I, like everyone else, pay for my cable TV service.  I live in an apartment complex and it is the only option that I have.  Due to the close proximity of the buildings, we cannot get good reception with a satellite dish, so I am stuck.  How I would love to have Direct TV.  The programming packages include a lot of channels that I currently cannot get through my cable provider unless I pay extra for them; and they keep changing the channel lineup.  Channels I used to get, I don’t get anymore.  They do this without notice and it can be very frustrating.

In looking at the packages for Directtv, I see that the introductory price for the premier package is less than what I now pay for my extended basic cable!!  The basic package is about 1/3 of the price I pay for my cable service.  If I had a choice, I would definitely visit dx3 on the web and sign up today!!

“When I was a young adult, it was difficult to get my folks to go to an establishment where they served alcohol, even if it was to see an entertainer.

A friend of the family opened a bar in our hometown where the Farm and Home store used to be located.  He remodeled it, it was very nice, and very large inside.  He would have different entertainers there, and it had a large dance floor.  One night, Marvin Rainwater (an entertainer from Nashville) was playing at the bar.  This place was very nice, there had never been a fight there.  I finally talked my folks into going.

Well, on that particular night, there were two women, one on each side of the room who, for whatever reason, disagreed about something.  So, before the show even began, these two females met in the middle of the dance floor and began to fight.  The owner tried to get in the middle to break it up, but without success.  He had a habit of carrying a large wad of money in his shirt pocket.  There was blonde hair and money all over the place.

Go figure, the one night I talk my parents into going to a bar, after building it up and telling what a nice place it was, there was a fight on that night.”

Theresa called me the other night and said that Terry was having a problem with one of his cars and he needed to look at automotive lifts so he could get his car up off the ground to work on it.  He has a great garage/shop, equipped with just about everything, except for a lift.  She said he was having some problems with the exhaust system.

She said that he has now gotten into motorcycle racing as well and was looking at motorcycle lifts so he could work on the bike more efficiently too.  I asked her where she was going to find the money for these things.  She said probably their income tax refund.   I am so glad that my husband prefers to watch the racing instead of participate in it.   I could not afford him then.

He hired a doctor to administer anesthesia to make him “sleep”.  Any one of us who has had surgery knows that when you are put under anesthesia, you do not awaken feeling rested at all.  It is as if you were never asleep, the passing of time seems instantaneous.  So how could Michael Jackson (or Dr. Murray, being a licensed physician) even believe that such administration of anesthetics would help him to get needed rest?

My belief is that Dr. Murray was yet another victim of Michael Jackson’s strange world.  He was hired to do his bidding, just like all the other people who worked for Michael, and not put up an argument about Michael’s demands.  I am sure he was paid a lot of money too, but was it really all worth it in the end?

I am thankful for my family and friends, of course.  I am thankful that my father is finally at peace after a life of turmoil. And finally, I am thankful that I have another day to enjoy life.  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

I think that reality TV has gone too far.  Who cares about what the Kardashians are doing?  Apparently a lot of people, given the ratings.  I had never even heard of them until their show came out, and I have better things to do than watch what is happening in their lives; I am too busy living my life!!!  I really do not care about the real housewives of New Jersey or Los Angeles or any other city.  I have seen little bits of these shows (a few minutes is all I can stand to watch) and ask myself, “Are these people for real”?  Surely not, at least I would hope not.  And I do not care in the least what Snookie is up to.  People of America, get out there and live your own lives and quit burying yourselves in your television set watching these people live theirs.

I understand that the networks need sponsors to pay for the programming, but aren’t things getting a bit ridiculous?  I used to tape a certain soap opera when it was still on the air, and you know, that during a one hour program, there is only actually 38 minutes of the program.  The rest is filled with commercials.

In a one half hour program, there are almost 20 minutes of commercials.  This is why I never watch infomercials (another new word in the English language).  I see enough commercials during my normal television viewing.  I HATE COMMERCIALS!!

I was so looking forward to eating drive-in concession stand hot dogs or pizza and enjoying the night like we did when I was a teenager.  But, as fate would have it, something came up and my husband was not able to come home, he had to make an unexpected trip to Laredo, TX.  He will be back next weekend instead.  Oh well, it rained all weekend anyway, and so the movies were probably cancelled.  It is supposed to rain next weekend also, so we will have to put our little drive-in trip on hold.   We were also going to go to a very large flea market in the same area where the drive-in is located.  It would have been a nice weekend getaway, but mother nature and his work schedule took it away.  There will be another time though; I can hardly wait and am looking forward to it very much!!!!

I arrived about 7:00 Friday night, we visited for awhile, gave lots of hugs and handshakes and settled in our lawn chairs to visit for awhile, since we had to wait until 3:00 a.m. to see the shower.  We sprayed ourselves with lots of bug spray to ward off the mosquitoes and other things that bite by the light of the moon.

The moon was going to present a bit of a problem this time around.  We were at the stage of full moon, and would have to sit somewhere where the moon was hidden from our view, in order to see anything.  It was going to be a challenge indeed.  We went inside about 10:00 p.m. to watch a movie and have some ice cream. Then we all went to bed about midnight (with the alarm set for 2:00 a.m.).

I woke up at 2:00 a.m. and the sky had clouded over.  I was so upset!!!  I traveled over 100 miles to come and see a meteor shower ONE NIGHT out of the year, and it has to cloud up and rain.  I could not believe my luck.  Well, I went back to bed and got up at 3:00 a.m. to check the night sky.  It was not only cloudy, but had begun to rain.  So, I went back to bed hoping that Saturday night would be better.

Saturday, it rained all day……and Saturday night it rained on and off throughout the night.  Well, at least I got to visit with my family for a couple of days.  It was a nice time, even if I didn’t get to see the Perseids meteor shower that I was so looking forward to.

The Perseid meteor shower is named after the constellation Perseus, which is located in roughly the same point of the night sky where the Perseid meteor shower appears to originate from.   The source of the Perseid meteor shower is actually debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle. Every year, the earth passes through the debris cloud left by the comet when the earth’s atmosphere is bombarded by what is popularly known as “falling stars.”

This year the meteor rate will be 50 or more meteors per hour, a good count, but it still doesn’t match the shower I viewed in December of 2001, the Geminid shower,  where the rate was over 100 meteors per hour.  That was the most spectacular meteor shower I have ever seen!!!  It was cold, but well worth it.

If you have never viewed a meteor shower, I highly recommend it.  This year, for the Perseid’s shower, we will be battling a full moon, so if you view it, place yourself in a moon “shadow” area, behind a building, shadowed from the moon is the best suggestion I can think of.  If you live near a mountain range, you will have better viewing after the moon starts to go behind the mountains.  You will need either a blanket or comfortable lawn chair, food and drink, if you wish to have a snack, and last, but most importantly….lots of bug spray!!!

This year the peak viewing time will be between the hours of 2 a.m. and dawn on August 12-13th.  So, take a nap and get up very, very early on Saturday morning (if you can).  Happy viewing everybody!!