America Is At A Dangerous Crossroads

 

The Post Title Hook Warning is due to the Consolidation of Power Move this Administration is attempting, and it's Scaring people.  We'll get to that in a Minute tho'. Management asked me to Work Thursday Night to fill in for my Friend Cristy, whose still not Well enuf to work her usual Double Shift on Thursdays, so is just working the earlier 1-5 now and giving up the 5-9 later one.  I didn't mind, it was working with my Friend Crazy Ed and a new Younger Gal named Eve, who is a Joy to work with.  Eve is the DIL of one of the Older Vendors whose a Retired Cop, Named Mark, her Husband is his Son and he's worked for his Dad before too, also a very Nice Quiet Young Man.  Both are good Workers and Sociable.  I've worked with them both now... and I've worked with Mark too, he's a good Worker, just not someone I like to be around.  He knows I'm Retired from the DA's Office and he seems to feel some kind of Negative way about that, which, some Cops just do.  Especially any who've had to be Investigated during their Career.  *Winks, just sayin'*

 I like the Son and the DIL, Mark, not so much, he's arrogant and has that Career Cop Ego going on that is very condescending and often abrasive and pompous.   But I don't mind working alongside his Son or his DIL, they're good People and a nice looking Couple too.  They're an Interracial Couple, he's White and quite Handsome, his Wife is Mulatto and absolutely Beautiful, she has long very thick loose Curly Hair and light complexion.  They have a Baby and would like a large Family.  She was telling me her Husband already Works Three Jobs!!!  So, I'm surprised his Dad has asked him to work any of his Shifts for him there at the Antique Mall, Mark is fully Retired!!!  Mark is a nice looking Older Man too, but seems quite Vain and full of himself, his Son and DIL aren't at all like that, they're a delightful Young Couple.

It was a very busy Night, starting off slow but then got quite busy, so it went by fast.  Sales of mine were Soft, but that's coz just about everyone there was Buying Pokemon Cards or Anime Stuff again or the Cheap Mexican Silver Jewelry.   Crazy Ed was complaining about that too, he specializes in good quality Antiques, Art Glass, Native American and Western Collectibles, and Vintage or Antique high end Furniture, Sales for him have been quite Flat too.   He and I have always enjoyed working together and he said he misses me working Shifts with him on the regular, I do too.   His Son is coming back into Town again so he'll take some time off, since this time the DIL is coming as well.  His DIL is Cambodian, so he asked me which good Vietnamese or Cambodian Restaurants he should take her to?  He knows The Son's Ex was Cambodian and we know all the good spots becoz we know most of the Families that own the best Vietnamese Restaurants.  *Smiles* 

Ed's Ex-Wife was Lebanese and he said his Son also wants to take his Wife to some good Mediterranean Restaurants and so Ed asked me which I'd recommend too to take them to?  He knows I frequent several Middle Eastern Restaurants around the City and I told him of my Favorite Lebanese Restaurant in Tempe on Scottsdale Road, "Mijana".  I told him they have Belly Dancing on the Weekends too.  *Smiles*   Ed misses eating Lebanese Food and wasn't familiar with the fact there was a good Lebanese Restaurant around.   I think he'll enjoy "Mijana" and realize how authentic the Cuisine is.   Every time I've eaten there the other Patrons have been Arabs.   The Za'atar in Olive Oil is Sublime there and I could make a Meal of just that and Manoushe, a Traditional Lebanese Flatbread that is delicious too, they make it fresh there. 

I listen to SiriusXM Spa Music Station coz it helps me not to have Road Rage and drive more Calmly, apparently one of their Artists wrote me a Song.   Thank You Gary.  *LOL*   Yes, dust all over the screen since we were doing Environmental Cleanup on the Back Roads with the Windows down and the Wind blowing thru our Hair.  *Smiles*  The Weather is still Schizo, triple digits one day and in the 50-60 Degree mark the next!  I don't know how Easter will play out, some Storms seem to be moving in and tho' we need the Rain, I do Hope Easter is just a nice Sunny Day to go to the Parks and such, as many Families do to Celebrate and hide Eggs for the Children to find.  We tend to go the day after and find what they missed, some Years the Plastic Eggs found have held Money... Score!!!  The Man and I are apparently in our 2nd Childhood since we LOVE looking for those unfound Eggs!!!  *LOL*

We'll be out Buying our Hot Cross Buns Today, it's the day that "Wildflower Bread Company" comes out with them and they make the best ones.  But it's a First Come First Gets Them scene and sometimes they run out.  They had said you could Reserve yours but then the Staff didn't know how to do that so just encouraged you to come in Friday Morning to ensure you got yours while there was still some left.   I'm okay with that and usually Buy Two Orders of them.   LATER: Bought our Hot Cross Buns, I'd guess they'd run out by Noon or so, since, they were going fast.   There's Six in each Order so I have Two Orders since a Dozen won't even last long in this household.  *Smiles*

I'll be working again Tonight, filling in for someone I don't know, probably some new unreliable person.  A lot of the new ones think they want to work for Comped Rent and then flake out.   Granted they don't Comp us enuf, we should at least be comped to the equivalent of Minimum Wage IMO, it is Work and we aren't getting actual Money or Tips, so that's part of the problem of why many won't do it.  Especially those Vendors that are really struggling and even when they Sell stuff AND Work, they still Owe the Mall Money.   There's more than a few of those and I don't even know why they're still there if they're losing Money so often and like that?   Today is actually Payday and I'm getting a paltry Check after expenses coz I didn't Work any Shifts to get any Comped Rent for that Two Week Pay Period, but, at least it's a Check.  This Pay Period has begun dismally so I Hope it picks up, we don't have a Sale for Easter Weekend, so, all Body Parts Crossed it does improve in spite of No fucking Sale for a Holiday Weekend, just WTF?!

While at Work on Thursday Night one of my fav Vendors had redone her Booth with Easter, she does Themes coz she has a very small Booth and Merchandises and Showcases her Primo Merch so well.   She had this Antique Silverplate Eggcup with Chick and Wishbone so cheaply I hadda get it, plus I got my Employee Discount, so it was only $18.   I've seen ones like it for around $39-$75 at other Antique Malls, usually it's the exact same Eggcup but with different Engraved Messages and different break patterns on the Egg, this one says Best Wishes.   Sometimes the Egg portion is shorter and wider than mine, but they always have the little Chick sitting on a Wishbone.  I Cribbed some better Online Images along with my Two I took of my particular Eggcup with one of my Ukrainian Easter Eggs in it, so you can notice details and differences.

MUCH LATER:   Well, our Shift was super busy on Friday Night and they didn't have enuf Staff so it was insane.  My Co-Workers were Two Friends of mine, Richard and Judith, but Richard is Medically compromised, he probably shouldn't even be Working, Bless him.  And Judith is in her 70's... so it did feel overwhelming to me at times, being I'm still somewhat Medically compromised myself Post-Stroke, so had to Pace myself regardless of if Customers had to wait longer for Customer Service.  All the Customers were great about it, but we could have used more Bodies on Shift.  We weren't even having a Holiday Sale, the Mall isn't doing much for Easter, they're having a Drawing for $100 and Double Points for the Frequent Customer Program... Yawn... not gonna Stimulate Trade all that much, if at all.  They missed an opportunity to have a proper Easter Sale and Stimulate Trade.

   

Again, most Shoppers were buying Pokemon Cards, Anime and Pop Figures, Cheap Jewelry and Collectible Toys... and so it has been.  But, there are Quality Items in the Mall too and I always find some to promote or even to Buy for myself.  This Night was no exception, I got the Bunny Pajama Big Troll from my Friend Sarah's Booth that's in the first Lead Pix of this Post.   And I got the Jade, Coral and Silver Buddha Necklace from a Vendor that doesn't even usually carry Jewelry, so they had a ridiculously low price on it plus I got my Employee Discount.  So, hadda have it and figured it was my Easter Pressy to myself.   Also, to Celebrate getting my 1st Child Support Payment in 37 Years, I also bought myself something really Special Online.   After waiting that long for compensation for Money I should have always been getting since 1986 from the Father of my Son to help with his Support and Medical Expenses, I wanted to do something for me for the Sacrifices I had to make as a Single Parent for so long with no Help.  *LOL*

I was very good to myself, let me just say.  *Bwahahahaha*  Hey, if we don't deserve it, who does, Right?  *Winks*   I told The Man that the next Child Support Back Payment Check we get from my Ex's Social Security Garnishment, I'm Buying him a nice somethin'-somethin' for all the Sacrifices he made to Support and Raise The Son.   The Man has Raised Four Kiddos, of Two Generations, that he didn't Father but fully Supported and Loved as if there was a Biological Connection, without complaint about it ever.  If I ever said we were doing something for The Children, he was 100% on Board and would make whatever Sacrifices were necessary and that's what a Good Dad and Good Grandfather does.  Far too many Deadbeat Dads out there these days who forgot what it is to be a Man and to Man Up.

 

 

Isn't my Buddha Necklace Jolly and Cute?   There's a Party in the Back too because it's elaborately Cast Silver {See Below}, it looks like it might be a Leopard?   The Leopard is often linked to Good Fortune and Luck in Chinese Culture.    And the Online Purchase was extravagant, I ain't gonna Lie.  And it might be petty and somewhat Childish, but after waiting over 37 Years to receive a damned Penny from my Ex that the Courts Ordered him to pay for our Child's Support, it thrilled me to Buy something expensive and know he had to Pay for it with the Garnishment.  *Giggle*   And I'll feel the same when his Garnishment has to Pay for something spendy that The Man wants.  *Snicker*  My Ex never did anything for his Son, The Daughter's Father never did a damned thing for her either... both were Deadbeat Dads who never considered the Welfare of their Child.   My Ex even Fathered another Son who he abandoned and is a Teenager in Foster Care and has been since the Age of 2, it's tragic, since, he's not doing Well.

The Half-Brother contacted The Son via Social Media, coz that Child not only lives Locally, but Social Services tried to get our Family to take the Boy in.  But he's a very Troubled Youth whose already 15 and in a lot of Trouble, so, I wasn't taking on any of that at our Season of Life.   The Son felt badly for his Younger Brother, but, couldn't take on the responsibility either.   Plus, none of us wanted any chance that the Ex would trace back since he's a dangerous person and I don't know how much this other Child might want to look up and find all MIA Biological Family and try to connect?   I didn't even appreciate the Child's Social Worker intruding on my Privacy since this Child is absolutely no Biological Connection to me or The Man.  So, they must be very desperate for Placement to even assume we'd take on the responsibility?  

Where that Child's Mother is or Why she Abandoned him at Age 2 is a complete Mystery?   Mebbe she's Dead or has her own Baggage, I have no Idea.  I know she Married my Ex while he was still in Maximum Security Prison Serving 27 Years with no possibility for Parole for a very Violent Crime.   The fact any Woman would willingly do that makes me think she's a fucking Head Case, but, it happens more often than you think.   Some of these Women might have a Savior Syndrome where they think/assume they can be the Salvation of a hardened dangerous Criminal, I dunno?   Even Serial Killers have their Groupies, coz, some Humans are just that fucking Weird and Stupidly attracted to Dangerous People!    Just look at MAGA Supporters... and anyone in any Cult, to know these folks Exist and are Devoted to Psychos.   Anyway, when I met my Ex I didn't know he was a fucking Psycho or Dangerous... I found out the hard way.

And so, I made the Mother Fucker's Garnishment 1st Payment Buy me a Vintage Magnolia Pearl Bag, pictured Above.  *Winks and Smiles*   And he'll probably be Buying The Man a Custom Cowboy Hat that Brittany will make for him and I'll tell her to put all the Bells and Whistles on that thing coz The Man deserves it.   Unlike my Ex, The Man is a Good Man, was a Good Son-In-Law, a Good Husband, a Good Dad and a good Grandpa.    The Man had a Laugh when I told him what I was doing with both Purchases, coz he knows how I am.  *Bwahahahaha*   He said he knows what horrible things befell both of my Exes and he wouldn't be at all Surprised some Gypsy Curses and horrible Hexes were involved?   He could be Right?   Hexes on the Exes has a nice Ring to it, No?  *Winks and LMAOROTF*

Now, if only we can Make this happen... or something more Sinister, since at this point, whatever happens, they had it coming, I'll let Karma be their Fate.  *Winks*   And, I think I NEED that Shirt.   But, I think it was just some AI and not anything really being Produced... dammit!   I'd Buy one and I think Blog Friend Shirley would too?   Right Shirley?  *Smiles*   We both have our Orange Devil Voodoo Dolls already.   And that Mother Fucker might as well be Wearing Orange and Occupying a Penal Institution... or a Grave... rather than the White House too.   And Yeah, I'll boldly say it becoz most of you Think it even if you're not openly saying it for Fear of being rounded up without Due Process or any Charges filed against you, to a Banana Republic Gulag, since, that's the New Regime Thing going on and he's already Promised that the "Home Growns" are Next!!!   Big Business for the Dictator Bromances going on.

 And in Case you're too Naive to break that 'Code', that means American Citizens who he wants to round up and "Disappear" like an American version of The Gestapo.   And we've got Americans willing to actually do his bidding and DO that shit at his request, just like the Nazis did.   And America better wake the Fuck Up coz this Guy is trying to eclipse even the likes of Hitler and Pol Pot for World Domination and committing Atrocities and Illegal Lawless Acts, while making a Purge of who HE considers an Undesirable or Less Than Human so won't extend any Humanity towards.   And if you'll only be worried about that when they're coming for YOU, then you are complicit by your Silence and inaction to Resist, Rebel, Protest and make Good Trouble to Fight against it all in any small way you still can.

And I been thinking that if people who claim to be Christians are on Board with this Regime, perhaps we should just Cancel Easter this Year coz they've missed the whole Point of Jesus incredible Sacrifice for Mankind.   And they're hypocrites to even pretend to be Godly and Jesus representatives here on Earth.    I'm disgusted with these people who claim to be so Religious and Godly, while being so Hateful, so Inhumane, supporting Devils, being Racists, Xenophobes, Homophobes, Misogynists, Anti-Semitic, being Cruel and making that the Point, exacting Judgmental Self-Righteousness against anyone not just like them.   They're fucking Posers and I'd say it to their Faces, they are really the Devil's Disciples in disguise.   They will have a lot to Answer for and be Accountable for.  None of us is Called to Perfection, but we should have Godly Convictions that are evident in our Faith Walk and Actions, in how we Live and treat other Human Beings and any Sentient Being in fact.

I'm tempering my Rant with Food Porn, since, I know, it's heavy shit in the Blog Content otherwise.  *Winks*   But I hear too much Silence still, too much Going Along, or too much pretending not to Notice what the fuck is going on and pretending like any of this is Normal... it's so NOT.  And that is how Democracies fall my Friends, not with some big incident or from outside forces necessarily, but of the erosion in smaller increments that go Unchallenged and become Accepted and Tolerated.  Becoz Behavior Tolerated IS Behavior Accepted, it's just that Simple.   What are you Tolerating that you shouldn't?   And therefore, what are you finding Acceptable that is NOT?   Both in your Personal Lives and your Public and Social Lives my Friends?   

  

Each of us has to be insightful and introspective enuf to contemplate that right now coz we are mos def at a Dangerous Crossroads and the Path taken will make a lasting difference.   And that's the Title Hook for this Post, coz it's the most Important shit that I'm Writing about Today.  The rest is merely Fluff of Life and not consequential.     And Yeah, I'm Old and have had a Good Run and a Good Life, but I want that for all Future Generations, in fact, I want them to have it even better than I had actually.   My Parents Generation and our Ancestors for Generations wanted that for us too and made incredible Sacrifices to try to give that to us as our Inheritance.   Let's not be the Generation that takes it all backwards to some Archaic Past of Bad History repeating itself and making the World a Worse place for Future Generations to have to Deal with, Inherit thru no fault of their own, and be their shitty Hand Dealt.

And so now, Fairies... since, we had a visit from a Renaissance Festival Fairie on Thursday Night who visited our Antique Mall in full regalia and had her Publicist take Pixs around the Mall.   I was just sad that it was so late there weren't many Families with Children there to enjoy her, coz the Kiddos sure do J'Adore the Fairies at the Renaissance Festivals.   They're Enchanting, Ethereal, Magical and Uplifting, and boy do we all Need some of that right now, even us Adults, let alone The Children!!!   She wanted to have a Pix taken with me and I should have Obliged, but we were so busy that I only got to snap a pix of her hastily and then go help some Customers needing assistance at the Locked Cases.   Darn. 

The Daughter is helping her Dad to Purge his Closet of Clothes and Mando is fixing our Busted Closet Rods.  Can't afford a Closet Remodel, so we gotta fix and make do with what we have.  The Man tends to wear the same things all the time and she's gonna have a Yard Sale to Sell off the abundance of them he doesn't want anymore.   There's so much he's getting rid of and it will make his decisions easier, which is good.   She's also giving him a Beard Trim and Haircut so he doesn't look so scruffy.   Change is really difficult for him now so he tends to not want anything different, even regularly changing of Clothes is something I have to insist upon and remind him he wore something more than a Day so it needs to be laundered and THEN he can wear it again.  He gets very attached to certain things and when they're worn out now, I have to just 'lose' them and spirit them away.  Then he won't remember he has them and we can replace them with something similar that's in better shape.  Brain Damage of any kind is very difficult to navigate the complexities of as a Caregiver.

I try to make Changes slowly for him so it's not traumatic to him and he has a comfort level of accepting the Changes needed.   I know he tries and that's all I can ask for him to do.   Before Sundown is best since he has Sundowners now and so at Sundown, it's gonna deteriorate with him and he cannot Mood regulate or cooperate.   He's only semi-aware of it, so we have to remind him when he's being Unlovely and bring his attention to what won't be Tolerated or Accepted in Behaviors.  He doesn't like getting in Trouble, so generally it helps him to know when he's not getting along and playing well with others.   You want to preserve the Dignity and Respect every Adult values and should receive, so that is a delicate balance when Childlike Behaviors become the Norm with the Elderly with cognitive decline.  I know I could be getting there myself and I want Grace extended as I do.   I know I can get Mean when Dark Dawn is provoked and becomes my dominant personality.  The Kiddos Call me Out on it too, which is Helpful, so I can self-regulate and be more Aware of when I get Scary and Mean Spirited.  *LOL*

Princess T's Boss showed up as The Easter Bunny Today and wore the Suit all day for the Customers and Employee Moral.  He gave out full sized Easter Gift Bags filled with Goodies to all his Employees too, it was a Fun Day and they posed for Pixs too.  She said the Jelly Bean Contest of the Mason Jar full of them, everyone was way off in Guessing.  She'd Guessed 333 and most Employees were Guessing in that Range, but there were almost 700 in there!!!  I'd told her, when her Boss had given out a Clue that it took him 2 Hours to Count them for the Contest, that it had to be a LOT more than they were Guessing... turns out I was Right!  He'd put full size ones and Jelly Belly sized smaller ones in there and it was one of the larger sizes of Mason Jars... so almost 700 isn't Surprising.   Since nobody went 'Over' tho', and the closest without going Over would be the Winner, the Gal who'd Guessed the highest of everyone's Guesses Won the $25 and the next highest Guess Won the $10.  

So, here's my Baby Girl at Work with The Easter Bunny and one of her other Co-Worker Friends.  The Young People who Work there are the nicest bunch of Kiddos you could ever work with, and so good with Customers, so she's made a lot of Friends and is very Popular.  All the Employees there Love me as if I was their Gramma too.  It's so Sweet coz they run up and give me Hugs and call out to me as soon as I walk thru the Doors and I know so much about all of them.  So, I'm pretty Popular too I guess and they've all Adopted me.  *Winks*

I took the Above Pix of her and her Boss.   I guess he felt bad for making her Cry that other day that went Bad, and all the other Kiddos gave him Hell about it too.  *Winks*   Everyone knows how Quiet and how hard she Works, she's got a superb Work Ethic for her Age and all of Upper Management have told me that and Thanked me for Raising her to Work with such Excellence.  I told them all she's been Working since she could Walk, she just never got Paid for it before.  *LOL*   The Pix Below is when they had their Fire Drill and The Easter Bunny was still inside pretending he couldn't get out.   Looked like a Scene from a Horror Flick, No?  *Bwahahahahahaha*   Plus, the Side Window is High Security Boarded coz they had some Crazy Homeless Dude throw a Rock thru it recently!!!

Below is some of a Boxed Lot one of my Vendor Friends got at an Auction House of Vintage Soda Pop Bottles, most unopened and still filled with the Soda.   He and his Wife go to all the Auction Houses and they really do Score some Interesting stuff.   They are some of the Vendors at our Mall who truly do Sell a lot of actual Quality Antiquities and Unusual Collectibles.  But, even they struggle to Turn the Good Stuff so now they also brought in Vintage Style Candy to Sell and that ensures they make Rent... which is kinda Sad when you think about it.   They Sell the types of Vintage Candies from Yesteryear that you often see in a Cracker Barrel Gift Shop.   The Two Beverages pictured directly Below I've never heard of so might have been Local Brands of a particular limited Region of the U.S.?

Of coarse I remember Teem, but had forgotten what a pretty Quilted Bottle it had come in back in the day during the 1960's-1970's.   Sometimes it's been so long you forget what the packaging used to look like for a lot of Brands.   And to find some New Old Stock unopened, is very Rare... even finding the Old empty Bottles is often Rare enough.  I do Collect Old Bottles and have Sold a lot of our Collection over the Years too.   When we're doing Environmental Cleanup of Aluminum Cans, sometimes we find Old discarded Aluminum Cans that have been out there so long they still have the Pull Tabs often called Pop-Tops from the 1960's and were phased out in the Mid-1970's!   To think that Trash laid around in the Raw Natural Desert for that many Decades without being picked up is Mind blowing!   It shows how few Environmentalists do Environmental Cleanup too!

It's great to see all the Spring Flowers out, both the Cut Flowers and the Live Plants.  I'm trying to get some Spring Bulbs to come Alive but so far, no Luck.   Unhealthy Bulbs often do not grow and I don't know enuf about Bulbs to know the Health of them.   I should just go out and Buy some already sprouted and ready or actually Blooming.   They had some at Trader Joes Grocer where I Photographed the ones in this Post.  I'm disappointed mine are probably no good coz I did Buy them, but got them cheaply, so... you get what you pay for I guess.

And I'll end this "Easter Post" with a Pix of one of our Great-Grandsons having the time of his Life eating Dessert with Sprinkles.  Kids have such Joy that it's absolutely contagious... too bad most Adults outgrow that capacity to be Joyful...

*******

Happy easter from the arizona desert... dawn... the bohemian