From afar, I see one of my favorite newspapers fly away in the wind.....(tears and ANGER!)

Far removed from my part of the world is the home to one of the best newspapers in the country. Another thing that made it unique was that it is printed magazine style. At least until today. Today, I received word that the beloved Rocky Mountain News of Colorado will have printed its last issue and close its doors for eternity. This comes days away from its 150th anniversary. Please read the eulogy below that came from its front page. Very touching. Coming from a newspaper that is struggling as well, it is sad to see such a solid soldier laid to rest when it could have been some other nobody paper. (Well, not all newspapers are nobody papers but Scripps could have chosen another paper besides RMN!!!!

"...with great sadness that we say goodbye to you today. Our time chronicling the life of Denver and Colorado, the nation and the world, is over. Thousands of men and women have worked at this newspaper since William Byers produced its first edition on the banks of Cherry Creek on April 23, 1859. We speak, we believe, for all of them, when we say that it has been an honor to serve you. To have reached this day, the final edition of the Rocky Mountain News, just 55 days shy of its 150th birthday is painful. We will scatter. And all that will be left are the stories we have told, captured on microfilm or in digital archives, devices unimaginable in those first days. But what was present in the paper then and has remained to this day is a belief in this community and the people who make it what it has become and what it will be. We part in sorrow because we know so much lies ahead that will be worth telling, and we will not be there to do so. We have celebrated life in Colorado, praising its ways, but we have warned, too, against steps we thought were mistaken. We have always been a part of this special place, striving to reflect it accurately and with compassion. We hope Coloradans will remember this newspaper fondly from generation to generation, a reminder of Denver’s history – the ambitions, foibles and virtues of its settlers and those who followed. We are confident that you will build on their dreams and find new ways to tell your story. Farewell – and thank you for so many memorable years together."
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My new hobby.

Back in January, I decided I was going to try something new. I had found out last year about this free program at the local recreation center. It was free so, what did I have to lose? Some poundage of course!!!! Yes, you heard me all of you new year's resolution defecters! It is called choose to lose and I chose it because it meant free use of the recreation center. Exercise classes, the pool, cardio machines and the weight room. Oh joy! It actually was a lot less of a chore than I thought it would be. I have always been OCD about following through with stuff and so far, I have toughed it out. We are past the halfway point with this thing but I am dismayed at my progress. I have always been a major fan of changing things a little at a time and making those changes a habit. That is the only way to make things stick. Once they become a habit, then you change things a little more. The older you get, the harder it is to change stuff. So, I bite the bullet and I do that. Well, I am guilty about not changing my desctructive junk food addiction but I HAVE cut it down from 3 cups of coffee a day to one and a half and I have reduced my soda intake. I try more for real juice and milk and that wonderful water. I am getting better but that will take some time. Caffine has a hold on me that is more like a bear trap on the ankle of a raccoon! However, I have done the exercize three times a week. One of those times includes a visit to the weight room. I am constantly reminded at the weigh ins that weight training is great at improving balance. We all know I need more of that! It also makes me feel better about how I look.

I have major self esteem issues and the putting on the pounds was not fashionably sensible for a girl like me. Then I discovered what has become like an old friend: the treadmill. It is not a class where someone is barking orders at me for an hour and I have no control. I dont have to worry about being grossed out about slimy showers and gooey hairballs in the locker rooms after a swim. I also dont have to worry about sweaty germs on all of the machines and I can just...go. I can read a book when I am not over 3.2 miles per hour and I can control how long and how fast I go. Also, it makes me feel good. I sweat out all the impurities and it is a great stress reliever. AND, to YKW's delight, it has made me more....you know.

I thought for quite a few years that I would never see my legs back to the way I had always been so proud and my butt is beginning to rise off the floor. I like the weight room too cuz it is making me feel better about my upper body as well.

The people at the recreation center that I have my weigh ins at have given me the name "The Treadmill Lady." I love it. I will most definitely live up to that as my hunny got me one for Return Day! (Yes, it is against our religion to celebrate Valentines day, so we celebreate Return Day--The day the tax returns come back!!!!! Hehehehehehe.) I was absolutely thrilled! I am so on it!

As far as the poundage goes, due to the fact that I am a junkaholic, I am sad to say that in week 7, I am only at 3.25 pounds lost. Not to worry! My hunny has contributed to the cause and I will soon be reaching my next goal of a total of 6 pounds! All without leaving my home!!!! My ultimate goal will be at least 15 pounds if not more by the end of the 12 weeks. I dont want to push it ya know. Below is a picture of my new hobby! See, I am even getting some serious reading time in. Thank you Calvin, you are the BEST!!!!

Ms. Wrenegade

Here is a little aside. I have a coworker that I absolutely love chatting with. She is an amazing woman and full of with and charm. She dresses like a diva but can get down like any tomboy I know. She is the wife of a Wrenegade! (Yes, that is how it is spelled! I am not typoing on this one!) At any rate. I feel so sad that she has been slighted so much over the past few months and I believe that something great will come out of it all in the long run. She is a wonderful mother, wife, grandmother and puppy owner! She has class and great taste.

I am not fluffing her up as she can do that pretty well on her own. It just seems to me that above it all, I wonder if anyone ever asks how is SHE doing? I mean it BW, are you REALLY ok? You know, if you put that cigarette down for 20 minutes, you may come up with some more wit so we can all get a little thinner from laughing at your funnies. I love your style of writing (gee, is that an influence from your YKW???) and I wait with baited breath for the next one.

I can only hope that we keep in touch after all this WARN Act stuff and crap going on. I would hate to lose you as not only a co worker but a friend. While I may not know Heff personally, I would be happy to be on your friends list any day! YOU GO GURL! You will find your niche again. And when you do, everyone better watch out! Even the meanies who stepped on you along the way.
Love ya!

Here it is, my thoughts on Hard Rock Park

Last year, we had this wonderful idea tha was to be planted in our midst. It was supposed to generate more business for the area and it was the first of its kind. It was promoted around the world and fluffed up to be the greatest thing to hit this country since six flags. It was gonna be great!

Less than a year from its initial opening, a couple of the major investors backed out leaving it crippled and heading in a quickening southern spiral. OUCH! Lets review why, shall we? The first mistake was all the fluff. The park was promoted to be something that it obviously was not. Ok, it is a great place for concerts but that one fact was pushed under the rug. What an idiot thing to do with that avenue! Along the same vein, parking cost $20.00, to get into the park cost $48.00, then you had to pay for absolutely every thing when you got inside. What a rip that was! No wonder people did not want to go! They were broke before they got in there! Then, once you got in, there was nothing to do but shop and if you were lucky to come on a concert day, that was included in your admission price but sheesh! Why do that when you can wait another day and go to the House of Blues and see the same concert for a third of that price!

Add to the that the fact that these investors (who must be smart, they have all that money!) decided to drop a large mostly puffed up theme park in the middle of one of the biggest down turns in the American economy since the Great Depression of the 1930's and then wonder why they are losing on their investment. Now, my background in business is only about ten years but from a small business stand point, one of the factors that you look at when looking to open any type of business is that of the local economy. I do have to cut these investors some slack as they are not of this country but they should have half a brain about them! Sheesh! Another thing is that Hard Rock international should have said something to someone as well. They do their business, it seems, the right way. They are a avery successful group.

Now, the only smart thing that these foreigners did was to back out before it fell on its face. When they did, the park crashed and crashed hard. The park had all intentions to reopen for the 2009 season but was unable to recover from that devastating blow. They tried to sell the park to no avail because the asking price was too high.

Now we have a buyer and things are supposed to be looking up. But guess what? Part of the group that opened this thing is in this new group of buyers. Hello? Do we see another disaster looming? Lets hope that our "new" owners have learned their lessons and will be more cautious with their willy nilly spending and take a closer look at the whole picture. It would be a big break for the local economy if they did it right and kept those jobs going for the locals like they say they are going to. I believe that everyone that lives in our county and local areas will still approach this thing with caution. It has been a thorn in our sides for a while now. I am just grateful that they are attempting to save face with the locals because this whole fiasco has hurt Myrtle Beach in a big way on top of what the City Council has already done to hurt the common man.

All eyes are on Myrtle Beach and Hard Rock Park.....For now, that is all I have to say about that.

Because your heart can hear a true Harley, and my heart hears the H.Davidson legacy crying...

Ok, I must speak up and put my half a cent worth out there. Everyone in this area seems to know what is the best when it comes to Myrtle Beach and the future of the bike rallies. It seems inevitable that they are going to continue to some degree in the near future. This may reign especially true if they reopen Hard Rock Park (which happens to be a topic for another day. I have a lot to say about that.) At any rate, I have always had rituals with my kids during bike week. Especially that of the Harley rallies. I am a big fan of a Harley Davidson Motorcycle and that will never change. Honda often tries to imitate but they will never even come close. My daughter once asked how can you tell the difference. So, I took her out to show her. When we came up to a stoplight there was a honda trying to mack and I told her to close her eyes and listen and feel with her heart. She put her hand up to her chest and when the Honda took off at the green of the light, she opened here eyes unimpressed. However, when we came to a light where there was a REAL Harley, I asked her to do the same. She did and after that lovely machine floated away up the street, she opened here eyes in awe. "Mommy! I felt it in my heart!" That was one of those wonderful moments that mothers have from time to time. Yes dear, you can hear a Harley with your heart!

One thing that I will miss and I am sure my kids will miss it too is when we go to McDonalds to get breakfast during (both) bike weeks and count the motorcycles that go up Kings Highway. We have a good time doing that. We talk, laugh and ooh and ahh over the new styles of bikes and cars going up and down the highway. It is something that I look forward to every year. BUT, thanks to "the snotty white folks" of Myrtle Beach City Council, they are trying to push those touching moments into the trash with everything else that they believe is not good for the beach.

What they fail to realize is that they are hurting those that live here the most. This area was built on the blood sweat and tears of the common man, more famously known as the lower middle class or the "poor" people. We poor people depend on the business that occurs during the 91 days of summer as well as the few events that occure right before and after that summer. We depend on that because most of the heavy business pays our bills and puts food on our tables. Not many of us have the know how or are able to put money away for the winter month as we all live check to check and we tighten our belts severely during the winter months. Sometimes more than is comfortable.

It seems to me that they are trying to make this place something that it is not. They are also trying to do it way to quickly. The rest of the world is not aware of what is going on in this little podunk resort area and when they come, they are coming for what they know and if it is not there, you have provided nothing to take its place. Take the Pavillion for instance. Oh yea, you have taken it down to the ground and put some remnants of it over at Broadway, woo hoo for you. I went to the "Nostalgia Park" the other day and seen the signs like it is a museum and that of which Myrtle Beach is so proud. Who cares about that now, look at how many memories were destroyed with that becoming a field of grass and how many people were put out of business there. It is not the same that it was. You tried to replace it with Hard Rock Park and you will definitely get all my hot air on that one but not right now. That was a bust also. So here we are, a butt ton of motels and restaurants and 4 malls. Whoopdedoo, Myrtle Beach, Whoopdeedo.

Then you try to jack up the cost of everything to where it takes both income earners of each household to make nearly fourteen dollars an hour to survive (barely) and you provide no jobs to compensate for that. While I still have my job, I am very grateful to have had one that was actually busy for the winter month. To be honest, I did not even know that this kind of job existed. I thank the unseen beings daily that I do have to get up and go to work in the morning. At least while it still lasts. Unfortunately, because of things beyond my control, my days may be numbered. That is not fair either. The common, poor WOMAN loses out again. So much for getting ahead, huh? The following picture conveys my sentiments exactly:

This particular business closed its doors in 2008 due to the fact that Myrtle Beach had formally announced no Bike Rallies for the 2009 season. They had been there for years and paid all their bills during the 2 Harley rallies each year. With there being no rallies, there would be no business. So they assumed that they cut their losses and walked away. Now, all of a sudden, there is supposed to be some sort of compromise and maybe a rally is going to happen after all?!?!?! What kind of crap is that? Wishy washy rich people who are seeing that they may have made a mistake after all when they closed their ears to what the people really wanted. See how a few whiny babies ruin it for everyone?

The foundation of the American Dream crumbles...

Sorry to deviate from the purpose of my plog (yes, plog) but I just had to spit this out at ya.


Ok, I cannot stand to keep it to myself any longer. When my heart was still in it, one of the reasons I loved restaurant work was because people were always going to eat and that was an industry that would undergo little change. I also believed that I was in the right industry for a career until I got laid off for the first time in my life. I took that pretty hard and looked deep into my heart about what I wanted to do for a living and decided that I did not love the service industry anymore and with a little nudge from the Wiz, I took a different path.

I took a path into the corporate world that I feared soo much. No, actually, I came by it on accident. I wanted to be in a lawyers office but while going to school, it was nearly impossible as all lawyers want you to work full time and part time legal assistant work is nearly unheard of. So after a couple of internships, I came to work for a company doing customer service. I choose to take this job because there was no selling and no commission. I tried that once. YES, once, and it was not my forte. So here I go, talking on the phone for a living.

I got sucked into it and I actually love doing this. I don't have to look at these people, (for the most part) and I can talk them to death to get them to see my point of view. That is a challenge that I readily accept more often to the dismay of my coworkers. It is a great accomplishment when I keep them from cancelling though. So, I accept!

Then the corporate monster begins to growl and snarl. While I knew I am classified as temporary part time, I am still there and I am watching as people all around me are laid off and let go. People who have been there for years and years and whole departments gone.....in the blink of an eye.

More recently, it was announced that our printing and packaging was going to be outsourced to another company. I love walking through the press room because the machines are so big and I wonder what they sound like when they are running. Everyone tells me they are a great site when they are and that I should come see if I ever get a chance. Sadly, I do not think I will. This affects a lot of people in our building. On top of this department, I read emails almost weekly about this one and that one who no longer work for my company. I feel sad for them because those people now have to go out into a world where finding a job is like finding the perfect diamond in an abandoned mine. You are very lucky if you can find something. Even minimum wage jobs are becoming a rarity.

I am thankful that I do have a job and plan to hold on to it until the very end. What the future holds is not bright. I had a family member ask me the other day what would I do. I said the only truth that was apparent to me at the time. "Well, we will just have to work more hours and try to get by." I believe that is what everyone is doing.

I always wondered what the people of the great depression were thinking during that time period. I have a feeling that I may not have to wonder much longer. We are heading in that direction is a quickening downward spiral. How nauseating that is. While I choose not to have a portfolio so to speak, it is still frightening to see the world like this. What amazes me however, is that all the world is watching the United States. Our dying economy is affecting everyone the world around and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it nor is it likely that they want to. Wow. Turbulent times, we are in them folks, maybe the worst ever....

Ice on the Beach......play on words? Not really...

Ok, so sometimes it gets too cold for me. Look at this. Cold without a purpose makes me grumpy. I don't mind cold so long as snow is involved. But this is just silly. This is in front of the Chamber of Commerce in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Taken on the coldest day of the year, it was a balmy 18 degrees the night before. This picture was taken at 1:30 in the afternoon! Nevermind the fact that the week before it was nearly seventy degrees! What is going on with that?!?!?!?!

This fountain stayed frozen for nearly three days. What you can hardly see here is the side that the sun rises on is on the opposite side of the photographer and that side is almost thawed. I also found a strange beauty here. Icicles are so very pretty no matter where they are. Quite deadly as well. You never want to be underneath one of them suckers when they decide to let go of their perch! OUCH!

Just thought I would liven it up a little here since I started out soo gloomy and dark. Warm days are on their way and more to talk about! Come, chat for a while, we are all friends here. The coffee is fresh even, none of that reheated stuff that many folks I know despise. Hey, it is even the good stuff from Tim Horton's country! Thanks Canada!!!!! =0).

A final thought on our "stroll."

While we are standing there regarding the monstrosity before us, at our feet is something that could be and could not be. It is a blue bandanna. I cringe from it because what it represents has attempted to come to close to my family. Gang violence is not necessarily a new phenomenon but it is something very real and until it is brought to your attention vividly, you do not realize how close it can come.

You always hear that it is only in the big cities and what not but it seems to have permeated everywhere. It is in every crack of American society and is not likely to be eradicated...EVER. What I hope is that the discarded cloth at our feet belongs to some homeless person who has inadvertently dropped it but why would they do that? They don't have much to begin with. Besides, this one looks worn in the gang fashion we see repeatedly on the television.

"Mommas, don't let your babies grow up to be...gang members...." New twist on an old song. Right? Most definitely. What's sad is that I have friends whose children have been accused of "showing colors" at school. That is cutting way too close to home for me. I have contemplated the gang thing a little and it is some scary stuff. Stuff you see on television and would never dream that it would come to a city like this one. But it is here and it is REAL. One of those not in my town situations. Boy was I ever wrong. On the bright side, maybe it is not as bad as I would believe. Let's hope for small miracles, eh?

So we pile back into the car, saddened by our journey but prepared in a way for the next one. Lets close the door on this sad mini chapter and move on. No more misery here.