My mother ....

My mother, my mother is a real pain in the ass to put it nicely. I know, I know all people complain about their mothers but my mother is in a class by herself. Let me start it off with of her five children she has been the major cause for four of them to either seek or be sent to therapy. On the other hand, the only one who hasn't gone to therapy is the one who went to public high school.
Everyone has flaws but my mother has two that really set me and most of my siblings off. The first is that once she gets an idea in her head she will not, even in the face of logic, give it up. An example, when I was 10 years old one of my brothers told my mother that he questioned my swimming ability. Mind you I was 10 years old. For 6 years in my teen years I was a summer camp counselor. At the age of 32 I got certified as an open water SCUBA diver. Upon hearing the news what does my mother say "But you can't swim."
Another example is that my mother hates my wife. I have been married over twelve years to this woman and no matter what my wife does my mother will fabricate stories on partial knowledge, jump to conclusions and do everything in her power to see whatever my wife does in a bad light. No matter what my wife does or what proof you present my mother she will not be persuaded that she is wrong. Imagine in your own life if everything your spouse did was twisted into something sinister. It's gotten to the point that my wife has said "If your mother wants you back, she can have you."
This leads to the second thing that really sets me off about my mother and I know it has been the cause of problems with my siblings. My mother will find the buttons she knows will set you off and she will intentionally push them. You can see the wheels turning in her head to come up what will really set her child off. Every one of us kids has different buttons and my mother adjusts her approach for each child. To this end I try to show no reaction around my mother because I have watched her give up on one tactic only to try another approach until she finds the button to set you off. I don't know what it is in her past or if she even does it intentionally but my mother lives off the negative reaction she can get from her children.
The impact my mother has on her children was first revealed to her in the late '50s when my second oldest brother had taken to stuttering and was in need of psychological help. The doctor told her and my father that she was the major cause of her child's problems. What was the result? My father decreed we were never to talk of it again because it upset my mother so.
So, as much as I would like to love my mother I just can't because I know the impact of her methods has been pointed out to her but she will not change her ways even if it hurts her own children.

Quizzes can be fun

I know that the quizzes you sometimes see on the Internet are sometimes informative and some are just plain stupid. The last time I tried keeping up with a blog I found the Okcupid! site that I have as one of my links. So I decided to keep it with this latest version of my blog. I discovered that unlike what my wife calls me I am apparently not a full blown Republican. In fact I am classified as a Libertarian in that I am Social liberal and Economically conservative. The real laugh was when my wife took the quiz she, who made me convert to being a registered Republican before she would marry me, is classified as a Democrat.
I was looking at these quizzes the other day and I found the one that claims to answer the question as to what body type of woman "trips my trigger". What the the result was didn't surprise me but what made me laugh was the first reaction I had when I saw the result was "No I'm not!". Then I thought about it and decided "That yes I am and what's wrong with result". So here it is, I admit it, I am a man so my ideal woman is large chested, small hipped and is cute in appearance. Me and how many other men? According to the quiz Heather Graham is my perfect body type.

Should Mother Nature be allowed to take her course?

Today in Oregon another hot issue has hit the airwaves. Excuse the pun that opening statement is about to create. It seems that Oregon state forest fire team leaders are being demoted and have been demoted recently because they don't speak Mexican. The reasoning is that most team members don't speak English so it's a safety issue that their leader yells commands to them in a language they don't understand easily. Why are there so many non-English understanding people on the fire crews. Because the job pays about $9 and hour. So does that mean all the safety manuals, instructions and notices and whatever they should have been reading and adhering to must now be in Mexican? Should a person be fired because they don't speak a specific foriegn language? When is this state going to make English the official state language?
On a related forest fire note. There is a fire burning in central Oregon that nobody is fighting. The reason is they can't fight it using mechanical devices. The fire is burning in a state wilderness area and it is illegal to take motorized devices or machinery into the area to fight it. They can't even fly over it to hit the fire with water. On the good side, the fire is taking out the beatles that have been attacking the trees in the wilderness area and killing the trees that are there. So now the wilderness area will be burned, the beatles will be diminshed and Mother Nature can do her thing.
That brings up another issue from a few months ago. If there is a forest fire should we allow Mother Nature to take her course or should man go back in and replant?

Taking the dog to the Vet

Went to the vet today to get the two dogs up to date on their shots. It was an outdoor vet tent that comes to our local grocery store every other Sunday. The dogs both behaved wonderfully although I had to chuckle that with a 108 temperature our five month old puppy might be lethargic. That dog has more energy than the energizer bunny but I guess that's because he is half boarder collie.
I must admit, one of the simple pleasures of life is that the female vet who examined the dogs had her lab coat and shirt showing a nice view when she leaned over. I know ... "I'm a pig". I am not accusing her of doing it on purpose but it sure was a nice sight. I'm sorry for noticing, actually I'm not.

Would you risk your credit rating for a relative?

Credit score. More and more it is become apparent to me that maintaining your credit score is so helpful. I am currently looking into going back to school and the easiest way is with a Sallimae. I was shot down for two reasons 1) Even though my credit score is in the upper 600s it is 17 points below what is required and 2) I don't have a job at the present time.
What the irony is is that I, being retired Navy, have the Montgomery GI Bill and approximately $37,000 available for my post service education. The problem is that the tuition for the training I am looking at is nearly $20,000 but they want to be paid in two payments. The VA pays in monthly payments. So I have to get a Sallimae to pay the school and then use the MGIB to pay off the Sallimae. Once I am all done my credit score should improve and my chances for employment will be greatly improved.
I am currently looking at "borrowing" my oldest brother's credit score so I can get the Sallimae. In reality, my oldest brother is deciding if he wants to risk his credit rating, Even though I have never screwed him over, or any other member of my family for that matter, there is still a risk because once the VA sends me the money it is assumed that I will pay off the Sallimae but I don't have to. I have every intention of paying it off as soon as I get the VA payments but there is that doubt in my brother's mind I'm sure.
Would you risk your credit rating on a relative?