It ain't real to me

We all have things that are important to us, things that we value.

So, there are people out there that become emotionally attached to things that others might not even give a second thought. Now, the other day I ran across an interesting video of someone who really makes me wonder about my acknowledgment of other people's views.

Well, in case you didn't catch on to it, this guy is talking about professional wrestling or raslin if you are from the south. Okay, well, yea, I can deal with that. The guy is an emotional guy and got caught up in the story lines or something. Hopefully, he is pretty harmless.

And then I ran across another cute little video.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Okay, stop the world. I want to get off. Lady, you stay over on the west coast and I will hang out over here on the east coast with all our slaves and stuff made in Japan. By the way, are you related to this lady?

Just saying....

Take Care,
Steve

Visions of Grandeur

It seems that it happens every time someone of significant age passes away. Suddenly their "loved ones" get the impression that they have hit the lottery. I have seen evidence of it repeatedly, specifically with my grandparents.

Well, now that my Pop has been passed away for several months, I am seeing the same thing. People are looking for what is in it for them. Heck, his girlfriend is even looking into getting herself declared common law wife and has already managed to get that on his death certificate. Ironically enough, he had told several members of the family that he didn't want to marry her. Sorry Pop, but you have no choice. You are getting married after you passed. Congratulations. She also has hired a lawyer to protect her interests (suck every dollar she can out of the estate).

Of course, as executor, I hired lawyers to probate the estate. They basically handle the legal aspects, such as notifying creditors and filing claims against the estate. But suddenly their duties have become more. They are actually having to defend the estate and have requested their billing agreement be changed because this isn't the typical estate case. It appears it will be a long drawn out process. Heck, one lawyer even said he had an estate that took 5 years to settle. Yea, you read that right. Some cases can take forever to settle.

I guess the saving grace for me is that since I am the executor, the lawyer bills are going to eventually be paid by the estate. Dad's girlfriend will pay hers out of her pocket. I got luck here, because I am rapidly running out of money.

Running out of money? How am I running out of money when I just inherited a crap load? Well, there are IRA things that come into play as well as some t-bills that have not matured. Throw in trying to not get thrown into the take it up the butt tax bracket and it gets pretty ugly. Basically, I haven't gotten any money from the estate and have paid well over $10k in bills associated with the estate and maintaining my father's household, namely my brother.

So, I am basically handling three households: mine, my wife's, and my brother's. Estate bills are lumped on top of that. Yea, it really feels like someone should have bought me dinner first. For a couple of months it seemed like I had finally turned the corner and wouldn't have to watch my pennies. Pop passes and everything changes. Throw in the fact that my credit was basically destroyed over the wacky stuff that happened over the last four years, and it is pretty scary.

My saving grace may be that my wife's allowance runs out in September. All I have to do is make it until then and hopefully things will get back under control. I just can't help but to think something else will come up then. Life is definitely entertaining these days. I am glad I am back in the Hermitage and can concentrate on work for a while.

Take Care,
 Steve

Bob & June Wheeler

Sometimes I wonder about the effects of television on today's society. The quality of shows on network television has steadily declined, primarily due to reducing costs. That is why most of the quality television shows are on the pay channels. I wonder how many kids even realize that quality programs such as the one I am about to highlight existed.

What am I highlighting? I am highlighting the funniest episodes I have ever seen on television. It all began with an episode of Night Court where Judge Harry Stone was suffering from depression. While he was trying to deal with his issues, the Wheelers showed up.

Now, I particularly enjoyed the "never in a million years" comment, but the Wheelers weren't done. They came back with something even more special in another episode. Yes, they owned their own business.

The reason that they lied about where they were from was because of a protest from the people of West Virginia because of the stereotyping. So, the Wheelers were suddenly from Yugoslavia. The "first exotic place that popped into my mind" and the "80 or 85" comments had me tolling and the description of the wheel chair was killer. But then the Wheelers return in another episode.

The "god awful smell of ma-rang", "seduced by the glamour", and "stampede" comments were killer. The "looks like you've got a hefty nest egg yourself" comment was great. There are so many great quotes that I can't list them all.

The Wheelers were going to become regulars on Night Court, but Brent Spinner (Bob) got the job of Commander Data on Star Trek. What a tragedy. This is the type of drama that I love.

Take Care,
Steve