Wordless Wednesday

Happy New Year!

Wordless Wednesday - Stevie Nicks

This is one of my absolute favorites. It brings tears to my eyes when I hear her sing this so beautifully. I hope you enjoy it.

Salvation Army Goes High Tech

This year you may notice a new element at the big red kettles as you do your shopping. The Salvation Army is trying to adjust to the times. The bell ringers are now accepting credit cards!
Donations this year have decreased by 10%, although the demand for the charitable organization's help has increased by 25% due to the economy. They are seeing many of the middle class who suddenly are out of jobs and in need to try and get back on their feet.
One of the reasons for the decline in donations is that people tend not to carry cash anymore, I know I don't. It's rare for me to have cash in my wallet, I just don't need it. In years past folks would pay for their purchases, get some change back, and leave the store. Many times they would drop their change straight into the red kettle. Not so these days.
The Salvation Army is also accepting gift card donations, used or unused. They send them to a company in California where the cards are converted into cash.
Most charitable organizations are feeling the pinch and scrambling to come up with new ways to fund their programs. So remember that those few pennies or that gift card that you haven't used can make a big difference this year.

Isn't Fraud Illegal?

Wordless Wednesday

Well, there is good news and bad news about my Christmas decorations. The good news is that I truly outdid myself this year. The bad news is that I had to take them down after only two days. I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever. Great stories. But two things made me take it down. First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove be. Second, a 55 year old lady grabbed the ladder and almost killed herself putting it up against my house and didn't realize it was fake until she was nearly at the top (she was not happy). She was one of many people who attempted to do that. My yard couldn't take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove into my yard. I think I made him too real this time. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

The Year's Dumbest Criminals

* Adan Juarez Ramirez had it all figured out-he could become a cop without having to take the boring test. But he was arrested in Grapevine, Texas, after pulling over a driver in his pickup truck, outfitted with flashing lights. Ramirez even had an ID badge, which he'd made by blacking out a restaurant gift card and etching in the word "POLICE." However, he'd kept the restaurant's logo, a jalapeno pepper, surrounded by the words "Chipoltle Mexican Restaurant".

*Graham Price, of South Wales, ripped off the bank where he worked, but he wasn't completely duplicitous. He left a note in the safe: "Borrowed seven million pounds", signed "Graham Price."

*Christopher Oxley of Everett, Washington, was arrested for conducting a drug seal over the phone-in the bathroom of the Everett Police Department.

*Callie Rough of Middletown, Ohio, was picked up for shoplifting from a Dollar General Store with her two young children in tow. Among the booty was a book "101 Ways To Be A Great Mom".

Christmas Greetings!

My Christmas greeting to all of you! Grace, if this doesn't make you holly and jolly........


Merry Christmas......