Differences... Let's Just Celebrate Them Shall We

 It was an extremely busy Wednesday Night Shift, which, it had been last Wednesday Night too, and I'm told by the Regulars of that Shift, that it's unusual.   My Friend Crazy Ed had my Friend Sherry filling in for him yet again, he hasn't worked his Shifts in Weeks and I'm worried about him, he's suddenly looking unwell and frail.   She agreed it's a concern, but, he hasn't said anything except that yes, he's having some Health concerns. He hasn't elaborated and I know he's got another Shoulder Replacement Surgery coming up soon.  Last Year he had one Shoulder done and this Year he's having the other one done.  But if his overall Health is compromised, I don't know that an elective Surgery is a good idea?

Anyway, as I arrived, the Manager, Steven, asked me how Wednesday Nights have been going and did I like working them?  I said they were going fine, I like who I'm working with on Wednesday, but, tho' I know he had offered me the Shift permanently, I really don't want another permanent Shift, especially Mid-Week, I got too much going on with providing Transportation for Family and Scheduling their Appointments.  We have Three in this Household who can't Drive, and The Son Works a lot, so, I provide 99.9% of the Transportation everyone needs.   I don't wanna push myself too hard since my own Health has been off and on not 100%.   What I have to do for Family is more important than any Work away from Home.

I did bring in a lot of Fresh Inventory and Halloween Decor, and took a lot of Pixs of other Vendor's Booths.   I bought a very heavy Vintage Dazor Industrial Drafting Lamp from my Vendor Friend Michael who gave me a good Discount on it.  I will be using it in the Art Studio, it has Two kinds of Bulbs in it, a Regular Bulb and a Round Neon Bulb and it's Bronze Metal with an articulated floating Neck, very Futuristic looking, probably from the 1950-1960's Era I'd Guess.  I kept researching to find one exactly like mine Online and sure enuf found one, pictured Above, saying it's Rare becoz it is Round.  Most of them have long Rectangular Light Fixtures and those are around $190... the Rarer one like mine was Selling for $380 Online, I Paid $25!   It's as heavy as a Boat Anchor, very substantial and I think it's got a great Aesthetic Style about it.  I had no Idea they are Valued as much as they are, I just liked it and it was inexpensive enuf, especially with the First Cousin Discount Michael always gives me, so, I couldn't resist Scoring it.

While I was at Work I had some of the Young Workers ask my Opinion about current Politics, it was evident to me it's scaring a lot of Young People.   I think they realize things have spun way out of control with American Politics and the whole Process being totally corrupted.   I try to give them Hope that tho' Candidates right now might not be the Ideal for them, not Voting or throwing away their Vote in a Protest Vote right now is probably not the wisest thing the Young can do to ensure they eventually have a bright and prosperous Future they all deserve.   If I can influence just some of them to Vote and make the wisest choice for right now, it is Helpful that Chaos doesn't prevail if the Lunatic Fringe gets into Power again and destroys the Country and their Future.  

I don't know if these Young folks don't have other Elders they Trust and Respect the Opinion of?  The fact they're asking me and Respect and/or Trust my Opinion spoke volumes tho', it shows me that they Care and are afraid right now.   And that is better than indifference or apathy about having a Voice that they Believe Counts and could make a difference.  I don't want the next Generations to feel Hopeless or Powerless to choose their Destiny in America and feel despondent about their Future.   I do feel their Generations might BE the Change we need and will inherit something better, not worse and fucked up by previous Generations that ruined it for them completely.  I think when they know an Older Elder who genuinely Cares what happens to THEM, they do solicit our Wisdom and Sage advice.  I do Hope I eased some of the Fears and instilled some confidence to cast a meaningful Vote?

I can tell that some of the Propaganda and Lies has confused a lot of people too if they lack discernment to sort it out successfully in their own Hearts and Minds.   The Spin Doctors count on that confusion and baiting to sway anyone they can fool.   My Vendor Friend Rick told me that his Dear 92 Year Old devoutly Religious Mom has become a "Trumptard", as he calls The Lunatic Fringe.  He can't fathom how his Mother, whose been a good Woman all her Life, who Loves the Lord and Raised him Right, could have been so thoroughly brainwashed and support, yet not recognize such a Devil's Advocate?   She lives in a predominantly Blue Voting small Rural Community and he said it's alienating her to be so Alt Right all of a sudden.  

That worries him becoz she's reliant upon her Community around her.  They look out for her for him.  She still lives Independently and he talked to me at great length about how upsetting it is to see a Loved One be sucked in to a Cult and unable to sway with logic, common sense and reason.   He's been looking at Historic Properties near where she lives and said he might have to move back to ensure she'll be Okay, she won't move out to Arizona.   He's a single, childless Guy in his Sixties, he just has his Golden Labrador Retriever, Bo, so, he could make a move easier than trying to find his Mom different Placement.  Her Church and Friends are where she's at, he said it's a good close knit Community, but he knows his Mom spouting Trumpism is not beneficial to her around the parts she lives.  He showed me a Two Story Brick Historic Commercial Building with Shops Below and Apartments Above he could Buy on Main Street for only $130,000... it's gorgeous.  

Similar to this one I found Online that looks a lot like what he showed me on his Phone in that State and the same Price Point.  He could Sell his Ranch here and pay Cash for that and still have a couple Hundred Thousand as a Retirement Nest Egg to live on, since the Cost of Living in Wisconsin is way Cheaper than here.   Main Street has a Scenic River behind it and he said the flat Roof of the Building has an Upstairs Open Patio on it for great Outdoor Space and endless Views.  Though it's a typical 1800's Main Street Row of Historic Buildings, that one is at the end, so only connected to One other Commercial Historic Building.   I'd miss him if he moved, he's actually Vendor #1 in both of our Antique Malls, he's been with The Brass Armadillo that long.   But, it sounds to me like that move would be highly beneficial to he and his Mom.   So, I suspect he's seriously considering it so he can be closer to her.   He grew up there but hadn't wanted to move back, he Loves Arizona and made a good Life here.

A lot of our Retired Military Friends moved to Cheap States when they Retired to get more bang for their Retirement Buck, especially with Cheap Real Estate many States offer that can no longer be found in Arizona.   Too many expensive East Coast, Washington State and Cali transplants drove up Arizona's Cost of Living to escape the stratospheric Costs of the expensive States and high Taxes they left to relocate here.   So now our Real Estate is no longer a bargain, as Investors from those same Areas flooded in here too to profit off the Money the Newbies brought with them from Sales of their expensive Properties in the States they abandoned.   So, now many Arizonans are doing the same, Selling high here and moving and migrating to the still Cheaper States.  So, it will eventually ruin those States for their Locals too.   Same thing will happen there as is happening here, where the Young and Retired can no longer afford to Live. 

We did think about an Exodus at one point, but could find nowhere in another State we actually wanted to Live and abandon a State we Love and have lots of Friends and Family in.  Even tho' their Real Estate was such an incredible bargain I could have paid Cash for it and lived large.  It was Fun to trawl the Internet to find Historic Homes or dual Commercial/Residential Buildings I adored and Wished were available Locally and at that Price Point.  *Le Sigh*    Metro Phoenix has so few of those left so you have to go out to the peripheral smaller Towns to still find any at all.  Which I did when we were making our last big Move.  I had scoured Arizona looking for a Historic, preferably a multi-use one where we could live and Sell Antiques and Salvage out of.  I lucked out and found One... but, it wasn't meant to be... like so many potential Properties that fell thru, mostly when Sellers couldn't Perform.

 I did come close to Buying a 1926 once Commercial Ice House in Buckeye that had living Quarters Above and Commercial Below, with an insulated Basement section they used to Store the Ice in at the turn of the Century.   {See Pixs above, sorry about poor Quality of Images}  But a Guy that owns a Spaghetti making Company outbid me on it, dammit!   Nobody had been Bidding on it and so it was only $380,000, but the Moment I threw my Hat in the Ring this Joker shows up and could pay Cash and Close quicker.   It had previously Sold for $800,000 and that was the Value, but a Lender Short Sale had seized it from the previous Owner when it got repossessed, and they were only asking for their deficiency price.  I was Lusting after that Property too, it had an Elevator to the Upper levels and really didn't require a lot of Preservation.   It was in great Shape and had massive amounts of Storage, right off Main Street and good Walk Scores to the Community Commercial Area around it.  The School Princess T would have gone to was directly behind it, she'd of had to Walk only a few Yards away to get to School!!!

Ah well, long time Readers remember the whole fiasco of The Move and finding an affordable Historic or Vintage Property I was willing to make our Forever Home so we'd never have to Move again.   *LOL*   I didn't want a New Build, an HOA, high crime rate area or a Pretentious Community, so, I had my Standards I wasn't willing to compromise on.  Forever Boheme' ended up with a Bidding War too, so we thought we didn't get it, until FIVE Buyers who Outbid us couldn't Perform and we had been the 6th Offer, talk about Surreal Favor!   *LOL*   And we squeezed into this Property right AT the start of Pandemic so got the preferable 2% Interest Rate, so, Timing ended up being EVERYTHING on the Buy.   So, I don't Mind now that the other Options didn't work out, this was clearly Meant to Be.   Above is Yesterday's Luncheon before Work, a Strawberry Spinach Salad and Spicy Roasted Green Chile Roasted Corn Soup, it was the only Meal I had until after my Shift at 9:00 p.m..  Then I grabbed an In-N-Out Burger.

I did snag an Iced Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew with extra shot of Espresso from Starbucks as my Liquid Refreshment to get me thru the Night at Work.  *LOL*   I liked how the ingredients layered into such a lovely Visual Ombre effect, first time I'd tried their Cold Brew selections, it was strong and quite good.  I needed it since we were so busy that the Calmness a Strong Coffee always gives a Hyper Person like me was handy.  *LOL*   Yes, a Strong Coffee works and has the opposite effect on my screwy Bipolar ADHD OCD Metabolism, a Calming effect that slows down my Thoughts and Actions from going at Warp Speed and burning me out quicker at this Age.   I needed to last during a hectic Shift and so Pacing myself becomes vital and this Drink was Helpful.  *Smiles*   A Mid-Week Shift is something I don't normally have to incorporate into my Routine, so, I needed all the Helpful shit I can manifest to ensure I Last.  *Bwahahaha*

Sherry and Jackson, both my Age or slightly Younger, were on Shift with me.   It's Jackson's usual Shift, but Sherry was filling in for Crazy Ed and I was filling in for Now Dead Dan, so, Jackson was grateful to us Gals taking one for The Team.   Jackson looks like he just stepped out of an Old Cowboy Spaghetti Western off a Tombstone Set... not hyperbole, he looks and dresses like it's still The Wild, Wild Old West.  *Smiles*   Last Halloween he did look more like a Pirate than his usual Old West Cowboy Self.  {See Pix Below}   But his Handlebar Mustache has been mostly a constant and he does do Old West Reenactments, sings in a Country Western Band and does amazing Silversmithing, he's very Talented and all around nice Guy.   

His Wife Jeri also Works there and they have a lot of Retail Space at our Mall, own a Ranch and Raise/Sell Pedigree Shih-Tzu Dogs too.  The Puppies are always beyond Adorable, like little Cartoon Characters.   Princess T has always had a soft spot for Jackson becoz Kids just Adore him and like how he just looks all the time, like he just walked off a Movie Set and Lives it 24-7 and 365.   Below was a FB Pix that epitomizes how he looks almost all the time at Work, sans the Pistol of coarse, he's very Doc Holiday and his Name really IS Jackson, it's not a Nickname.  *LOL*   We have a lot of Cool Characters at our Antique Mall and I've made a lot of Friends there over the Years.   I was one of the first Vendors when we Opened this Location and I made the first Sale at it to another Vendor before we actually were Open.  *LOL*   She ended up being a person who'd followed my Blog for years before we met in Person!   It's often a Small World like that!

At one time I had a small Space at our much Older Downtown Phoenix Location too and have a lot of Friends there, including Management Friends I've known for many Years now.   If it wasn't so far Downtown I'd still Rent Space there, but, it's not convenient to.   Many of our Vendors Rent Space at both local Locations tho', Arizona is the only State that has more than one Location, but, there are about Four other States the Company is in.    Des Moines Iowa... Kansas City Missouri... Omaha Nebraska... Denver Colorado... and the Two here which they call Phoenix and Phoenix West.   The Phoenix West is my Location and actually is in Goodyear, not Phoenix.   

But, most big Companies always say it's a Phoenix Location, even the Cancer Treatment Center of America that's in Goodyear, not actually in Phoenix.  I think it confuses people, but Metro Phoenix encompasses numerous Cities and Towns whose Borders touch and are therefore blurred.  And everyone knows Phoenix, not necessarily all the other Sister Cities or Towns.   And a lot of the time I even find myself doing it when people ask where we Live, we just say Phoenix, since, if we said the City of Avondale they'd be Clueless about where that even is and just about a Mile up the Road, within sight of our Home, are the Boundary Lines of both the City of Phoenix and the City of Glendale, which are both huge Cities.  Avondale used to be a Small Town when we moved to Arizona in 1974, but now is a City and growing constantly, we've probably well exceeded over 100,000 now in Population.  To give perspective, when I moved to Phoenix in 1974 it had 300,000 and now is around 5 Million.

I've been very Nostalgic and Sentimental lately so when I found this excellent Photo of our Beloved Miss Priss, who was Princess T's Fur Baby before Eli, I hadda Post it.   I hadn't seen this in my Photo Archives for Years and we sure do miss our Old Huntress.   She was an excellent Working Cat and tho' Eli is Beloved too now, he is NOT a Working Cat and one of the only Non-Working Cats we've ever had.  He's huge, and fierce about being dominant over Humans, but he's scared of a Dead Spider in his Litterbox, so, No, he doesn't Hunt anything.   *LOL*  Miss Priss on the other Hand was an excellent Scorpion Hunter, she liked to disable and eat them and their Stings didn't Phase her one bit, she always had Scorpion Stings all over her Face.  And, she could hunt Roof Rats as big as she was and do them in. 

 Which was Handy too coz most of our Neighbors have Fruit and Nut Trees which attract Roof Rats.  They are bold Suckers, they even Scared Tyson the Pit Bull and would brazenly steal his Kibbles right in front of him in defiance!!!  *LOL*   And once, The Grandsons were proudly growing a Pineapple, it was almost ready to Harvest and a Roof Rat the size of a small Cat just walked right up in front of them, gnawed off the Pineapple and carted it away as Bold as Brass, little Fucker!   My Grandsons were so upset and told Tyson to get it, but he was not approaching that Rat for nothing, he wasn't having it!   Now, this is a Pit Bull that would challenge Coyotes, huge Raccoons and other large ferocious Dogs with Courage and complete dominance... but he wasn't having anything to do with a Roof Rat!   Yet, Old Miss Priss, who was a Geriatric Feline, would have killed it in a Heartbeat had she still be Alive.  *LOL*   Yet, she was a docile Cat with Humans and other Cats.   We Miss her.   We Miss Tyson too but he can come for Visits still.

You know, even tho' they were horribly uncomfortable to wear and not meant to last, I just J'Adore the Old Halloween Costumes in the Box we used to have as Kids.   Remember those Masks, you couldn't Breathe and the Costume itself was so flimsy it often didn't last the Night over your Clothing either, but, damn they were Cooler, weren't they?   Yes, inferior to some of the Realistic Modern Rubber Masks and elaborate Costumes, but, often we couldn't even afford or get these Cheap Store Bought ones.  It was a Big Deal if you could, my Brother and I only ever had One Store Bought Costume during our Childhood, Mr. and Mrs. Bugaboo.   I still remember the Mask being Clear to show our actual Skin under it, but mine had a big Rubber Black Tarantula Spider on the Cheek and my Brother's had a Big Rubber Green Lizard on his Face Mask Cheek.   I think my Parents Paid $1.49 Each for them and we LOVED those damned things and kept them for Years!  I think my folks got them from Gemco or Woolworths?

I've looked Online to see if the Bugaboo Costume Images exist {they don't}, since, my Parents didn't own a Camera.  So we never had our Pixs taken in those Beloved Halloween Costumes to preserve the Memories.   Perhaps this is why I'm such a Pathological Picture Taker now?   My Parents always had to borrow a Camera to take our Pixs so very few exist of our Childhood or even of their Childhoods.   My Native American side of the Family never had Modern Conveniences in my Dad or Grandparent's Generation so literally there are NO pixs of him growing up on the Rez.  I think my Dad's first Photos were his Military ones when he was first Enlisted!   He'd never been to a Doctor or Dentist before then either.   My Paternal Grandma didn't even have running Water, Electricity or Indoor Bathrooms until the early 1970's when she was already an Old Lady.  And she really didn't seem to like any of it, she wasn't used to it.  My Mom had only slightly more Photos of Childhood and early Adulthood or Middle Age.

I remember the first Photos my Mom took were when she had her first Telephone, so she had a Staged Photo of her on it that they borrowed a Camera for my Dad to take.   It looked like some Telephone Ad you'd see in a Magazine and my Dad hand Colored the Photo as I recall.   My Mom wearing a flowing  Midi Length Gypsy Skirt and billowing White Pirate Sleeved Tailored Shirt, with her Hair, Nails and Makeup done up as if she was going to a Gala while just sitting there in her Livingroom pretending to be on the Phone.  *Smiles*  I don't think it was actually a full Color Photo naturally, but, I can't be sure?   He said that was a Thing he learned to do before Color Photography.   In fact, he made side Money coloring the Black and White Photos that wealthier folks had and wanted in Color, he was very good at it.  *Smiles*

  My Dad could do anything Artistic actually, didn't matter what Medium it was, he could make it and replicate it from Memory, even tho' he only had a Grade School Education Academically.  Be it Clothing, Furniture, Art, Woodworking, Floral Arranging, Remodeling Projects, Jewelry Making, any Culinary Jedi shit.   He was a Master Chef and Pastry Chef by Trade, but my Mom never had to pay for anyone to do something, she'd just tell Dad what she wanted and he'd whip it into Being like some Wizard.   And the funnier Stories always Amused me coz both my Parents were great Storytellers, since, their respective Cultures relied exclusively on the Verbal Word and not the Written Word.  Becoz their Native Welsh and Tribal Indigenous Languages weren't Written Languages. 

  So, they told a hilarious Story of their first Car, which they bought in the early 1950's and were so Proud of, but it was so slow going Uphill that a Bicyclist passed them, an Old Man on a Bicycle in fact, how humiliating!   *Bwahahahaha*  Mom said they'd gotten all dressed up to ride in the Car and show off... were slowly going up this Hill, trying to look and be so fancy and Cool, and the Old Guy whizzed past them on his Bike tipping his Hat as he sped past them in their first Car, leaving them in his Dust!   And Yes, it was embarrassing and they had Gallow's Humor about it Years later.  *LMAOROTF*   The Car did look Cool, it was an Ancient 1930's or 1940's Gangsta Style Vehicle, so, at least them dressed up to the Nines and the Car LOOKED Cool.   Even if it was a POS and all they could afford at the time on my Dad's A1C Salary in the Military.  *LOL*

   Mom always had Style and exceptional yet flamboyant Taste.   She didn't look like everyone else's staid Stepford Wife looking 1950's June Cleaver Mom, she looked like Carmen Miranda on Steroids.  Heads always turned, especially American Men, who'd not seen anything like her on this side of the Pond.  *Smiles*   She was a Fashionista til the day she Died and always said it was better to be Looked Over than Overlooked.   She was that Iris Apfel kind of Senior who still Rocked it Fashion wise into her 80's.  *Winks*   Tho' she always had to help my Dad with Fashion, or he would have had mismatched Reservation Indian Style and Taste, ala Geronimo, as my Mom would say.  *Smiles*  My all time Fav Geronimo Pix is Above becoz it reminds me of my Dad's sense of Quirky Style of mixing Tribal Fashion with Colonial Style forced upon his People and made it Work.  *LOL*  They were a Handsome Exotic looking very Bohemian Couple of their Time.

My Parents were probably the only ones I knew who totally embraced me being a Hippie of my Generation.   They didn't see anything Wrong with it since they were rather Outcasts of a very rigid Generation that they spent their Youth in.   For their respective Cultures it wasn't Wrong or Odd, but, most people didn't exactly Share their Values, Cultural differences and way of just Being outside of their Cultures.   So in that respect they bonded and were very different than the Mainstream of what I saw in how other Families just were.   To me THAT was Odd, how rigid and conforming, how uptight and excluding a lot of Society just seemed to be.   I liked how my Family were, I felt fortunate to grow up with that distinctive difference.   Even if most people didn't understand it, mocked it or just feared it, becoz it was too different, too Ethnic, and too Non-Conforming.   I'm actually weary of all the Hate, Bias and Judgment being Ginned Up in this World...

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Differences... Let's just Celebrate them and Diversity of our Species shall we... we'll all be the better for it... Dawn... The Bohemian