McCain Wins Election - And It's All My Fault!

Is It Fate Or Dumb Luck?

This past week, I went to see the movie, "Religilous". For those of you that don't know, the movie is one-sided documentary examining organized religion and its followers. The main question the movie asks is, why do people believe these books of fantastic tales (bible, quran, torah, etc.) that were written at a time when people thought sea monsters were real and that the Earth was flat? People believe so strongly in these books of mythology that they are willing to kill each other.

In one part of the movie, the tale of Jonah and the great fish was questioned. The host asked a Christian follower, if they really believed that this man lived inside of a fish for three days? The follower did believe the story. The host then asked if instead of the tale of Jonah, what if the bible talked of Jack and the beanstalk...then would he believe the story? Needless to say, I left the movie more sure than ever that my agnostic stance was not changing any time soon. So, why then do I believe in fate?

I consider myself to be a thinking person, but at the same time, I cannot ignore the string of coincidences that have happened to me lately. You see, the wife of a co-worker (and good friend) just happened to run in to the co-worker's old boss from his past company. The ex-boss asked about my co-worker, and whether his wife thought my co-worker might be interested in returning to his old company. A few days later, I learned that he had decided to leave our company to return to his old company.

Let's go back six months to an evening when Paul and I sat on the back patio in Florida discussing where we would like to move to. After we weighed all the pros and cons of every location we thought we might be interested in, we chose Denver. The list of reasons is too long to go into here, but suffice it to say that my career had no bearing on our chosen location. And in the end, it practically came down to the flip of a coin. There was no single compelling reason to come to Denver. It just seemed like a good idea.

Now, back to present day...as is often the case, my co-worker passed my name around to his new employer. His employer passed my name on to another employer who apparently has some interest in hiring me, because they contacted me and we are now in negotiations. Whether an actual job offer will materialize is yet to be seen.

But here, as they say, is the real kick in the rubber parts. Guess where the company is located that is talking to me. Yep, you guessed it...Denver!

Do you believe in fate?

You Say Color-aa-do, I Say Color-ah-do

Most states seem to hold another state's population in low esteem. Now, like most other western states, the residents of Colorado view transplants from California as a scourge. But when we first arrived in Colorado, being a Texan was not held in high esteem by the other folks who were already here. This impression of Texans was probably most often made on the slopes of Vail and Aspen, where rich Texans came to get drunk and spend their money every season. Back then, Las Vegas was not the place to go and make an ass out of yourself for Texans; it was Colorado.

My family first moved to Colorado when I was 13 years old. We moved from Houston, where I was born. We had never lived anywhere else during my lifetime. We came to Colorado pulling a trailer full of "y'alls" and other attributes that made us instantly identifiable as Texans. Upon arriving, I had to get used to the fact that a carbonated beverage was not a "coke" as every variety in Texas had been, but was now referred to as a "pop" - a ridiculous word if you ask me. The hardest thing to get used to saying was "you guys", which sounded to me like something only an effeminate male interior designer would say, instead of "y'all" - a perfectly proper contraction by the way.

Over time, my prejudice against these and other previously unknown uses for the English language disappeared. I went with "you guys" to get a "pop", just like the rest of my friends did. But there was still one pronunciation that I have never become accustomed to - "Color - aa - do". Years later as an adult, I moved to Nevada, where I lived for twelve years. There is no disputing the fact that Nevada is pronounced "Ne-vaa-da", and not "Ne-vah-da". The pronunciation "Ne-vah-da" make the hair on my arms stand up. It's just wrong. The end.

Now, back in Colorado, I have noticed that the newscasters all seem to say "Color-aa-do". I figured there must have been an invasion of newscasters from Nevada while I was away. Now I come find out that "Color-aa-do" is the proper pronunciation, and that only outsiders say "Color-ah-do"! Don't believe me? Here it is:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colorado

So, now I have to change again. I'm getting too old for this. I just figured out how to say "Hyundai". Alright you guys. Thanks for stopping by to read my blog. I'm going to go get a pop now.

Maverick Schmaverick

I happened to be in the car last night during the vice-presidential debate. I flipped the radio on to listen to the debate. I try to keep an open mind about elections. I am a registered Democrat, but I will vote for the person I feel is the best candidate. This time though, I’m just as irritated as hell with McCain’s choice in Sarah Palin. I can’t put my finger on it and I don’t have a logical explanation. She seems smart and she seems sincere. But when she said the word, “Maverick” for the second time I turned the radio off. I can’t stand all that folksy “soccer mom” “Joe six-pack” “darn tootin” crap. It makes my blood boil.

The only reason my television doesn’t have a brick through it is because I wasn’t home to watch her wink repeatedly at the camera, like it’s all some big inside joke. I don’t think there is anything funny about our current economic situation, our standing in the world, or the 4,000 troops that have been killed in Iraq to protect us from WMD’s that don’t exist. So, stop winking at me lady and explain why you are the better choice.

The issue that is most important to me is health care. After the $105,000 bill we were presented for a week’s hospital stay a couple of years back, and with the ridiculous cost of prescriptions (which seem to rise inexplicably each year by 2, 3 or even 4 times), I live in constant fear of losing our health insurance. It is fair to say that if it weren’t for the insurance plan that my employer provides to us, I would have left my job long ago. I work day in and day out in a job I don’t want to be in, because if I leave, I will lose my health insurance.

I went to both candidates’ web sites some time ago to read about their health care proposals. This little tidbit was either missing from McCain’s web site when I last visited, or was inconspicuous – McCain wants us to pay income tax on the health insurance premiums paid by our employers. Yep. Let’s give tax breaks to large corporations and wealthy folks, and let’s tax people’s health care benefits. Good plan, huh?

For those of us who do not receive insurance from our employers, we will receive a $2,500 per person ($5,000 per family) tax credit to purchase health care ? Well, that would help pay for three months of insurance (assuming someone will insure me). I have no idea where the other nine months worth of premiums is supposed to come from. Here’s a link to a non-profit non-partisan site that explains the truth about McCain’s “health care plan”. Read if for yourself.

http://www.factcheck.org/mccains_5000_promise.html

I’ve had enough of the maverick and the soccer mom. Give me an honest debate about the issues so I can choose who I feel is the candidate that will best represent me. Big surprise…this time it will be Obama.