Thursday Thirteen

These are random shots from around my community.

This is a monument to the Painter Chapel, which a long time ago was a church in
the Catawba area. I am descended from the Painters who donated the land
for the church.

This is the county courthouse.

This is called the Douglass Building. It once was a salon/tavern/hotel.

This is called the "Old Jail" and it was used as a library for a long time. It now
houses the local chamber of commerce.

This sign details the fire that burned down the courthouse in 1970.

This is called the Godwin Cottage.

This is a gazebo in the park in Fincastle.

These are very old graves at the Presbyterian cemetery.

This is a house in Fincastle and it has a name but I can't remember what it is right now.

This is the former Fincastle Baptist Church. It is now a private residence.

This is the town of Fincastle. The photo was taken from the Godwin Cemetery.

This is the former Troutville High School building. It is now an auction house.

This is a bank building in Troutville.



This is the Bank of Fincastle building.

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 593rd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

More on the Way?

The ice and snow last week made for a pretty picture.

Oops! The Tree Fell Down

My blue spruces, which I planted 30 years ago, have been dying a slow and terrible death for several years now, the result of the non-existent climate change that has brought us drought and then too much water.

The trees developed an incurable fungus. They were beautiful trees but now they are scraggly and ugly. I have been asking my husband to take them down before they fall down.

Last night in high winds, one of them fell.

Poor little blue spruce.

This is its next door neighbor, still standing, but leaning now.

I watched that ground rise up and fall with each gust of wind. I kept waiting for the tree to topple, but it remained upright.

A little further down, this tree fell over and took out the fence.

Lots of trees toppled in this latest high wind.

This is one of the blue spruces before the fungus really took hold. They
were lovely.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. What is the most fun thing you have ever done?

A. I find it rather sad that I have to think about this. I don't do a lot of "fun" things. So I'm thinking. Oh! I don't know if it is the most fun thing but it is probably one of the most interesting and exhilerating. I went up in a hot air balloon and flew over Botetourt County. My husband was invited to go but he opted to stay with the follow/landing crew while I shot up in the air. Did you know that when you're up there, you can hear everything below you as if you were standing right beside the dog barking or the cattle mooing, so long as the heat isn't going "whoosh"? It was amazing. I won a writing award for an article I wrote about my adventure.

2. Are you left-handed or right-handed?

A. I am right-handed.

3. What is the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

A. My husband married me. Ha. My aunts stepped in and helped tremendously when my mother was ill and dying. My friend Teresa hauled me to physical therapy for a while when I was too sick to drive myself.

4. What is the biggest animal you’ve seen in the wild?

A. A bear. I have some pictures here somewhere.

5. What is the smallest animal you’ve seen in the wild?

A. What are we calling animals? Peepers? (Those are little tiny frogs that make a lot of noise in spring, for you city folk.) Or maybe the question is referring to a mammal? In that case, it would be a mouse or a chipmunk.

6. Do you ever have funny dreams at night?

A. Most of my dreams are nightmares or night terrors.

7. If you could make a law for your country, what would it be?

A. Every person running for the Office of President shall undergo four (4) physical and mental health examinations, one by the highest-ranking doctor in each section of the Armed Forces, with said results made public in their entirety. Additionally, every person running for the Office of President shall reveal all financial information about his or her self, including but not limited to tax returns, credit score, net worth, liabilities, assets, etc.

8. What would you do if you were invisible for a day?

A. I'm a woman over a certain age. I'm already invisible every day.

9. If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be?

A. I would be the Goddess Athena.

10. What would you like to change about yourself?

A. I'm fat. I'd like to be un-fat.

11. What is your daily routine?

A. I am awakened in the mornings by Alexa making a warbling noise. I say, "Alexa, shut up," without opening my eyes, but then I take some medication and put a heating pad on my belly, and she goes off again 15 minutes later. I rise, go to the little girl's room, put on my robe, put water in my tea kettle and set it to boil, turn on my computer and check my email, go back into the kitchen to make my tea, drink my tea while I am reading the morning news. Take a shower, dress, make the bed, do laundry, empty the dishwasher, work on writing jobs if I have them.

12. What would your perfect day be like?

A. A handsome man (might as well have something to look at) would swoop down in a helicopter and ferry me and my husband to the airport, where my private jet awaited (my husband can have a sexy jet pilot to look at). From there, we'd fly to New York for an evening on the town, with dinner at a luxurious restaurant and then a Broadway play.

13. How old were you when you learned to read?

A. I was two or three. I learned very young.

14. What is the most interesting thing you know?

A. I know lots of interesting things. But the most interesting thing I know is that I don't really know anything.

15. What makes you nervous?

A. Wind. I really dislike high wind.

16. What is your favourite flower?

A. I like irises and roses.

17. Have you ever ridden on a horse or any other animal?

A. Yes. When I was a child my mother had a horse and we had a pony. Unfortunately the pony bolted with me on it one time and I fell off and either broke or badly bruised a rib. After that I refused to ride again.

18. What time do you go to bed?

A. I usually go to bed at 10 p.m.

19. What time do you get up?

A. My first alarm goes off at 6:15 a.m. and my second alarm goes off at 6:30 a.m.

20. Do you know how to swim?

A. Yes. I haven't been swimming in a long time, though.
__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: Dream

Saturday 9: No. 9 Dream (1974)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) John Lennon liked the number 9. It shows up in three of his songs (in addition to this song, he performed "Revolution #9" and "The One after 909" with the Beatles). He was born on the 9th of October, as was his son Sean. Coincidentally, "No. 9 Dream" hit #9 on the Billboard chart. Do you have a favorite number?

A. Not really, although in numerology my "life path" number is 6. This means my strengths are sacrificing, compassionate, healing and my weaknesses are anxious, jealous, cynical (I don't really think I'm the jealous type, but I know I'm the other two). It says this: "All you need is love! Sympathetic, loyal, and protective, your satisfaction comes from connecting with others. Your nurturing soul thrives when someone else is touched by your actions. But we all give and receive love differently, and you'll greatly benefit from eliminating expectations of others." - That's from tarot.com.

There's also this: "The key to the numerology 6 life path number is love toward others in order to exist for others. Life path number 6 brings the energy of practicality, realism, materialization of harmony, craft and work in service. Numerology number 6 symbolizes the combination of higher divine with hard work on Earth." - That's from lifescriptdoctor.com.

And this: "Those who walk a Life Path with No. 6 gift the world with unconditional love, healing, and nurturing.6 teaches true compassion and empathy. Its energy is that of Mother Gaia." - That's from buildingbeautifulsouls.com

2) The phrase repeated in the chorus, "Ah bowakawa pousse pousse" means nothing. It's gibberish that John sang until he could come up with "real" lyrics for this melody. Then he decided he liked the sound of it, so he kept it. Can you think of a word that's fun to say just because you like how it sounds?

A. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

3) John referred to "No. 9 Dream" as an example of "craftsmanship writing." A snatch of the melody just came to him and he got it down on a tape recorder, wrote lyrics, arranged it and recorded it in short order because he needed another song to finish the LP, Walls and Bridges. What's the last thing that you did because you were supposed to or you had to, and not because you wanted to?

A. Taxes.

4) Yet once "No. 9 Dream" was recorded, it became one of John's favorite of his solo songs. He loved its ethereal feel. Tell us about something that turned out better than you thought it would.

A. A lot of my work turns out better than I expect it to, including my writing and photography. Come to think of it, I was really surprised to find out that I can color well. I didn't expect to be able to do it with a somewhat artistic flair.

5) When he was working, John drank a lot of tea, as many as 30 cups in a day. Do you take your tea with cream, sugar, honey, or lemon?

A. I drink it without a sweetener or with a teaspoon of sugar if I want a treat.

6) During his reclusive years (1975 to 1980), John didn't have household help, preferring to take care of his young son and housework himself. He did, however, have a chauffeur on call around the clock. If you could afford to have a staff of one, what single thing would you have him/her do?

A. Cook.

7) When John was a boy, he requested water colors and colored pencils for his birthday and at Christmastime. Do you recall a special birthday or Christmas gift you received as a child?

A. My bicycle when I was five years old. It was blue and had training wheels, which my father removed after I learned to ride.

8) Beatles producer George Martin said John was "a completely impractical man." Would you describe yourself as impulsive, with flashes of practicality? Or are you practical, with flashes of impulsivity?

A. I think I'm fearful with flashes of courage. However, I'm also resilient. I don't know which I am. What do you think?

9) Random question -- Congratulations! You just won the Saturday 9 Sweepstakes, and the prize is your choice of a boat or a motorcycle. Which one do you take?

A. Whichever one has the most value, because I'd sell either one of them. Well, I suppose I could give the motorcycle to my husband since he likes to ride.

___________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Latin phrases that start with "A"

1. ab absurdo - from the absurd

2. ab initio - from the beginning

3. a contrario - from the opposite

4. ad absurdum - to absurdity

5. ad hoc - to this

6. ad infinitum - to infinity

7. ad nauseam - to seasickness

8. addendum - thing to be added

9. alias  - at another time, otherwise

10. alma mater - nourishing mother

11. alter ego - another I

12. aurora borealis - northern dawn

13. Ave Maria - Hail, Mary


My alter ego being a contrario determined to ad hoc this Thursday Thirteen. My alias, assuming my alma mater did not care if I did or did not see the aurora borealis, went with ad absurdo to find a topic, especially since I did not start ab initio but waited until very late in the day. I could not miss a day since I have written a TT ad infinitum, but this type of topic is ad nauseam when you have nothing else to say. I could bid you all Ave Maria but I think that only work if you're Catholic. As an addendum, let me note that this is a contrario to the type of thing I normally do.

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 592nd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Trees in the Snow

Icing - But Not Cake!

We had ice yesterday about mid-morning. The rain came down as ice/sleet and stuck to trees, fence lines, etc. Ice is a concern, always, because you never know what it will do as it builds up on surfaces.

Even though it is dangerous, it is pretty.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. When did you last sing to yourself?

A. This morning, actually. I was humming "Uptown Funk" as I moved about the house preparing my tea, etc., because it makes me move faster.

2. If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about anything, what would you want to know?

A. That's a loaded question if I ever saw one. I'd like to know who really killed JFK, how the world was formed, and if Christ approves of the way His word has been twisted and used to justify killing, vengence, and political gain.

3. What is the greatest accomplishment of your life?

A. My marriage. It is easy to have a bad marriage, but very hard to have a good one. You have to work at it. Following that it would keeping a relationship with family members, having friends, obtaining three college degrees, writing thousands of articles for local publications, and being involved in my community.

4. What is the first happy memory that comes to mind, recent or otherwise?

A. The day I received my masters degree (2012). I was very happy that day.

5. If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living?

A. Probably not. I would like to travel more but I doubt I would.

6. Do you feel you had a happy childhood?

A. No.

7. Would you ever have a deep conversation with a stranger and open up to them?

A. Yes, I have done that.

8. What would you title the autobiography of your life so far?

A. Nevertheless, She Persisted

9. How do you feel about tattoos and piercings? Explain.

A. I think it's a personal choice and if that's what you want to do to your body, go for it. I have a piercing in each ear and no tattoos.

10. Do you wear a lot of makeup? Why/why not?

A. I wear makeup but I don't consider it to be "a lot." I use it because it makes me look a little better - a little less pale, and it brings out my eyes.

11. The world is listening. Pick one sentence you would tell them.

A. Get over yourselves and stop interferring in other people's lives.

12. Who in the world would you most like to receive a letter from and what would you want it to say?

A. Living or dead? If living, I'd like to receive a letter from J. K. Rowling saying she'd read my blog and she thought I had great potential as a writer and I should be focusing on writing a book. If dead, I'd like to receive a letter from a currently living lawyer telling me I'd been found to be the next of kin to some really rich person and here's a check for a couple million dollars.

13. Do you have a desk/workspace and how is it organized/not organized?

A. I have a desk. It is organized with the stuff I need to work on now to my left and the stuff I've finished and need to file away to my write.

14. What’s your Starbucks order, and who would you trust to order for you, if anyone?

A. I have never been in a Starbucks and I don't drink coffee. Do they serve hot chocolate?

15. What is the most important thing to you in your life right now?

A. My husband, who is a "who," not a thing. If you're talking about material things, then it would probably be my house.
__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: Valentine

Saturday 9: Valentine (1993)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

This song was specially chosen for the Saturday 9 closest to Valentine's Day.

1) This is a love song written by Willie Nelson for his young son. Have you sent any Valentines this year to someone you love who isn't a romantic partner?

A. No. I sent Valentine greetings via text to friends and family.

2) Today that little boy, Lukas, is a singer/songwriter who wrote eight of the songs for the 2018 A Star Is Born soundtrack. Have you seen the Bradley Cooper/Lady Gaga big screen romance?

A. No.

3) On Valentine's Day in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell patented the first telephone. Who did you most recently speak to on the phone?

A. My father.

4) Penicillin was also introduced on Valentine's Day (in 1929). When you get a shot, do you look away when the needle touches your skin?

A. Yes.

5) According to legend, a gift of red roses signifies love and romance. When did you last purchase flowers or plants? Did you buy them for yourself, or someone else?

A. I bought some fake flowers for the house some time back.

6) This week's artist, Willie Nelson, can trace his family tree back to the Revolutionary War. Captain John Nelson served with the Minutemen back in 1776. If you could go back in time to witness any great moment in American history, which would you choose?

A. I'd go back to 1770, when my county was formed.

7) Before he became a musical success, Willie was a door-to-door salesman, peddling first Bibles, then vacuum cleaners. INC magazine tells us that the traits of successful salespeople include resilience and good listening skills. Do you think you'd make a good sales person?

A. It would depend on whether or not I believed in what I was selling. I think being a freelancer is a form of being a sales person, and I used to be good at that.

8) In 1993, when this song came out, Saved by the Bell aired its series finale. Crazy Sam likes to tease her brother because he once admitted to her that he has seen all 86 episodes of this teen sitcom. Is there a show that you believe you've seen every episode?

A. Several. I've seen every episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, Band of Brothers, Six Feet Under, The Big Bang Theory, Andy Griffith, Star Trek, Xena: Warrior Princess, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Babylon 5, and who knows what else, like Gilligan's Island, MASH, etc.

9) Random question -- We're having milkshakes! What's your favorite flavor?
A. Chocolate.

___________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

Thursday 13

These are things I remember having but have misplaced, lost, or don't know what happened to.

1. Two Christmas trees. I am not sure how you lose large trees, but we've managed to misplace two of them. I think my husband hauled them off to Goodwill, or one of them went to a newly-wedded firefighter, but I am not certain.

2. A black plastic poodle dog bank that I used to have as a child. It might be in the attic. I haven't seen it for years.

3. A flute. I used to play the flute and I once had a flute. The case was broken on it and it was in need of some repair work. It too may be in the attic, but again, I haven't seen it in years.

4. An entire set of den furniture, including sofa, chair, tables. This was a heavy pine set we bought when we first married. I think we gave it away, again to a newly-wedded firefighter, but I am not certain of that. We could have sold it. I know we sold our old bedroom suite.

5. A book called Alfred Hitchcock's Haunted Houses or something like that. I think the book actually went into the trash after the dog chewed on it when I still lived with my parents. It had great scary children's stories in it.

6. Another book called Miss Osborne the Mop. Great children's book. I suppose it went to a library sale.

7. A box of items from my curio cabinet that I boxed up after Christmas when we were installing the floors. One of the boxes of items has gone missing and I have no idea where it went.

8. My Xena: Warrior Princess collection. At one time I had dolls from the show, trading cards, all sorts of items. The trading cards I think are in my husband's office, but I don't know where the other items went. Maybe they are down in the "storage shed" which means they have probably been eaten by some critter by now.

9. My husband's clarinet. I imagine it is with the flute. Maybe they are playing a duet.

10. The kitchen scissors. I had a really great pair of kitchen scissors that vanished. I guess the scissors turned themselves upside down and walked away.

11. Kitchen knives. These disappear with terrible regularity. I think they are used for screwdrivers.

12. My Children's Bible. My aunt gave me this when I was around 8 or 9, and I read it all the way through. But I don't know what happened to it.

13. About 100 Little Golden Books. These were probably at my parents' house and thrown out after their house burned down, but I am not sure. I loved Little Golden Books and read them over and over again.

Happy Valentine's Day, too!

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 591st time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

The Writing on the Wall?

Many people I know who are in their mid-50s are "retiring." They're leaving jobs they've held for long periods of time, sometimes decades, to do something else.

Some are leaving to take care of grandchildren. Some, like me, have health issues. Some want to travel and live life before time takes its toll on their knees and hips.

I wonder, though, if deep down we don't see the writing on the wall. We're not going to have the longevity of our forefathers. The health care is not going to be there, and what is there will be unaffordable, unless there are great changes in that industry.

Social Security may not be available when I hit the age to draw it. I still have a ways to go to get there, so it's not a stretch for that to be a concern. My husband now expects to die working, even if that means he's 80 years old. He likes to work but I'd like for him to not be working at 80.

The folks I know who are ending careers do not seem to me to be overly wealthy. Usually what I see are women stepping down, with husbands still on the job. Maybe they have enough saved to cushion the blow, or maybe these women are moving into other work arenas that I know nothing of.

Still, it's an unsteady future those of us who are at the low-end of the Baby Boomer generation, and Generation X, face. (I missed the Generation X label by a year and I identify more with that generation than the Baby Boomer one.)

A recent story from marketwatch.com says Gen X "may already be financially worse off than other generations in a number of ways."

The article lists credit card debt, loads of spending on non-essentials (like eating out), and lack of savings for retirement as problems for Gen X.
 

“While Generation X continues to struggle with saving and spending, millennials — although not without their own unique financial challenges — seem better positioned for retirement than their closest predecessors. Median retirement savings for Gen X is only $35,000, the same median amount as millennials, despite Gen Xers being much closer to retirement,” according to a study of 3,000 Americans by Allianz Life.

Additionally, having children with financial demands (even if they are adults) plus caring for aging parents (Baby Boomers) is also crunching the financial stability of this generation.

All of this makes me wonder if the people I see retiring, including myself, aren't realizing that the retirement you see on TV where you go play tennis and golf are simply dreams that will never materialize.

Perhaps stepping out of the workforce pre-retirement age is a way to spit in the face of the establishment, that free market that wants everyone enslaved to a corporation until you're 75 years old.

Or maybe we're all just tired.

February Tom Turkeys

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?

A. Anything in the horror genre.

2. If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?

A. Winnie the Pooh, Jo March, and Stephanie Plum. I believe we'd have tea with lots of honey for Pooh.

3. You are told you can't die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realise it's past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?

A. War and Peace. (I don't really know.)

4. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you've read, when in fact you've been nowhere near it?

A. Catch 22.

5. As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realise when you read a review about it/go to 'reread' it that you haven't? Which book?

A. My Life, by Bill Clinton. I must have thumbed through it but I apparently didn't read it.

6. You've been appointed Book Advisor to a VIP (who's not a big reader). What's the first book you'd recommend and why?

A. What is she a VIP of? That matters. However, I think I'd recommend On Becoming A Writer, by Dorothea Brande, to almost anyone, because it has a lot of lessons in it about self-awareness and understanding the world around you. Everyone needs to know how to write decently, regardless of career choice.

7. A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?

A. Italian.

8. A mischievous fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?

A. Lord of the Rings.

9. What's one bookish thing you 'discovered' from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)?

A. I discovered that I really don't care for highbrow and overblown literary fiction. I'm supposed to like it but I really don't.

10. That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she's granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favourite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free.

A. It would be full of hardbacks with some kind of dust covers, all in acid-free paper. It would have lots of nonfiction books, old and new, as well as every top 10 novel ever written, except for porn or horror genres.

__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.  (#270)

Saturday 9: Waiting for a Star to Fall

Saturday 9: Waiting for a Star to Fall (1988)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) "Waiting for a Star to Fall" was literally inspired by a falling star. The singing/songwriting duo of Boy Meets Girl was at a big, outdoor concert and could have sworn they saw a falling star in the night sky. Have you ever seen a falling star?

A. Many times. My husband and I like to go out and look at the stars during specific times when the meteor showers are high, like when the Geminids or Perseids are visible.

2) They offered this song to Whitney Houston, who declined to record it. Whitney did have hits with two other songs they wrote: "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and "How Will I Know?" What's your favorite Whitney song?

A. I Will Always Love You.

3) Boy Meets Girl were George and Shannon, a husband-and-wife team originally from Seattle, WA. In 2016, Seattle was named America's most "bike-friendly city." Do you own a bike?

A. No. I did when I was a kid, but I haven't had one since I was a teenager.

4) George and Shannon met for the first time at a wedding. She was a guest, he was in the band. Think of the last wedding present you bought. Was it from the bride and groom's registry?

A. No. My bride and groom eloped and so they don't have a registry. I bought them something that I thought they might find special. I haven't given it to them yet so I can't say what it is.

5) In 1988, when this song was popular, 98% of American homes had a TV set. Today, that figure has dipped to 96%, presumably because Millennials are watching more content online. What's the last video you watched online?

A. This song that I'm answering these questions about. But before that I was watching guitar players.

6) In 1988 saw the introduction of one of the most memorable slogans of all time: "Just Do It." Without looking it up, do you know what brand "Just Do It" promotes?

A. Nike.

7) In 1988, Sonny Bono went from entertainer to Republican politician when he was elected Mayor of Palm Springs. Have you ever met the mayor of your town?

A. I know all the important people in my community because I was a government reporter. I know the mayors of all three towns, the supervisors of the county, the county administrator, the circuit court judges, the House of Delegates state representative, etc. I met several governors of the state.

8) Michael Douglas took home the Oscar in 1988 for his portrayal of Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street. The American Film Institute named Gekko one of the "top movie villains of all time." Do you think bad guys are as interesting as good guys?

A. I think they are interesting but I don't identify with them.

9) Random question: Have you ever seen a photo of yourself naked? (Baby pictures don't count.)

A. Not as an adult, no. If one exists it is without my knowledge and consent.

___________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

If I Responded on Facebook

I try not to respond to political posts on Facebook. Mostly I don't post on Facebook at all unless it is something that appears relatively harmless, although in 20 years I imagine people who post kitten pictures today will be apologizing for that.

At any rate, one post this morning riled me. It was about my local county and how irresponsible the spending is, yada yada. I've covered this county government for 30 years and still go to the supervisors meetings sometimes. I read.

We are not a poorly run, over-spending county. I started to write a response and then decided to move it here. But this is not just about my county. This is about living in society and being a citizen and paying taxes, and understanding that everything affects everything else. It is also about stupidity, which seems in vogue but which is going to destroy us.

Since 2009, the amount of money that Botetourt County receives from the state and federal governments has decreased. The difference comes from county citizens as local taxes: the politicians we have in the state and federal government want to place the burden back on localities.

We are building a new school. We offered incentives to new companies (corporate welfare). Because of this, the county's debt service has increased.

However, Botetourt remains one of the most fiscally sound counties in the area. You can't have it both ways. You can't have low taxes and build a new school. You can't have parks & rec programs, libraries, historic parks at Greenfield, commit $2 million to the new YMCA, and not have debt service increase.

Local taxes will remain flat this year, based on what I'm seeing. Nobody's taxes are going up locally (though you might be paying federal dollars because of that smoke-and-mirrors federal "tax cut" that so many people fell for). 

Sure there are some things that could be cut from the local budget - but they are miniscule as far as funding goes and won't affect taxes. Much of it is state-mandated and can't be touched.

More than half of the budget goes to the schools. They need what they need. I want an educated population, well-rounded and learned, to take care of me and the rest of the world when I'm old.

We are having to pay for emergency services now; that used to be volunteer only. We need to increase pay for deputies. County buildings need upkeep and updating.

Austerity only works when you want stupidity to rule the world. That's what we have now at the federal level. I don't see it working out very well.

I consider paying taxes an honor and a privilege. Why do people think they should live here for free? If you think that, then stop driving on public roads, don't use public facilities, go rent because your deed is recorded in a public courthouse, don't call for the rescue squad when you have a heart attack, don't call the fire department if your house is burning down, don't visit the Smithsonian, use a National Park, call the Social Security Office if your payment is late, or do anything else that is a government service paid for by your taxes.

It is all related. President Obama was right when he stood here in Roanoke and said no one does it on their own. You don't. You just think you do, and I think you're an idiot for thinking that.

So there.