Archive for the ‘Kill Me, I’m Begging You’ Category

06-02-2013   2 comments

I thought I’d stop complaining about politics for a few days to begin complaining about Mother Nature and her lack of respect for me and my gardening skills. We seem to have the start of a summer with no moderate weather conditions.  For most of the month of May we had warm days and very cold nights.  We also were taken by surprise by a late frost or two that hit us with almost no notice.  The days were warm but the wind had a cold edge to it that just wouldn’t let up.  The frost ended up costing us a few dollars when it killed a number of the recently purchased cucumber plants.

In past years that would have set me off but I guess when you can’t do control something you have to move along and not let it make you too crazy. I replanted the cukes again after being assured by a nursery owner friend that we were safe from another frost.  Do we get a few days of moderate weather?  No effing way.

A week ago I was sitting on my deck relaxing and talking with my sister in Pittsburgh.  It was warm but still had a bit of chill in the air.  My sister was complaining about the heat wave they were suffering from and that the temps had been in the eighties for a few days.   We here in Maine usually receive the exact weather as Pennsylvania just three or so days later.  We had a day of moderate rain and then our heat wave arrived just as expected.  For three miserable days the heat was almost unbearable.  It was too hot to sit on the deck until late afternoon and sleeping became a freaking nightmare.  All of this weather and it wasn’t even June yet.  On top of the stifling heat the sun effectively roasted and toasted a large section of the garden.

So I make another trip back to the nursery for a few more replacement plants.  A number of other plants were slightly damaged as well but we were still hoping for a little rain to help them survive.  Three days later they died as well as did some of the latest replacements.  This kind of stuff is expected these days with weird weather patterns slowly becoming the norm.  It gives me a whole new understanding and appreciation of how it must have been back in the day when your life and your families life  depended on having a successful garden and crops.  Those old time farmers must have had a great deal of faith and a lot of guts.

Once again I replanted all of the cucumbers, watered them in, and prayed the weather would moderate a little with just enough rain to keep them healthy.  It was now the first of June and I hoped for the best.  Another mistake for sure.  I monitored the weather and soon became aware of possible thunder storms heading our way.  It began to rain and it poured for hours.  It was so bad that some of my newest plantings were washed out of the ground.  I’m beginning to get the idea that the gardening gods are messing with me.

If your going to garden you must be ready for almost anything.  Patience is required as well as a supply of really good cuss words.  They don’t actually help the situation but they do have the ability to make you feel a little better.
I’ve just replanted the cukes for the third and hopefully last time.

At the rate the grass is growing it should be knee high in a matter of days. That should give me something new to stress about.  Mother Nature is definitely not our friend so far this Spring.

06-01-2013   2 comments

I love history and looking back at this country’s politics. It’s my attempt to learn how the system could have deteriorated to where it is today. It doesn’t take a genius to watch and listen to today’s representatives and senators to identify the issues that are driving us crazy. Bad habits are usually a learned response and our current gang of politicians have learned their lessons well.  Many of these bad habits have been passed down over the years from one group of politicians to another and been finely tuned.

It seems obvious to me that there are three main priorities; money, re-election, and power.  They raise huge amounts of money to accomplish priority number one which in  turn helps them to  accomplish priority number two.  Once re-elected they can pursue their third priority, power, which they all seem to crave.  The fact that most of the money spent for reelections eventually works it’s way back into the hands of corporate America must must be a fortunate happenstance.  Yeah right!

One of my major criticisms is that they all seem to be concerned only with getting on TV first with a cutesy “sound bite” before their competitors. It doesn’t seem to faze them that they never have anything of consequence to say just ten second quips for those ever-present media cameras.

Since I agree whole-heartedly with this criticism I decided to determine exactly when and where it all started.  The use of campaign slogans began well before the current Media became so powerful and demanding.  Back in the day they reported what was occurring in the country in an unbiased fashion.  They weren’t involved in creating the news as they are today. The “straw that broke the camels back” for me was when big corporate American began buying up the most influential media organizations. The unbiased history of the Media was for the most part a thing of the past.  As I searched around I found the following campaign slogans in use going all the way back to 1840.  They started out cutesy and entertaining but slowly became hurtful and nasty at times.  This is just a small sampling of old and new irritating slogans that may have helped kick started the “sound bite” revolution.

Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too – 1840

Fifty-Four Forty or Fight – 1844

Equal Rights to All; Special Privileges to None – 1900

Stand Pat with McKinley – 1900

He Kept Us Out of War – 1916

Back to Normalcy – 1920

Keep  Cool With Coolidge – 1924

A Chicken in Every Pot; A Car in Every Garage – 1928

In Hoover We Trusted and Now We Are Busted – 1948

One Good Term Deserves Another – 1934

I’m Just Wild About Harry – 1948

To Err is Truman – 1948

Phooey on Dewey – 1948

I  Like Ike – 1952

I Still Like Ike – 1956

In Your Guts You Know He’s Nuts – 1964

Never Been Indicted – 1980

It’s the Economy, Stupid – 1992

Hope and Change – 2008

Apparently we citizens always were always suckers for “sound bites” even when they were just called “campaign slogans”.  Maybe it’s time we the voters change how we approach politics.  Maybe I’m an idiot if I really believe that’s even possible.  I’ve lost most of my faith in the American voter which requires me to remain even more skeptical and critical of anything remotely related to politics. 

05-31-2013   1 comment

What would you rather see? Janet Jackson’s nipple or a newborn baby cooing to his mother?

What would you rather hear? President Obama’s reassurances that everything will be alright or a love song from Taylor Swift.

What would you rather taste?  Lemon juice or whipped cream.

What would you rather smell?  Someone’s body odor or freshly baked bread.

What would you rather touch?  The sharpness of a razor blade or the fur of a kitten.

I’ve just given you a tour of the five human senses which everyone is endowed with, allegedly. Common sense should make the answers to these questions really obvious.  You have just experienced your first poll here at Every Useless Thing.  I can report the following results:

15% of my readers hate cooing babies.
15% of my readers hate Taylor Swift.
85% of my readers hate lemon juice.
15% of my readers love body odor.
85% of my readers hate razor blades.

My poll is just as ridiculous as most of those polls you hear being mentioned on the news all too frequently.  I was recently called by some BS polling outfit who began asking me a series of political questions so slanted and biased I was stunned.  Would you rather die a horrible death or approve Obamacare?Would you rather pay a few more dollars in taxes or see your children die?  Would you rather vote for someone who wants clean air or a Republican?

You get my drift I hope.  Polls are just another way to manipulate the citizenry through biased and rigged questions by alleged experts who we’ve never heard of before and whose qualifications can’t be verified. It’s an easy matter for any of us to create a  fictitious organization, give it an official sounding name, with official business cards and stationary, and release polling information slanted in our specific political direction.  If the Media likes what it hears, the poll will be broadcast on the news for days with the talking heads giving it their support. If they don’t like the results then it’s buried and never seen of heard from again. Since the great majority of media folks are self-proclaimed liberals you can see the problem.

This kind of manipulation was one of the things the fourth estate was to help identify and warn the population about.  That was one of the checks and balances incorporated into our form of government by the Founders.  The Media was to be our unbiased watch dog and protector against governmental abuses. With that protection slowly disappearing we’ve now become vulnerable to a government that wants to control every facet of our lives while the Medias stands by and applauds.

We should be worried because it’s been getting progressively worse every day.

05-28-2013   4 comments

We have an over abundance of street gangs in this country who’ve staked out certain areas of many communities as their "turf".  Battles over "turf" seem stupid to me but so do many other gang related things.  I’m really not interested in all of the excuses made by society that try to explain membership in these groups.  I’m trying to understand how you can casually walk down the street and kill someone for no reason other than as part of an initiation rite for membership.  And thanks once again to the History Channel for making it a regular program available to millions of our kids.  Gangland is the show and it’s a damn disgrace.

The more I learn about gangs the less I understand.  One thing I seem to hear quite often is the word "dis".  He "dissed" me in front of my friends.  He "dis"respected me so I came back later that night and shot him. As I was growing up I can honestly say I never heard that word ever used.  It’s only in the last fifteen years that it seems to have become part of the lexicon in this country.  How is it that a small innocuous three letter word has caused the deaths of so many.  How is it that a small three letter word which has been in use for decades has been turned upside down and now becomes a reason to kill.  Many words contain "dis" but don’t require deadly action to defend.

…disbanded
…discharged 
…discouraged
…discriminate
…disenchanted
…dismembered
…distressed
…distrusted

None of these words need defending at the cost of a human life.  Maybe it’s just a convenient excuse or rationalization by these gang members for committing violent acts.  Maybe it eases someone’s guilt feelings by using the word to convince themselves their protecting their gang.  Maybe it’s the gangs peer pressures and fear of exclusion that make a thirteen year old kid turn into a killer.  It might even be fear of reprisals that force these violent acts to take place.

I must sound vaguely like some of the so called dumb-ass experts making excuses for their bad behavior.  Maybe it just comes down to the basics.  If you don’t like school, other people, the government, the police, your parents and you do like drugs, violence, murder, and prison.  Your destined to be a gang member.

Believe me I have no answers to this problem but I’m sure sick to death of seeing it broadcast on TV over and over again.  The program Gangland needs to be discontinued.  In it’s own weird way it’s romanticizing the gangbanger way of life like nothing before.  I can just see groups of gang members bragging it up that their gang was mentioned on TV and really showed the world what a bunch of bad asses they are.  It’s probably one of their best recruiting tools these days and it costs them nothing at all.

05-24-2013   Leave a comment

Today is Ladies Day here at Everyuselessthing.  I know In the past I’ve had a lot of fun with you ladies out there but I’d like to get a little more serious today.  During my normal cruising around the net I discovered that today is what most women would consider a very special day.  I think it’s only fair that the women in this country have more than one day like Mother’s Day to celebrate their femininity.  With that in mind I’m sending out good wishes to all of my female readers and a big HAPPY INTERNATIONAL TIARA DAY.  I’ve included the following blurb I discovered which  explains the origins of this observance and who to blame.  I’m sorry, that must have sounded a little catty and I apologize.

I was surprised a little to discover that’s it’s an "International" observance.  For some reason I thought that this could only be an American thing.  I guess I should have realized that you women folk all would love to have and wear a tiara regardless of what country you live in. As the article explains this observance was created to help every women feel like a princess.  How sweet and somewhat disturbing is that?

So before all of you ladies race off to your local Tiara’s "R" Us, please read along to learn the history of this special, special day, International Tiara Day.

The first International Tiara Day was held on May 24th, 2005 in conjunction with Barbara Bellissimo’s Seasons of Success. In 2009 Lynanne White of American Rose Bridal along with a few of her employees decided everyone should be able to wear a tiara, not just brides. Lynanne researched to see if there was a tiara day. After contacting and receiving permission from Barbara, Lynanne took over International Tiara Day in hopes of helping all women feel like a princess. Lynanne thought May 24th was an appropriate day since it was Queen Victoria’s birthday. We hope to continue this tradition every year. Please help us spread the word.

Now that I’ve properly informed my female readers about this previously unpublicized day it’s back to blog business.  I love listing new followers to this blog along with my special thanks.  Spending time surfing through their blogs is in my opinion time well spent.  They contain a lot of interesting information and diverse writing styles.  Check them out and enjoy them as I do. 

Thanks to: meganlbarr, Glenn Folkes, Kendall F. Person, thepublicblogger, sunnysleevez, ArchangelTravels, Cristian Mihai, taylor oceans, Michael Armstrong, Sorina M, Daniel Gonzalez, Ashley, The Overstand Podcast, jamesrevelsthecomposer, immodiumabuser, The CoF, talin401, kirstywirsty, Spy Garden, SipofFashion, and dasitton309.

Oh yeah, HAPPY BIRTHDAY VICTORIA.

05-19-2013   4 comments

I’ve been very critical over the years with people spending their entire lives trying to become famous.  That relentless search for their fifteen minutes of fame becomes an obsession and usually causes them more problems than actual fame in it’s pursuit. To our society becoming famous or even knowing someone famous is all that’s important.

Reality shows have given a great many people their fifteen minutes and in most cases we all regret it.  The Jersey Shore, Swamp People, Teen Moms, just to mention a few.  These people acquired fame and fortune for no apparent good reason.  They’re just a by-product of our obsession with anything that can be sensationalized or celebrity related.

I’ve never been someone who searched out fame or notoriety but now I’m thinking I might have missed the boat.  I decided to do a little research into how I could become famous.  On a website I won’t mention I found this top ten list of things to do to become famous.  I tried working my way through the list but I had many difficulties and it now appears that fame and fortune will continue to elude me.  Here’s what I found.

Make a Sex Tape – I really gave this my best efforts but something seemed to be missing.  Finding a partner to make the tape became the entire issue. Finally I discovered a local homeless women who would do anything for food.  We made the tape and sent it out to the media.  They all were returned unopened and the cost for my treatment of this STD was enormous.

Get Your Own Reality Show – I couldn’t find anyone interested in the life and times of a retiree.  I was told to call them back if I ever fathered a child with anyone under the age of sixteen.  I could then be a spin off of Teen Moms but only if I had an accompanying physical deformity.

Date Someone Famous – I wrote really intimate and interesting letters to my top twenty celebrities begging for some quality time and a few photo ops to get the attention of the paparazzi.  I received back twenty attorney letters threatening protection orders if I didn’t desist.

Release a Pop Single – This may have been the worst day of my life.  I discovered that my ability to RAP was limited and that most promoters thought I was way too old and way too white.

Go to Rehab -  I checked myself into rehab.  Rehab in Maine is inexpensive.  My addiction to potato chips just wasn’t juicy enough to make the nightly news.

Claim to Be a Bisexual – I made this claim but for it to be taken seriously I needed a partner.  I was turned down so many times I began to feel really bad about myself.  I may be forced into therapy because my delicate ego was severely bruised.

Find Some Famous Friends – The only people I know who are famous are incarcerated in some of Maine’s finest jails.  I interviewed thousands of criminals over the years and now they’re lining up to be my buddy.

Weight Loss – I’ve been trying to accomplish weight loss for years.  It’s never worked very well before so I don’t anticipate it improving now.  I was asked to leave the building at Jenny Craig because I just wasn’t famous enough or pretty enough to appear in their commercials.  I wasn’t happy being slammed for my lack of fame but everyone knows I’m pretty enough.

Get or Remove a Tattoo – This was a total waste of my time. My better-half made it abundantly clear that no additional tattoo’s were permitted and we certainly weren’t going to spend our hard earned money to remove any.

Sell Your Wedding or Baby Pictures – I tried selling my pictures but I had no takers.  Every media outlet returned them with some less than flattering comments.  Even members of my own family sent them back with a "No Thanks" note attached.

I guess I’m screwed.  No fame or fortune in my future.  No photos with the Kardasian’s, no paparazzi chasing me around, no quality time with Lindsey Lohan or dates with her mother.  My life sucks.

05-17-2013   Leave a comment

It’s not unusual these days to hear people from other countries constantly complaining about America, Americans, and everything else American.  We’re too loud, we’re too arrogant, we’re bullies, and on and on it goes.  After continuously hearing all of that I then wonder why it is that so many of the same people from every nation on the planet would die to come here.  Many hundreds of illegals have died in the deserts of northern Mexico just trying to cross the border to get here.

I always assume that money is the motivation for everything as well as political persecution but both of those things can be avoided by fleeing to many other countries besides the United States. Why then does everyone want to be here?  As I lounged in my bed this morning a thought came to me that might explain it.  As you know many countries have an odd assortment of traditions and customs that are truly weird and strange to us.  I think many of our traditions are equally strange to them.  They can’t seem to understand why we do certain things but they want to experience them with us.  I’ve put together a list of ten things we Americans do that even I don’t understand.  Lets take a look at them.

  • Black Friday Shopping Sprees – My better-half and hundreds of thousands of others religiously participate in this insanity.  I know that she and I will never spend Black Friday together unless I bow to this tradition.
  • Presidential Turkey Pardons – This is so lame it’s embarrassing to admit that it’s true.  Eat the freaking bird and be done with it. So freaking dumb!
  • Gay Pride Parades -  I can’t think of any reason why these are necessary at all.  Maybe we need a Heterosexual Pride Parade every so often where we can get crazy and half-naked and make complete fools of ourselves.  Oh wait, I forgot we have Spring Break for that.
  • Tailgate Parties – This is just a further extension of the nations sports obsession.  These get togethers continue to get more ridiculous every year but it’s something the Food channel can’t survive without.
  • Cow Tipping – This is reported to be a true American tradition from the Midwestern part of the country.  I’ve never seen it done nor have I ever participated in cow tipping.  It’s just another reason to give the folks living in farm country a hard time.  Funny but unverified.
  • Punkin Chunkin – I’ve watched this on TV a few times but really didn’t think it was much of a tradition until two years ago.  My better-half and I were riding around enjoying the pretty Fall colors when we came upon dozens of cars parked near a farmers field.  People were standing around in groups watching some locals chunking pumpkins across the field.  Every time one exploded everyone cheered. Why, I have no freaking idea.
  • Watching Super Bowl Commercials – I have many more friends who watch the Super Bowl just for the commercials rather than the game itself.  Go figure!
  • Roadside Death Shrines -  Over the years I’ve seen hundreds of these shrines built by friends and family of people killed in traffic accidents.  Again, I don’t understand the need to build a shrine along some road.  Some are really unbelievable.  I saw one near my home that had it’s own decorated Christmas Tree.
  • Sensationalism -  Everything in this country is sensationalized.  Crimes of the Century, Games of the Century, Storms of the Century, and anything else you can think of.  If it isn’t the biggest and baddest in history it just isn’t worth mentioning.  This is one tradition we could do without.
  • Ground Hog Day Predictions -  This is so stupid I really thought about not mentioning it at all.  So consider it not mentioned.

Come one! Come all!   All you crazy folks from around the globe.  It’s taken America more than two hundred years but we finally developed and celebrate as many weird and stupid things as the people in your homeland do.  You should fit right into this looney-bin we call America.  So come on down.

05-14-2013   Leave a comment

Spring has finally sprung here in Maine.  That cold nip that’s been in the air for the last few weeks seems to be disappearing and sitting on my deck actually feels warm instead of just in the sunny spots.

Something else is an excellent predictor of warm weather and that’s road construction.  We’re just a week away from the beginning of the tourist season which under normal conditions is a huge pain in the butt.  Add the influx of tourist to the unbelievable amount of road construction and what do you get? You get madness.

I spent a portion of my day yesterday riding around the area,  running errands, and just enjoying the sunshine.  I saw a few things I found more than a little disturbing.  I once lived in the Boston area and there we were required to suffer through traffic jams which are a way of life.  I spent more than seventeen years sitting on Rte. 128 in gigantic traffic jams and logged more time sitting on that highway than I did in my office. It was one of the many reasons I felt a move to Maine was a good idea.

Maine is a very large state with a reasonably small population and under normal circumstances we have a difficult time even finding a traffic jam.  Unfortunately that appears to be changing this year.  I spent more time than I’d like sitting in construction traffic yesterday and I swear I must have seen at least sixty percent of the state’s population.  They were all jammed into one of the main intersections in Scarborough, Maine which has been under construction for at least two months.

It takes a real genius to begin a large road construction project just prior to tourist season at one of the busiest intersections in the area without being absolutely certain it will be completed before the tourists arrive.  It’s not the town officials that are to blame but the idiots from the state government in Augusta.  They bitch and complain about the poor economy and then do their level best to screw things up.

The perfect example to make my point was this scene.  You have two large intersections within a couple of hundred yards of each other.  There are no less than fourteen lanes of traffic merging into and out of this area which unfortunately is the direct driving route to the beaches and the marsh areas where tourist love to visit.  Every lane except for two was closed.

I sat and watched some poor schmuck standing in a shallow hole spreading asphalt with a wooden paddle.  He was sweating his butt off as he pushed and pulled the material around to get it level.  Standing right next to him were four supervisors in their pretty white hard hats, reading their clip boards, and watching the poor guy working. Making a rough estimate I would calculate that more than $100.00 an hour was being spent to supervise one guy making $20.00 an hour.  I really appreciated that the entire group of supervisors were proud enough to wear their official State of Maine, Department of Transportation  jackets.  It’s the perfect way to advertise to "We the People" where our hard earned tax money is being spent.

Shortly after Memorial Day that intersection will be an even bigger nightmare.  I’m certain that all of our Canadian visitors will really appreciate spending a good portion of their vacation time sitting in the heat at that intersection.  You haven’t lived until you’ve experienced a road rage incident where someone is screaming obscenities at you in French.  At least I won’t understand what the hell their saying.

05-08-2013   Leave a comment

A few days ago I posted a bit of humor about men visiting Lowes at different stages of their lives.  I tag these types of posts as humor but as always there are a few of you out there who insist on taking things as a personal attack.  I received a somewhat smarmy email from a gentleman in Canada who took me to task for having made men look too foolish.  I won’t assume anything about someone who sees a posting described as humor and then takes time out of his busy day to write an email complaining about the humor. He truly must be a Canadian.

Being the fair minded individual that I am I’ll dedicate this HUMEROUS post in his honor with the hopes he has a women in his life who can explain it to him.  If I’m going to receive stupid and inane emails I’d prefer them to be from women.   As a warning to all of you folks in Canada, THIS POSTING CONTAINS HUMOR.  Be on your guard.

What Woman Desire in Men

20’s

  • Handsome
  • Works Out Regularly
  • Charming
  • Financially Successful
  • A Caring Listener
  • An Imaginative and Romantic Lover

30’s

  • Nice Looking
  • Listens More Than Talks
  • Smells Good
  • Carries Groceries With Ease
  • Owns at Least One Tie
  • Requires Sex Once a Week

40’s

  • Not Too Ugly – Bald OK
  • Doesn’t Smell Too Bad
  • Usually Wears a Shirt to Cover His Stomach
  • Remembers to Put the Toilet Lid Down
  • Shaves on Most Weekends
  • Requires Sex Once a Month

50’s

  • Keeps Hair in Nose and Ears Trimmed
  • Doesn’t Belch or Scratch in Public
  • Doesn’t Nod Off While I’m Talking
  • Remembers My Name
  • Shaves on Some Weekends
  • Requires Sex Once a Quarter

60’s

  • Remembers Where the Bathroom Is
  • Can Stand By Himself
  • Usually Wears Some Clothes
  • Social Security Eligible
  • Remembers Where He Left His Teeth
  • Vaguely Remembers Sex

70’s

  • Collecting Social Security
  • Can Still Drive
  • Breathing
  • Breathing
  • Breathing
  • Breathing

There you have it ladies.  If you find any omissions or errors please drop me a comment or email with the particulars.  I’ll immediately forward them to my new Canadian friend for his thoughts on the matter.  I’m just kidding of course.  My only message for Ontario Joe is BITE ME!

04-29-2013   1 comment

I must be losing my touch.  As I’ve always made clear to one and all, I hate shopping.  I also realize that a certain amount of it must take place whether I like it or not.  I’ve slowly developed over the years into a standard male shopper as described on many occasions by women. First I determine what I need, then I look at the cost, then I travel to where it’s available, and then purchase it.  Not much fooling around or standing in the aisles trying to decide about the color, size, and price.  I do that before I get there, buy the thing, and get the hell out of there.

Many men have been criticized many times for this kind of shopping by our female counterparts.  They seem to think that any way but their way was somehow incorrect.  It’s useless to argue with them because as well as being the all-time best shoppers, they’re also always right about everything. It’s a heavy burden to bear but they manage to pull it off perfectly.  Just ask any women and she’ll explain it to you in great, great detail.

I have been searching for a certain product for what seems like forever and I’m at my wits end.  I’ve searched on-line and found dozens of the item but at a cost that is ridiculous once the shipping and handling charges are added in. Once on-line shopping was eliminated as a possibility I proceeded to find a local vendor for what I hoped would be a cheaper price.  I’ve talked to a number of them so far with no luck.  I thought by buying local I could eliminate the shipping expenses and still get a decent price.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.

All I’m looking for is an simple 18 inch glass circle at least one quarter inch thick.  I guess the simpler an item is the more difficult it can be to find.  That makes no sense to me but it appears to be the reality of my situation.  With each negative result I’m slowly being pushed into considering a method of shopping I’m not all that comfortable with, flea markets and yard sales.

For more than a few years I’ve been included in my better-half’s shopping forays into hundreds of garages and homes in southern Maine as she digs through the cast off items of their owners.  I’ve always been a little put off by that but she seems to thrive on it.  To me it’s like shopping at a Goodwill retail store. I have serious issues with shopping anywhere where a lot of my own things may be for sale.  It’s just creepy.

I visited a few of the big box stores today with no luck.  They’ll sell you a square piece of glass in a second but ask for a round piece and it’s like the end of the world.  They get that stupid look on their faces and begin their song and dance on why they don’t have them available. I also visited a number of other retailers and again had no luck. My last resort was a local glass company who advertises every kind of glass known to man and they’ll cut it to order.  On-line I would have been charged approximately $25.00 for the item and an additional $23.00 to ship it.  This local retailer offered me what he considers to be his best deal. I can have my simple piece of 18 inch glass for a mere pittance, $51.00.

I have that nagging suspicion in the back of my mind that I’m being manipulated.  The bottom line for me is this.  I’m not paying fifty bucks for an eighteen inch piece of glass regardless of the seller.  I didn’t think it could happen but I’m left without a solution to my problem.  My better-half must be subconsciously laughing her ass off because she already knows I’ll be requesting her help in finding this thing.  I see thousands of other people’s things in other people’s garages that I’ll be forced to paw through in my search for this piece of glass.

Ugh!