Selective Outrage

The Son and the other 15 Co-Workers who had worked for the Company the longest who got Laid Off, also got screwed out of Qualifying for Unemployment Benefits by the Company!   He applied and got Denied coz the Company had put everyone on less than 40 Hour Weeks for a couple Months now, citing slowed Business and inability to get their Woods from Canada due to Tariffs.  Which, SOUNDED reasonable, so everyone voluntarily accepted shorter than Full Time Hours, so that nobody had to be Laid Off just before the Holidays, which seemed Noble, and was a financial enuf Hardship.  

Well, by accepting Shortening Hours, Unemployment now says they didn't fulfill the Contract for being Full Time Employees for long enuf, that now they don't have an obligation to pay them Unemployment Benefits!!!  WTF?  What a Lowlife Move, all of those folks they Laid Off had worked there for 5 to 35 YEARS!  So, The Son and his Co-Workers all have NO compensation for involuntarily being Laid Off now and NO Income!  Sneaky Motherfuckers at that Company found a Legal Loophole to Exploit and Screw everyone over!!!  The Fuckers, Curses, Bad Mojo, and Hexes be upon them!

One of the Neighbors is paying The Daughter and her Boyfriend Mando to do their Yardwork for a couple Hours.  They just finished up with that after doing our Yardwork for us.  It didn't pay much, but the Neighbor they're doing it for are Nice Neighbors with a lovely Maintained Home, and they're Older, so they agreed, when others had turned it down coz it didn't pay enuf.  A lot of folks on Fixed Incomes, even if they have a nice Property they've owned for Decades now, can no longer do all their own Work or Pay what most want to Charge to do it for them.   And not all of them have Kids or Grandkids who can do it coz those Family Members are Working Full Time Jobs/Careers.  The Daughter will endear herself to all of them and happily do the Work for them.

She's not Employable due to her Schizophrenia, too much Liability for most Employers to Risk, and does impair her and she can't Control the Illness.   But, she is a good Worker and Works with Excellence, and has a solid Work Ethic I Raised her with.  If she does Work for you she's going to give it her all, even if she didn't get Paid and was doing it as a Favor.  I don't allow her to be Exploited, since she is a Vulnerable Adult, but, this was a Job okay to take.  They worked very hard, but it's enuf to Buy what she Needs for Today and so she's Happy as a Clam at High Tide and helped a Nice Neighbor out.  And Mando is no longer Employable, his progression of Cancer limits him now a LOT, but sometimes he has Good Days. 

The Young Prince went over to his Dad's House and let his Dad's New Wife give him a Tattoo on his Chest!!!  I don't know that she's even a Tattoo Artist... Yikes!!!  I haven't seen it yet, he says it's a Symbol.  He writes Symbols in Blue Chalk all over the Door Jambs of the House, I have no idea what they mean, he says it offers "Protection"... Okay then.  But, he's 25 so I can't tell him he shouldn't let this New Stepmom Tattoo him if he has a Peace about her doing it.  I had always just told the Kiddos if they want to get Tattooed, have the best and most accomplished Artist they can afford do it since it's permanent.  You don't want something that looks like Prison or Gang Tattoos!!!  *Oy Vey*  She sounds more than a bit Cray-Cray, this New Wife of his Dad.  But, The Young Prince and his Younger Siblings really like her, so, that's good.  UPDATE: Saw it, it's not finished, but is actually very nice and done quite well in Black.

I've seen, had and Sold a lot of this Blakely Arizona Cactus Drink Set over the Years, both the Frosted Glass and the Clear Glass.  I still have a few of these type of the Glasses and some of the Clear Juice Glasses that might be a full Set, sans the Clear Pitcher.  I've never owned a Pitcher tho', or the Wooden Trays.  They were Promotional Giveaways at Blakely Gas Stations in 1956 thru 1960's.  By the Sixties Blakely Sold to Gulf Oil Company in 1963 and were Closed and fully Shut Down by 1965.   So I'm Guessing the Production of this Promo ended around that time too.  No telling how many were given away.  I remember when every Gas Station was not only Full Service but did Promo Giveaways when you filled up all of the time.  We didn't move to Arizona until the Summer of 1974 tho'.

  But I do Love Vintage Arizona Memorabilia.  And I Love the Desert and it's Cactuses and it's Unique Ecological System.  I still have some of the Frosted Glasses I will be Selling individually, keeping the more useful Clear Glass Glasses.  Yes, the Frosted Set is Prettier for Decoration and Display, but not for usefulness.  I've always Sourced the Frosted pieces individually at Chazzas over the Years, but the Clear Glass Set I got all of at once at a Chazza, total Score!!!  You see the Clear less often than the Frosted becoz they are Rarer.  Our Antique Mall currently has Two Complete Sets with the Tray For Sale of the Frosted Set at around $399.   I think if I ever Sourced a complete Set cheaply enuf, of either the Frosted or Clear, I'd be loathe to Sell it tho', coz, what are the Odds of finding one again inexpensively and Complete? 

You know what I've never seen whilst Trawling for Treasures?  The Fiesta Ware Napkin Rings, not a One, let alone a whole Collection of them like this Image Displays.   I saw some For Sale on Etsy {See Lower Pix Above}, 18 and in different Colors for each, for $400, Yowsah!!!  It sent me down another Rabbit Hole to see how Rare and how available these actually are since I'd not seen them ever at any Antique Mall, even from Vendors who carry lots of Fiesta Ware.  I don't use Cloth Napkins ever, but, these would be Cute to use when Serving Food on your Fiesta Ware, even with Paper Napkins.  E-Bay does have them at Auction, Price Point varying wildly and they are much bigger than I thought when someone was holding one in their Hand, I Imagined them to be much Smaller.  That Collection in a Bowl Pix... must have been a Big Bowl!!!

We had our AC Guy come and do the Winter Maintenance Thursday Morning, which is Complimentary on the Retainer we have them on each Winter and each Summer they come out, Inspect, and ready both AC Units for the Seasons.  We turned the Heat of it on just Yesterday coz a real Cold Front came in and we had thick Frost on the Roof now in the Mornings when I'm taking princess T to Work.  I'd turned the AC Cooling Off a few Weeks ago, so it was a Utility Saver not to Need Heating or Cooling for a little while.  It stayed Hot longer this Year tho', Rained a LOT more in Record amounts and mostly Post-Monsoon Season, and now has gotten unseasonably Colder than usual.  Our High being 66 and our Lows around 42 now... mebbe Colder in the time we're Sleeping.  People with Citrus need to Cover them now or have the Harvest ruined.

I don't mind the Heat but don't like the Cold... I hurt when it's Cold and being a Desert Rat now for so long, I get Cold so easily and don't have a lot of Warm Clothing in our Wardrobe coz we don't have Four Seasons here.  Pretty much the Lower Desert looks the same thruout all Four Seasons, just some Temperature fluctuation from brutally Hot to what most other places would call a nice Summer Temperature.  *LOL*  Which is Why Tourists and Snow Birds will be still Swimming when it's Fall or Winter here!   We only use our Pool during Spring and Summer, sometimes Fall if it stays Hot enuf and over 100 Degrees.  *LMAO*  I almost ran over Brad our Hot Pool Guy and Owner of the Company... I was backing up and he was coming up behind me in the Driveway and looking at his Phone... Yikes Brad!!!  He's back to doing our Pool again, so I don't know if I Scared another Younger Pool Boy he Hired off?  I haven't been Nude Skinny Dipping lately... so, I dunno?  *LOL*

I went to Bed Thursday Night at 7:00 p.m., like a little Kid!  I swear I'm in my 2nd Childhood now.  *LOL*  This is the last day of The Young Prince's visit, he flies out in the Morning.  He wants me to take him back to his Dad's Tonight to spend time with them, so I don't know why he wouldn't just spend the Night and have his Dad take him to the Airport, they live closer to Sky Harbor than we do?!  I kind of get the sense his Dad either doesn't have a Car anymore or isn't Driving anymore, coz either he gets The Grandson an Uber or gives me Gas Money to bring him and pick him up.  I haven't asked why, he used to have a Car, but after he and Angie split perhaps she got the House AND the Car?  Anyway, I'll take him Tonight but that will also mean picking him back up Tonight and that's a lot of commuting in the City.

There's more for him to do Downtown and his Dad does live in the Gayborhood.  *Smiles*  Spellchecker actually recognizes thar as a Word!  *Ha ha ha*  It's not even what I call the Melrose District, it's what the Gay Grandson calls it so I guess the Community has dubbed it that?   It has a lot of Clubs, Bars, Restaurants and Trendy Businesses, and a very large LGBTQ Community living in the Neighborhoods around 7th Avenue.  It used to be where all my Fav Vintage Shops were that Friends owned.   But slowly they all Closed down and now those Friends collaborate with Events and Shows combining with others in the Industry to stay solvent.  Now The Melrose Crawl is less about Shopping, Art, Vintage Car Shows and Trunk Shows and more about Bar & Club Hopping.  I miss the Old Days but the Youngsters like how it is now.

Anyway, the Times they are a Changin', and we must Change with them.  I don't mind Good Changes, it's the Bad Changes I'm opposed to, I'll embrace Good Change and Change with it.  But I won't allow Bad Change to Change me in Negative ways.  And that IS a particular Challenge when there's lotsa Bad Change going on, it tends to affect people in ways that Change them in unlovely ways too.  I've lamented how people I knew for Years, since 2016, have Changed in ways that revealed a side of them I just couldn't find tolerable and it did Negatively impact having meaningful or lasting Relationship with them.  It's a shame coz some I knew a long time and they weren't who I always thought they were apparently.  They went all MAGA Weird, embraced the Hateful projections of that Orange Devil they began Worshipping, & became uber Cultish. 

I suppose folks can Change in Negative unsavory ways and morph to a point you don't want associations anymore, no matter how much History you Shared.   But it just made me Question if that's Who they were all along and now they just felt more comfortable exposing it?  That's the real dilemma, I genuinely Liked who I THOUGHT they Used to Be, I miss who THAT WAS.   I don't Like who they either Became or Secretly were and I just didn't know that part/side of them that's not acceptable nor tolerable.  When someone starts embracing Hate and Cruelty towards any Human Beings, or any Sentient Beings including Animals, that's NOT Okay with me, EVER.  That's a Boundary for me that can't be Crossed or we just can't be Friends anymore, or at all, ever.  I find it abhorrent and Sick, I don't embrace Evil and those who sanction or support Corruption, Atrocities and Exploitation.  So I hadda Drop some folks like a Rock.

I think we all have to choose our Moral Compass and which way it will point.  I don't mind Good Trouble and I'll make Good Trouble all day long and fight injustice and any Establishment that promotes and participates in injustices.  I don't Care what Political Labels they slap on it with Partisan Politics at all, I've always been against Partisan Cult Devotion actually, it's Crazy to me how people will sometimes put Party over Country, and try to defend what they know to be Wrong coz it's their Political Party doing it.  Even if the other Party doing the exact same thing would illicit Selective Outrage with them.  Right is Right and Wrong is Wrong, you gotta pick a Side to stand on with Right -vs- Wrong.  That's why the Post Title Hook is Selective Outrage coz I'm seeing far too much of it these days and it's disingenuous as fuck.  Either you ARE against something or you're for it, you can't flip-flop depending on Who is doing it. 

I'm going to try to work on Christmas Cards Today.  The Grandson is hanging one of my last large Taxidermy Mounts for me.  He's the Tallest and Youngest Strong Male to do it, and he knows the Vision I have without much delegation, we're of One Mind when it comes to Decorating.  So I do Trust him with Decorating Decisions on my behalf, he knows what I like and can be my Interior Decorator without it going sideways.  *Smiles*   I've got to get around to Pricing some more Holiday Merch for our Showroom that I know would be an easier Sell during the Holidays.  Toys are moving and that's predictable at Christmastime.

The Young Prince and I have been discussing Creations of Altered Art when he moves back, to Decorate with and to Sell.  I have so much in the way of Supplies to do it and have Fun with it Creatively together.  We also both want to take a Taxidermy Class together at "Curious Nature" as well.  He hung my Bighorn Sheep Mount Today near my Vintage Gold Foil Christmas Tree, it looks great but was a big job.  He was the only one Tall and Strtong enuf to do it without carnage.  The Son is Tall and Strong enuf but can be like a Bull in a China Shop so I don't have him handling Antiquities and anything Fragile or Delicate to do.  The Young Prince has the Strength of being a Man but the Delicate Touch and Fashion/Style Eye of a Woman for doing that kind of thing for me.

We had such a hard time finding the right size Antique Frame for it to go inside of.  Originally I wanted this Frame and he said, it's not long enuf Gramma, he won't fit.  So he chose another Antique Frame, thin, Ornate, very long, and put it all up.  I did not Like it.  He knew immediately I didn't, but it had been such an Ordeal I didn't wanna hurt his Feelings and say, take it down.  But he could tell right away I was gonna do it myself and mebbe get hurt in the Process so he told me to be Honest, I Hated it, didn't I?  Yes, Yes, I did, it didn't look Right and he knew it too, it fit but it was a misfit of marrying that Delicate Frame with a Big Husky Mount.    And I'm OCD with Decorating being the way I want it and why some of the Family won't Volunteer to Help me, I'll fuss with things a long time to get it Just Right.  *Winks*  

So, he went back and got the Original Frame and said, we'll Jenga/Tetris it and make it Work now the Mount is already hung.  So, like a Video Game we navigated the heavy Frame around his Horns and Face, Wallah!  And his Beard hides the fact the Wood Point the Mount is on, is slightly longer than the Frame.    I just LOVE the way it turned out and poor Grandson had to move this whole Christmas Tree and everything around it to get on the Ladder.  Then try to avoid having a Panic Attack when he insisted we Change the Plan and then I Hated it and we hadda Make it Work with my Original Plan.  

Or I'd have a Panic Attack, when I Hate something it can't remain like that.  *Smiles*  Which, I knew could Work, I can Eyeball shit and know what will fit or can be Made to Work, so... that Frame was going around that Furry Fucker some kind of way!!!  *Winks*  The Grandson knows how Tenacious I am when I've got a Plan.  Don't tell me that Plan won't Work... I'll MAKE it Work, Trust and Believe.  *Bwahahaha*  Okay, so it actually Worked so easily he had to relent and say, I was Right.  The Problem had an easy Solution and I'm very Solutions Oriented and a Fixer of Problems, it's what I do.  He had put the Frame up First and tried to Work the Mount Around it.  The Mount needed to be up and then Angle the Frame around it carefully, like putting on a Necklace over a Hairstyle you don't wanna disturb or mess up.

I'm glad to have this Big Ole' Boy off the Floor of my Dining Room where he'd lain for Months now.  Placement of him was Changed Three different times.  Three Places he would fit, this Spot and Placement was decided upon to be the best Fit of the Three Locations possible.  I had to stop Pricing Fisher Price Little People in order to Supervise the Project of hanging this, but, that was Okay, I'd been Pricing all Morning and Needed a break from doing that.   The Grandson's Dad did cancel on them getting together, which is Okay, we wanted to spend as much of his last Day here with him as possible anyway.  I wasn't Sad I didn't have to drive back and forth into the City either.  

 

And he too was enjoying just being and staying Home, so we went to "ATL" and got a variety of Hot Wings for his Going Away Luncheon.  They are a small Black Family Owned Business and make good Hot Wings and BBQ, the Family make their Customers feel so appreciated and they give a Military Discount.  I got a mixture of Dry Rug and Sauced Wings in Six different Flavors... they have many different Flavors and are way better than the Big Hot Wings Franchises like "Buffalo Wild Wings", IMO.  You never have to worry about leftovers.   In the Morning I'll be taking The Grandson to the Airport, he really doesn't want to leave and if all his stuff was already here he wouldn't go back at all.  So, he's very Emotional about having to, it's just hard when a Relationship is over and a Divorce is pending, it can and often does get hostile and hairy.

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Blessings, Love and Light from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian