No really, it's a scam

I've been trying to stay out of politics on this blog and just report personal events, but I just can't let September 2008 run out without putting in my two cents, or all my cents, if this ridiculous turkey of a bailout passes.

I remember what it's like being ripped off by a scammer, which unfortunately happened once in the early 70s (never mind about the details, it was only $40). Then later, being pushed to make a hasty decision about keyboard equipment in the 80s, a car in the 90s and a house in this century. By the 90s I knew how to stand my ground and take time to think about things before plunging in. But back in the 70s and 80s, when I was more susceptible to scams, it was always, "You have to move quickly!" and, "This one won't last!"

The president and his cronies on Wall Street (Henry Paulson? Hello? Wasn't he the CEO of Goldman Sachs before getting appointed to, erm, Treasury Secretary? Yikes!) are trying to pull the "We have to do this quickly or disaster will happen!" routine which got us into the Iraq war, and has buried us in debt. This time it's the mortgage and credit companies who got into trouble over their relentlessly ferocious quest to get people to borrow more money than they can possibly pay back.

I'm glad the bailout failed yesterday. And I'm even more glad that many Republicans are voting against it. After all, isn't that a basic premise of Republicanism? "People can always pull themselves up by their own bootstraps," my Republican friends have stated in our debates. "There's always something you can do." It's almost laughable that I'm siding with these Republicans, saying, "We don't believe in extending welfare to those who don't deserve it," welfare being payouts on a scale most of us can't even imagine.

So call your Congressman or Congresswoman right this minute and tell them not to vote to bail these scammers out. Because if they win, they'll laugh all the way to the bank with yours and my money.

One step closer!

It’s a Claddagh ring! Wayne introduced me to this 17th century design from Ireland. We both have a few strands of Irish somewhere back there, but that’s not the point, we just really like the design. The hands represent friendship, the heart, love, and the crown, loyalty. It’s on my right hand (next to my chubby little pinky finger, courtesy of the rope swing at Lake Siskiyou) because that’s where you wear it until you’re married. It means that you’re spoken for. But you can read all sorts of facts about it here.

After a 13-hour day on planes and in airports, arriving from Medford and Austin, we finally met near midnight at the tiny airport in Newburgh, NY this past August. Then we partied with my brother Jon until the wee hours. The next morning after a shower, I came back to bed to find this exquisite little piece of jewelry in a box on my pillow. Wayne just loves to surprise me.

Anyway, here it sits on my right hand, awaiting the wedding day, when we switch both of ours over to our left hands. I’ll be getting Wayne the men’s version, which looks exactly like this only more… manly. I just have to figure out a way to surprise him…

So we’re back to Medford and Austin respectively, after a 9-day trip meeting family and friends, all of whom got along with Wayne fabulously. He had to miss the big Boice reunion in Pennsylvania due to a gig in Austin, but he wanted me to be able to show off the ring in his absence, which I did. My sweet aunties and uncle and cousins and second cousins and third cousins loved it.

Now it’s back to work and chores and hopefully a nice warm autumn in the North-Best. I’m on my own with the cats for the winter, but I have this stunning little piece of gold jewelry, which gleams more brightly than anything else I’ve ever worn on my fingers, to remind me that we’re even closer than before. Please notify me if this gets too corny. I’m just non-plussed.

We’re thinking the first Saturday in June, hoping it won’t rain so we can all be outside in lovely southern Oregon.