wrote it long hand and only transcribed it almost 10 years later.

I am going to force myself to post the rest of it. I don't know how much I will need to rewrite to avoid losing my mind. I just don't want to rewrite it all. I want to get back to writing my story about vampires and the rat pack. If my scanner worked, I would scan the story and not worry about all the mistakes; but, it does not.

Likely or Unimaginable?

11 days ago I wrote that the Podesta's would be charged by Mueller. Now, it is coming out.

New York Times - Russia Scandal Befalls Two Brothers: John and Tony Podesta.

Here is a telling line for the article. "Tony Podesta stepped down from his firm hours after it was obliquely referenced in the indictments of Mr. Manafort and Mr. Gates, though he had been in talks about leaving for months." It is a lie; but, telling and is exactly what I said was going on in my post prior.

The New York Times attempt to protect the Podesta's will fail miserably. Things are quickly unravelling. According to the article John Podesta met with Fusion GPS founder to share notes on Russian interference; however, even after that meeting he told congressional investigators that he didn't know about payments to Fusion GPS for the dossier.

I will explain it again, Mueller is not charged with finding dirt on Trump. He is looking for crimes that can be prosecuted having to do with foreign influence in our election. The article says that the Podesta group has told people that in two weeks they may not get paychecks. They are expecting to be indicted. Will people call for Trump to pardon Podesta? Good luck with that unless he is willing to turn state evidence against Hillary. Will he offer to give up Hillary? I think he is already cutting the deal or he would have been indicted already along with Manafort.

You have to ask yourself why Hillary went on television and said that it had been known for a year that the DNC paid for the Trump dossier. The fact that is not true and I have written about it for a year since it came out and linked to the actual document when it was published. If Obama knew it was opposition research and did not tell the FBI or Trump that during the briefing the FBI gave Trump back in January of THIS year, that would be a problem. If I were interviewing Trump I would ask him if they told him it was DNC paid for opposition research. If I were interviewing Comey I would ask when he discovered it was DNC paid for opposition research.

I don't know which parties the people who read me are members of. I have made it clear I detest the Bushes and Clintons and see them as political whores selling themselves to the highest bidder. I do not belong to either party. Politics is an industry and the Clintons made it more profitable by using their foundation to receive money from foreign governments and big business. They turned their political influence into a corporation. That corporation continued to get paid by foreign governments and big business while Hillary was Secretary of State. Let's be clear, foreign money was going regularly to the Clinton Foundation. In the Podesta e-mails it came out that they were getting millions from a Saudi prince.

Recently a whole bunch of Saudi royal family members were arrested for, wait for it, CORRUPTION. Some of them gave millions to the Clinton Foundation. If Mueller indicts Clinton, it is going to blow people's minds. Democrats who now say it would be impeachable if Trump fires Mueller will immediately flip and call for Trump to fire Mueller. It will be a replay of the Comey situation, except, Trump will not fire Mueller and say that he cannot pardon Hillary or Podesta.

People on the right will cheer Hillary's indictment and any court case will be watched like the OJ case was. Thing of it is, if Hillary gets indicted, Bill might be to. Can you imagine a former President being indicted for bribery and working for foreign governments? It is unravelling and quickly. Before this is over, people will turn on Hillary and eventually if there is an indictment, some will end up in the witness protection program. That happened during Watergate also. For Trump to pardon Hillary it would appear as obstruction of justice. He would have no choice; but, to wait for the trial to end. I don't know that unless found guilty, Hillary would even accept a pardon.

One might ask why Hillary does not simply shut up and go away. She cannot. Right now she is creating a Super PAC. People think it is to get her elected in 3 years, it is not. It is a way to get money and keep influence as a commodity, to keep the family business alive. The Clinton's NEVER admit wrongdoing unless there is absolute proof, like Bill's ejaculation on Lewinsky's dress. As my mother used to say, "lie and deny", that was how she described liars. That is how the Clinton's handle attacks and always have. They also blame others for doing what they are guilty of, always have.

UPDATE:

So after I wrote this post I did a search for Podesta indictment and Clinton. I saw more baloney that I could shake a stick at. As far as I know, neither Podesta has been arrested or charged with anything as of this moment. I cannot believe that people are saying they have. I have read things saying Hillary has been indicted. What utter nonsense.

Anyone who expects anything to happen quickly is fooling themselves. Enjoy the show. I don't do rumors. I do facts and analysis. It is a fact that Hillary said everybody knew for the past year that the DNC and her campaign paid to create the Trump dossier. I could post a link to the Daily Show with Trevor Noah where she said it last week. The whole episode is online. If what she said is true then President Obama knew that when he called for the investigation and a report prior to his leaving office. If he did not know it then that raises other questions equally disturbing. That is not a rumor, that is a fact. This stuff is going to go on for awhile and it will be the best show in town.

UPDATE 2:

So I woke up today and scanned the news finding the following two stories.

CNN - Podesta Group on the verge of shuttering amid ties to Mueller probe.

Snopes - Has Tony Podesta Been Arrested in the Mueller Investigation?  Not surprisingly they gave the same answer as I did. Tony Podesta has NOT been arrested; but, is under investigation.

I say again to my readers, please, do not pass on rumors. It is okay to ask what may happen next based on facts that we can verify; but, it is not okay to pass on every rumor you read or hear. If you pass on rumors as facts, you risk your credibility. False stories are intentionally placed on the internet for just that purpose. It is a fact that Mueller is investigating the Podestas for representing a foreign government without declaring it. The Podestas themselves have admitted it by filing as such; but, it took them years to do it (same as Manafort). It is a fact that the Podesta group is failing and coming apart as reported by CBS, CNN and the New York Times. We can assume that the Podestas (at least one of them) will be indicted; but, that does not mean it has happened yet. Lets not get ahead of ourselves and do anticipate that things will take time to unfold.

More of My Book is Coming, soon

I spent this evening with a friend. I made the most amazing "Shepherds Pie" (actually I used beef so technically it is a cottage pie, shepherds pie is made with lamb) and asked a friend if he would like some. That resulted in my driving a half hour and then we just talked. He liked the food. I stole the recipe for the shepherds pie from Gordon Ramsey and Chef John of Food Wishes. It was the shepherds pie I have ever made.

After he ate we chatted about a million things including my story that I have been posting here. When I wrote in 85, it included references to cassette tapes and Miami Vice and so many other things that nobody will understand today, so in posting it, I have had to read it and edit more than I had anticipated. The next chapter is as long as all the previous one's combined. That is a lot of typing for me to do and I may not finish it for a couple of days; but, it is coming.

I also have a ton of news articles to discuss; but, that takes time to. I saved the articles; but, it still takes time to put them together in my head and say anything worthy of posting. For this week, keep an eye out for anything about Podesta, Marc Elias and watch the continuing response to Donna Brazile.

A Little Drive - Chapter 4

Chapter One - The Bum

Chapter Two - Stuart

Chapter Three - What's Your Destination

Chapter Four - Waiting

Wednesday was spent at Stuart's. In the morning he helped Dee Dee with the house and her daughter, Francine. playing with little Francine made Charles feel better than he had in weeks and he was amazed by how fragile she looked and wondered how babies managed to survive the first year.

When Stuart came home, they ate and watched television until about 10:20. Not much was said, it was as if they couldn't decide what they wanted each other to know.

Thursday brought added anticipation to Charles as he knew that after receiving his final check he could leave whenever he wanted. He met Phil at one of the local hotels and as he suspected, Phil tried to convince him to stay, even offering him an extra dollar an hour. While they sat and enjoyed a local band, Phil told Charles that he would consider letting Charles use one of the companies trucks to get his own seeping jobs. Charles was not too impressed by the offer because he had made the same offer to Richard three years earlier and had still not kept his part of the bargain. When Charles left to go home he was amazed that he had ever worked for Phil at all.

Friday was the final day of preparation as Charles had decided to leave for San Francisco at around one o'clock on Saturday afternoon so that he would have time to get there and look around a bit, maybe even have dinner at Fisherman's Wharf and not be too tired. He began his day by getting a tune up and oil change, then he checked the tires and had the radiator flushed and refilled Finally, he went to t a car wash to have the car washed and polished, vacuuming out the inside himself.

With the car as clean and polished as it was going to get (or had been in at least a year) he headed for Stuarts. Immediately after getting back, he packed his car up. The trunk was loaded up with his toolbox, spare tire, a case of oil, two gallons of anti-freeze, spark plugs, oil filter, spark plugs, fuel filter, brake fluid, tire sealant and even extra windshield wiper blades. Charles felt prepared for anything that might arise on his trip. All the parts were packed in boxes and his suitcase full of clothes was on the other side of the trunk.

The backseat had two more suitcases of clothes, a box of books and a box of assorted personal items. The front seat held his cds, maps and a cooler to be filled in the morning. When he had finished prepping the car, he decided that he didn't want to travel with so much stuff so he left one of his suitcases and his books and his personal things at his brother's house. He did not bolt the trunk to the car as he thought it might invite thieves.

When Stuart got home, he, Charles and Dee Dee all sat down for dinner. After dinner Dee Dee brought out a cake and some champagne.

"I just want you to know", Dee Dee began, "that will we will miss your greatly and will look forward to your return. And I want you to know that every night until you get back, I'm going to leave the kitchen light on for you. It's something I saw in a movie once.

"And we have a couple of things for you to take with you", said Stuart as he took out three small wrapped packages. The first one turned out to be a small, round digital clock which could be stuck on the dashboard. The second was a bumper sticker which read, "Don't honk, I'm pushing as fast as I can" and the third was a sun shade. After Charles had opened the packages, Dee Dee got up and came back with a book. She said, "This bible was given to me by my grandmother just before she died. I'm lending it to you, maybe it will give you something to think about when you are alone and maybe it will help keep you safe until you get back."

Charles tried to get out of taking the book because he was afraid he might lose it and he didn't plan on reading it anyways. Stuart settled the issue by telling him that once Dee Dee made up her mind there was no changing it and that she would only be upset if he didn't take it.

"Well, I want to thank you both for everything", Charles said. "I feel really lucky to have such great relatives, it almost makes me want to stay; but, only almost, because I still want to go. I promise to return the book when I get back in a couple of months.

After the cake they all sat down to watch television, eat some popcorn and drink some beer. Around 11:00 Dee Dee and Stuart went off to bed. At around 11:30 Stuart came out of the bedroom to get a drink and as he went back to the room he waved to Charles. At two in the morning the baby began to cry, so Charles went in to check non her. He changed her diapers and gave her a bottle. When he got back to the living room he found Stuart there.

"Thanks Chuck", said Stuart, "I tell you it sure is hard the first few months. It seems as if she cries every two hours and it's even harder on Dee Dee with her being here all day."

Stuart said, "No problem. I kind of enjoy doing it and I wasn't asleep anyways. It's kind of nice to see her little eyes go soft when you give her the bottle. I like watching as her little fingers try to grab it. You are a lucky guy".

Yeah, I guess so; but, I don't know sometimes I sort of resent her. It's weird but Ill get mad at her for all the time Dee Dee spends with her. I mean I love her and all; but, I still get irritated when Dee Dee says that she has to do this or that for the baby and cant spend time with me. Its like she is either is taking care of the baby or too tired to spend time with me. I guess I'm just being selfish and don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change anything. I mean I wouldn't give up the baby for the world. Jees, I gotta go to bed. It's too late for me to be up yapping with you. Goodnight and thanks for taking care of the baby.

"Goodnight Stu", answered Charles.

Clinton, Brazile and the Corporate Media

Two years ago when the election began I said that you should keep an eye on the media. There were 20 people running for president in the Republican and Democratic primaries and nobody knew who would win.

Well, Friday it came out that Hillary and the DNC paid for the Trump Dossier and then this week the former head of the DNC admitted that the Democratic primary had been rigged for Clinton with Clinton having control over all decisions by the DNC prior to winning the primaries. So what was the mainstream media response? Absolute silence. If you watched any of the late night talk shows, they didn't talk about it, they talked about Trump and taxes. Read the front page of the New York Times, Washington Post or watch the lead on in NBC, CNN, ABC or CBS and guess what, it is not about how the Democratic primaries were rigged. That is what happens when six companies own 90% of the media and don't want to discuss things that are not in their best interests, like how they conspired with the Clinton campaign (proven by the Podesta e-mails where agents of these news agencies worked with her on stories).

When Russians used to talk about their two main new sources they would say, "There is no news in Izvestia (Izvestia is translated as news) and no truth in Pravda (Pravda means truth). The same can now be said of the corporate media in America. There is no truth or news in our corporate media, merely propaganda and that is becoming more and more obvious as the corporate media avoids any real news or truth and merely spins stories to manipulate you.

People want to view this as a left versus right thing; but, it is not. This is multinational corporations (like the six that own our media) promoting what they believe supports corporate multinational interests. It has devolved into pure propaganda.

On "The View" today they discussed what happened with Brazile for a few minutes and not surprisingly immediately made it about how Trump is bad and worked with Russia. Redirection is a standard technique; but, social media is not buying it. Whoopi attacked everyone who didn't talk about how the DNC was rigged until now; but, she left out Hillary who controlled the DNC and didn't say anything till now.

I want you to think about this. Obama and Trump were both briefed about the dossier by the FBI. Did Hillary tell Obama that she had paid for the dossier and if not why not? If she did tell him, did he tell Trump that it was just opposition research and if not why not? We now know for a fact that Hillary and the DNC colluded to rig the election against Bernie Sanders, when did Obama find out and why didn't he do anything about it?

MSNBC - Joint Fundraising Agreement (DNC Memo).

Little tidbits in the memo are worth noting. Firstly, the agreement giving control of the DNC to Hillary was done in 2015 before the first primaries were even held. Second, the agreement gave Hillary control over both the finances and expenditures. That means her campaign decided to funnel money to Fusion GPS. Thirdly, the agreement said, "Agreement by the DNC that HFA personnel will be consulted and have joint authority over strategic decisions over the staffing, budget, expenditures, and general election related communications, data, technology, analytics, and research. The DNC will provide HFA advance opportunity to review on-line or mass email, communications that features a particular Democratic primary candidate." The key here is that it meant Hillary was responsible for the DNC server and who had access to it. It must also mean that Hillary and not the DNC had final say over hiring Crowdstrike, the same people that claimed the DNC server was hacked, even though they did not allow the FBI to look at the servers to this day.

A Little Drive - Chapter 3

Chapter One: The Bum

Chapter Two: Stuart

Chapter Three: What's Your Destination?

Both Sunday and Monday were spent installing the new parts into Charles' car. The car was an old Chevy Cavalier that had originally been white but was now some sort of dirty yellowish white as it had never been repainted. The interior of the car was sparse with a decaying sort of fabric on the ceiling. Charles took pride in the radio as he had picked it up and it had a cd player. The radio had not cost much but the car didn't have a working radio when he bought it. The speakers sat in two plastic boxes on the back seat. They had once been attached to a stereo he had been given for Christmas when he was 16 and when the record player broke he simply kept the speakers. He kept his tools in the trunk of the car, some fairly expensive Craftsman tools that he had received from Stuart and Dee Dee as a birthday present and some other tools that were made in China. He also kept the truck cluttered with his spare tire, jack, a case of oil, a gallon of anti-freeze, a gas can and an umbrella he had bought at a dollar store.

Having decided that rather than trying to move out of his apartment the same day that he left, it would be easier to stay and Stuart's and leave from there and it would also be cheaper. He spent Tuesday moving out of his apartment and into Stuart's house and saying good bye to the people he lived next to. He also hoped to have a chance to spend some time with his brother before he left.

By the time he settled into Stuart's house, it was about five o'clock in the evening, so he had dinner with Dee Dee and Stuart. Sitting at the dinner table with them made him feel a little numb on the inside, it reminded him of when he was a small boy and had to go to bed early so that he would be ready for school the next morning. On those days he would always get a sort of emptiness in his stomach that felt like fear and he never understood why.

"I'll be you're real excited about going,: said Dee Dee. "Where will you go first?"

"I thought I would go over to San Francisco for half a day and then head down to Los Angeles and see Hollywood and Disneyland. From there, I was going to head across to Tucson to see Uncle Jack and Aunt Melissa, then to Florida, New Orleans and up to New York and Boston. For the return trip I thought I would take the northern route through Chicago."

"Yeah and what are you going to do when you've finished your little trip", asked Stuart.

"I'm not sure, that's what I am going to think about while I'm on the road", Charles said while taking another bite of his meatloaf. "I want something different than what I have now; but, I'm not sure what. I don't want to wake up some morning and be like Phil, 40 and drunk every night, not liking myself and trying to screw someone out of a dollar. And I don't want to work in a factory from nine to five. I used to think that I would try to make a million dollars; but, when I tried to think of how I started to look at other people I know who want that and I don't think I want to be like them. They are all either stealing, dealing or so wrapped up in themselves that you don't even want to be around them."

Dee Dee sat quietly while Stuart and Charles talked; then, when Charles finished what he was saying she began, "You know Charlie, when I was in high school I used to be in my churches choir and I remember one week the minister read something from the bible. It was about a man who claimed to have tried everything and he said that all was useless, not pleasure chasing, not power, not beauty, not fame, not wealth, nothing except God. His conclusion was that one should just be content with life and believe in the Lord. When I heard him say it I thought he was being sort of silly. I thought that if I only had a good job and my own apartment, a nice car, then I would be happy. I got a nice job over at the factory, moved into my own apartment and I even bought a four year old Camaro. At first it was fantastic. I was free from my parents control and I had plenty of money. I must have been making $600 a week; but, after a couple of months the newness wore off and I wanted something else; but, like you, I didn't know what. Anyways, one night I was watching this old Humphrey Bogart movie and in the movie Bogart says to the bad guy that he knows what the gangster wants, he wants more and Bogart says that he will never get enough. The bad guy says that is what he wants and that he hasn't got enough and he probably never will. It started me thinking and I came to the conclusion that the guy in the bible might just be right. I sure don't know anyone who is satisfied with what they have. Even the biggest corporations in the world are always trying to make more. So, I decided that I would just be satisfied with whatever I got out of life and started looking at what I had rather than at what I wanted."

When Dee Dee finished, Stuart asked her for another beer and then asked Charles if he needed to do anything else to his car to get it ready for the trip. "I think I'm all set; but, I haven't what I will keep all of my stuff in", Charles replied.

"I might just have a good idea for that," said Stuart. "My boss has a car that's called and Excalibur and it has a box strapped to the back of it. I think we might be able to do something similar, maybe we can bold some sort of box to your roof and you could stuff your things in it. We could also bolt it to the trunk; but, then we will have to get you another side mirror because if we put it on the trunk it will block your rear view mirror.

"That sounds good", said Charles. Maybe I should go to Walmart and get a steamer trunk and then if we bolt it to the roof I won't have to worry about the wind blowing stuff out because I can just put a lock on the latch",

Stuart frowned, "I guess that will be okay if you want to spend the extra money."

At 7:30 they all sat down to watch a lip sync show where people voted for who did the best job. After that they watched a crime show and when it was over Dee Dee and Stuart headed off to bed and spend some time entangled in a knot. As soon as they left, so did Charles and he went off to see his friend Dave.

Upon arriving at Dave's house, he was confronted with what appeared to be a small gathering of Dave's friends. They were watching "Cops" and every time the cops would mention a drug, the party goers would all take a hit of pot out of a two foot tall bong. When the show was over someone put on MTV and Dave and Charles went into the kitchen.

"Well Chuckie, I guess we won't see much of you for awhile", said Dave through glassy eyes and sticky speech. "You want some of this weed? It's pretty kick ass?"

No thanks Dave, I just came by to say goodbye and see how your doing." Charles said.

Dave said, "That's cool. Me, I'm just kicking back, partying and trying to make a buck or two. I saw Lewis a couple of days ago, he wanted some acid. Man, that guy is nuts. He started talking this strange shit about how cell phones are the first step in a conspiracy to get everyone to put these things in their brains that would make you do whatever they want you to. He says that he is one of the few who really understands this. That dude is totally spent."

Charles said, "I remember when you first introduced me to him. He was telling me about meditation and I thought that he sounded like he knew what he was saying and that he seemed pretty smart. Later I found that he knew the words but not the meaning. He just kept getting worse talking about whatever bizarre thing he heard and believing it and slowly burning himself out with all that acid and ecstasy. He couldn't hold a job, couldn't meet a girl and we all started to laugh at him more and more because of all the messed up things he said and does. He's not the only one though, I mean, none of us has gotten that far. That's part of the reason I'm leaving. Shit, you know that half the people I know haven't even graduated high school and not one of us is making over $20 bucks an hour. What the fuck is happening, I mean where are we going to be in ten years? I just don't see a destination".

Dave laughed, "Too deep guy, too deep. I know where I'm gonna be man. Right here, doing what I want with one shitload of money."

Charles and Dave spent the rest of the night reminiscing about cars, times and places. At three in the morning Charles went back to Stuart's to sleep with the visit making him feel like leaving even more.

A Little Drive - Chapter 2

I wrote this back in around 1985. It is sort of painful reading some of it now as I think my writing was a little stilted; but, it is what it is and I will post as much of it as I still have. If you haven't read chapter 1 you can click the link here.

Chapter 1: The Bum

Chapter 2: Stuart

When Charles got home he poured himself a drink of some cheap whiskey that he had and lit a cigarette. Settling himself into his only nice chair to watch in his "furnished" apartment, he tried to relax.

"Damnit" he thought, "I had the feeling I wouldn't finish in time. I should have left him on the bench and finished before I called the cops. Hell, he wouldn't notice the difference and I wouldn't have had to rush so much".

The television was spouting forth some nonsense about non money and no payments until after you died. One of the people that Charles had worked with had bought a car from the guy on t.v. and with only three payments left, it had been repossessed. After the commercial an old tv show called, "Route 66" came on and Charles watched as the show's two heroes drove around the United States doing as they wished and then moving on if they got bored. "That sure looks more interesting than sweeping for the rest of my life, or ending up like that bum", he thought to himself.

When he woke up the television was still on only now the person on the screen was talking about deodorants and showing pictures of beautiful women in bikinis. Charles took a shower, got dressed, ate some Fruit Loops and headed out to see if there was anything happening. He began to feel invigorated as he stepped out into the early evening cool. He drover over to his older brother Stuart's house.

When he arrived at his brother's house, he was greeted by his sister in law, Dee Dee, who escorted him into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. She always gave him something to eat when he came by and was always very warm to him. They each talked about their days and waited for Stuart to get home from the factory that he worked at.

Stuart and Charles had been born three years apart to Jake and Lena Leed, two people of little note to the world; but, of great importance to themselves. The Leeds had been your average working class family and never aspired to anything more and the boys did not expect to do any better themselves, this was not looked down upon by them.

When Stuart got home he kissed his wife, looked in on in their baby and asked Charles when he was going to take a job at the factory and get serious about his future. "You can't go on being a street sweeper forever Chuck", he said. "If you're ever going to get serious with a girl you'll have to have normal hours".

Charles smiled and said, "Look Stu, I want to tell you about something. I've decided to quit my job and take off to see the world, I'm going to drive across the country while I still can".

Stuart's response was instantaneous, "And where do you intend to get the money to do this? I sure as hell hope you don't think I'm going to lend you any. I don't have it and if I did, I wouldn't lend it to you to just flake out on."

In a calming voice filled with rationality, Charles said, "Look, I have $2,500 in the bank and the $1,600 that mom left me. I don't think I can just stay here much longer, The only place I've ever seen in my life is Sacramento and I'm 22. I want to see more".

Stuart responded by saying, "Well, the only place I have ever been is Sacramento too and I'm 25. I like Sacramento and don't feel the need to spend all of my money going anywhere else."

A little angered Charles said, "Well I do and I'm leaving next Friday right after I get paid."

"What about your car, will it even make it?", Stuart asked. Charles said, "I was hoping that you might help me get it ready for the trip this weekend. I thought that we might go over to the "Pick a Part" junkyard and get some stuff for it. I want to get some shocks, a pair of rocker arms, a radiator and I thought we could rebuild the carburetor and tune it up on Sunday.

Stuart looked less than enthused; but, said, "I'll help you just so you don't end up broken down somewhere is the desert; but, I still think it is a dumb idea. Are you working tonight"?

Charles smiled and said, "Nope, I'm quitting tonight."

The next day was Friday so Charles went to collect the first of the two checks still owed him. The owner of the company was a man named Phil, who always held back the checks for a week. Charles thought the reason Phil held the checks back was so that it would be harder for the drivers to leave on the spur of the moment. Charles had to go to Phil's home to get his check as Phil worked out of his house and just rented a spot at a garage to keep his trucks parked.

"Hi Charlie," said Phil, "Come in for your check, huh. Listen, I was hoping I might take you out for a drink before you go, how bout it?"

"Sure Phil", said Charles, "But it will have to be later because I have some things to do before I leave."

"Fine", said Phil, "I'' tell ya what, I'll see if I can rush your last check through and if I can, then we can go out on Thursday and I'll give you your check at the same time."

After a word or two more Charles left. Driving away Charles was a little surprised that Phil had not tried to talk him out of quitting; but, perhaps that would happen on Thursday. With the sun still up Charles felt slightly out of place. After a year of sleeping while everyone else was at work, he had almost forgotten wht it was like to go out while there was light around that was not fluorescent. Pondering this fact he thought he had better start getting up early right away before he left so that he would not feel tired driving during the day, which he would have to do if he was going to see anything while on his trip.

With nothing else to do Charles decided to go to a movie so he went down to one of the older theaters to watch a double feature. When the movie ended he had some dinner at one of the better Burger Kings in the area and went home. Trying to sleep before the sun came up was practically useless so he had a few drinks and watched television until he was able to crash.

The next day he and Stuart went to the junkyard to get the parts he wanted. The junkyard they chose was one of the largest in the area and took over a few acres in one of the less populated areas of town. As he walked through the auto forest, Charles wondered how they had been able to stack the cars on top of one another without having them fall over even when they stood them four or five on top of themselves. Inside the yard there were six or seven other weekend mechanics on a scavenger hunt looking for the right part, from the right car and later when they installed it they would be praying that it worked because even if it did not, they would still be stuck with it because the junkyard had a policy of no returns and no guarantees. A friend of Charles had once bought a set of heads at the yard and when he got them home and installed them he was less than thrilled to discover they had hairline cracks in them which rendered them useless; but, fortunately he was able to save up enough money to get a seconds set from the yard and those ended up working.

"Stu", called Charles, "Do you remember when dad took us here for the first time? I remember how dad would let us split a beer after we finished helping him and he would always tell us to not tell mom. I sure miss mom and dad..."

Stuart said, "I remember and I remember how they would argue all the time and he would say that she had forced him to marry her by getting pregnant with you."

"I know", said Charles; "But, it wasn't always like that. Sometimes he was real nice to her, like that Christmas that he bought her a washing machine so that she didn't have to walk to the laundry all the time. Hell, even used like it was, it still must have cost a hundred and fifty bucks or so."

"Yeah well, I think he just did that because he felt bad about screwing the waitress." Said Stuart. "Hell, even Aunt Flo said that to his face."

"Well, I still think that he was pretty nice sometimes." said Charles with only a little less conviction. "Hey Stu, what do you want to do when you finish your trip? I mean what are you hoping for out of life, what do you want to be. I don't think you've ever told me that."

Irritated a little, Stuart said, "I never told you because it was stupid".

"I wanted to be a cobbler," he said. "You know fixing shoes. I don't know I guess I just like the idea of working with my and hands and at my own pace. One time when mom sent me down to have our shoes resoled I asked the cobbler where he had learned to work with shoes and he told me, "Back in Italy". I wanted to ask him if maybe he would teach me; but, it took a month to get up the courage and by the time I did, the store was closed. Hey, there is a Cavalier over there, lets see if it has the rocker arms."

The next four hours were spent picking the bones of the old car for the parts they needed. When they got back to Stuart's house that night, Dee Dee had the dinner all ready and a couple of cold beers by the door. She asked Charles if he wanted to spend the night, an offer he cheerfully accepted. When dinner was finished they played some cards and listened to the radio and later Charles went to sleep on the couch.