Goodbye Bandit.....We Love You!!!

To my fellow animal lovers, well today I have some sad news. Mom and Dad's beloved cat Bandit had to be put to sleep. They had Bandit for almost 14 years. Looking back I still remember this bizarre looking kitten with the oversized head and tiny body. What a great cat and such a beautiful animal. When they got him I still lived at home and worked a second shift job. I would come home at night and find this tiny black and white fur ball waiting for me in the garage. I would sit with him, and he would fall asleep in my lap while I was telling him about my night at work. Yes, I was boring even back then. It is very hard to believe that 14 years has gone by so quickly. So anyway, goodbye to a wonderful and beloved member of our family. You will be severely missed, but we know that you are always with us, in our memories and hearts forever. Be at peace now and Blessed Be.

What is with today's teens???

At the risk of sounding my age, not to mention upsetting some of my friends and relatives there is something that I need to get off my chest. ATTENTION PARENTS OF TEENAGERS: CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF YOUR TEENS NEED PARENTS. REAL PARENTS THAT ARE NOT AFRAID OF DISCIPLINE. THEY DO NOT NEED ADULT FRIENDS THAT THEY CALL MOM AND DAD!!! Now I am going to give you some insight into my teenage years. (Susan stop laughing.) As you all know my best friend is Susan. We spent a lot of time together plotting the next stupid, thoughtless, death defying stunt we were going to pull. The one thing that I can say, even though Eileen (Susan's Mom), was considered "the cool Mom", she still didn't put up with our crap. When we got out of line, she yanked us back to reality. We got a lot of the silent treatment and a few of her famous one liners like - "you girls are getting a little big for your britches." That comment by the way is one of my personal favorites. When did we decide that being a "friend" instead of a parent was a good idea? Let's face it. Teenagers are going to be teenagers. If you really think that because you are your daughters "friend" that she will confide in you all the things that she talks to her real friends about. GET A CLUE!!! That is not going to happen!! Now more than ever your teens need a parent. They need guidance. They need someone to talk to them about drugs, smoking, sex, aids, etc. etc. Believe me they are talking about those things with their friends. The reason they need the truth from you is because YOU ARE THE ADULT AND YOU KNOW THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT THESE SUBJECTS. You know the dangers and the consequences. They do not and neither do their friends. So while you are being their friend, someone else is educating them about the things they should be being taught at home. Which brings me to my next subject. YOUR TEENAGERS CAN SURVIVE WITHOUT A CELL PHONE!!!! I did and I'm not scarred for life. How about you Susan?

Support your local Charity.....

I am sending out a plea to everyone who will read this, to support the charity of their choice. On Saturday I will be attending a ball sponsored by my Coven. Robin's Hood Community Center is an organization that helps not only the homeless, but families in need as well. We help Mom's find jobs, children get school supplies, families with nothing get Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, help with groceries, rent, utilities, etc. The best thing of all is at Christmas time, children and parents get to shop at the Magical Mini Mall - all free of charge. Children who had lost the spirit of Christmas no longer care about their own gifts but are overjoyed at the opportunity to have gifts for their parents, grandparents, and siblings. It is so easy to pass that homeless person on the street and mutter to yourself "bum" or "get a job". I hear that a lot. It's hard to get a job when you have no address or phone number to be reached for an interview. Not all homeless people are druggies or drunks. Believe it or not most homeless people drink to survive. Forget even for a moment what life has dealt them. It's amazing when you hear some of their stories, and you realize that these people aren't bums. They are human beings, with feelings, and dreams just like you and me. Statistics show that 62% of American live paycheck to paycheck (I truly believe that this number is a lot higher), and here is the worst statistic of all, out of those 62%, 24% are two weeks away from being homeless. Think about that!! Chances are someone you know is one of those 24%. Would you call them a bum? I beg of you to support your local charity. If you don't have a charity, well search your local area for homeless shelters, animal shelters, battered women's shelters,children's services, sadly every town has all of these.

Why is entertainment so expensive???

I've got something stuck in my crawl that I just have to pull out. Recently Wicked tickets went on sale here in Cincinnati. Of course they sold out in a matter of hours and I didn't get mine, but my question is why is entertainment so expensive? I was looking on e-bay and actually found tickets to one of the shows here in town, and they are $700 and climbing. AM I THE ONLY PERSON WHO FINDS THIS APPALLINGLY??? We grow up in a society that pushes culture and arts and then charges us an arm and a leg for it. I had dreams of some girlfriends getting dressed up, having a nice dinner downtown, and seeing Wicked. Some dreams aren't meant to come true, unless of course one of these friends happens to be wealthy and generous. I am sad to say that although my friends are generous none are wealthy. Mental note--- get better friends, if not better friends, well at least wealthy friends. Susan, when Geoff hits the New York Times best seller list I better get Wicked tickets.
Now don't think that I am just picking on the arts, I am not singling them out. Sports and concerts fall also into this same category. It's nothing to drop $200 on a concert. I know I've seen me do it. I actually considered possibly buying Bengals tickets at $150 a pop. Don't even get me started on Notre Dame football tickets. For those, I would sell a kidney. Now I am really not a complex person, really I'm not. I just want to enjoy a football game, see my favorite artist perform, or catch a Broadway show without taking out a second mortgage on my home. IS THIS REALLY TOO MUCH TO ASK!!!!!