Smart Remarks and Other Smiles

Some of us just get an attitude once in a while. Sometimes that attitude hits others as amusing—and sometimes not. For instance, someone said that the Democrats were a bunch of lawyers and the Republicans were a bunch of businessmen. Then I noticed that Obama said that the election would be decided over economic issues. Now, just which one of those people would I trust my money with—the blinking lawyers or the guys who know how to make money honestly? You guess.

Today one of the office personnel sent out an e-mail saying that our new boss will have his first year anniversary this month and did we want to pitch in and get him something. I hit reply to all and asked if anyone had any horse shoes. Oh yeah, attitude!

Then a friend of mine sent an old joke that had been reworked slightly:

A driver is stuck in a traffic jam going into downtown Chicago ... Nothing is moving north or south. Suddenly a man knocks on his window.The driver rolls down his window and asks, "What happened, what's the hold up?"

"Terrorists have kidnapped Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Rosie O'Donnell, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. They are asking for a $10 million ransom. Otherwise, they are going to douse them with gasoline and set them on fire. We are going from car to car, taking up a collection."

The driver asks, "On average, how much is everyone giving?"

"About a gallon."

Yeppers, attitude!

Then there is one from my favorite columnist in the local paper:

How Now Joe Brown, September 3
By Joe BrownTuesday, September 2, 2008

Nicholas Evans, author of the novel “The Horse Whisperer,” along with his wife and in-laws, is recovering from cooking and eating toxic wild mushrooms they picked in Scotland. I can’t believe ordinary people would pick mushrooms in the wild and eat them, but some folks vote Democrat and some Republican. Who knows what’s correct?

You may have noticed that Joe listed both parties—just slightly diplomatic—or sneaky, depending on the point of view.

You can’t believe everything online or in the newspaper, but if what I read today was true, Sarah Palin was trying to help the people of Alaska pay for their fuel costs with some of the money that she managed to save from different branches of the state offices.

That story reminded me of my friend Jan whose husband always gave her a budget each month and the money to pay for the things she always bought. Once in a while she would tell him that the price of things had gone up and that she needed more money—and every year she managed to save a thousand dollars or more out of her household money for whatever they needed for their vacation trips. Her husband got his money’s worth and she felt good about managing the finances and always buying the bargains in order to save money.

But Jan didn’t live in Alaska. Those folks pay triple the amount we do in Texas for their food and anything else they need. And to tell the truth, the money Jan used to use to buy her monthly groceries and household items would just about pay for the oatmeal, sugar, butter, and cream for a family of four—without any meat or milk—for one month today!

Unless we actually get some leaders who know how to manage our national finances like Jan managed her home budget, we are never going to get out of the hole. It’s a pretty deep hole, too, so it’s about time we stop digging. We are going to need more than a sense of humor and an attitude to get us back on track. But knowing what we are going to have to do and gritting our teeth until it gets done seems to be something I see in the Republican candidates right now.

Anyway, I don’t have much use for lawyers even if Honest Abe WAS a lawyer. I am not sure they make honest lawyers anymore. And yes, THAT is my attitude!