A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Gas Pump.

Friday 04 December, 2009 While on my way home from work, I stopped to get gas at a Shell station that is about 4 or 5 miles from my apartment. It is somewhere between 6:30 and 6:45 PM. Well first I have to wait a little bit to get to a pump that will put my gas tank on the correct side. There was a spot that was in front of a minivan's rear-side (the van was facing me) the pumps right in front of me had cars. I had to squeeze between the van on my right and the car in front of me. To get to a right hand side pump that was free. As I'm going for that pump a car appears in front of me and is backing up, and unbeknown to me the van was now pulling away. So after an irate guy requests that I move back to the pump the van just now left. I start to go about my business.

Then a newsguy with his cameraman approaches the guy in front of me who apparently doesn't want to talk the news guy (Richard Reeve with WJLA-ABC 7) with his cameraman approaches me and asks me if I have a few minutes to answer some questions about the upcoming snow storm. I agree and I answer a few questions for about 3 minutes. The news guys leave. I Then go back to pumping my gas.

While I'm driving away I think "Cool, I'll probably end up on the 11 O'Clock News" which I did for about 3 seconds.

The main point of the news story was to tell about the upcoming winter storm we are supposed to get tomorrow evening and a new road treatment mixture they are going to try called "Ice Bite" which is a natrual organic blend of enzimes and beat molasass. Well if it works why not?

Here is a link to the video.
Region Readies for Winter's First Bite|ABC 7 News

Flashback News: 1968? Or 2008?

In a celeb news story that sounds like it belongs back in 1968. From the AP actress Dawn Wells, who gained fame by portraying the sweet and innocent lovable Mary Ann on Gilligan's sland (1964-1967), was busted for possession of 'Mary Jane'.

Reminds me of the out-takes from some commercials with Florence Henderson I think in the 1980s for Wesson Oil where she goes up on her line and cusses like a sailor and then makes a remark that kids will be saying "Mrs. Brady Swears!"

But this "pot in the car" story sounds a little fishy, she may have initially been unaware that the pot was in her car, and the swerving she was doing that the arresting police officer noticed was her trying to find the heater controls for her new car.

For the full story, and a not so flattering mugshot (they never are flattering) follow this link ap.google.com/article/... In that mugshot she looks like that little old lady that gets caught stealing an apple from the grocery story or hitting someone in the behind with a broom.

BTW I got the photo from a google search from a blog devoted to Miss Wells. (dawn-wells.blogspot.com/)

You've Got to be Kidding, Right?

In Silver Spring, MD (Tuesday 21 February, 2006) a 5-year-old girl was suspended from her elementary school for allegedly being involved in sexual activity on the school's playground. WHAT? A 5-year-old? Sexual Activity? What about the boy or boys that were involved? So far I've only seen one source for this news story, the local DC area ABC News Station WJLA Channel 7. I was shocked when I heard the coming-at-11-O'Clock News headline teasers. Of course the exact details are not being divulged, and the identities of the child and her parent(s) are not being given for her protection. So they didn't say if more than one boy was involved or what the activities were. But come on 5-years-old? Her father is fighting the suspension and obviously is asking a lot of questions, including where the playground supervisors where, or what they were doing when these acts took place. I would be interested in knowing who initiated these acts, her or the boy or boys she was involved with.

Who is responsible for something like that? Obviously the parents of any of the children involved need to inform their children of what types of behaviors are acceptible. When do parents need to inform their children about sex? For years experts have been saying that the best thing to do is to talk to your kids about sex, when they first start asking all those where do babies come from? questions. Parents are told to tell the kids the truth, don't involve the stork (he just delivers them he don't make them), and to use the medical terms, not the street slang. But when do kids start asking those questions? Is that at 5-years-old? Is it sooner? Was this girl doing something she saw in a music video or a movie on TV? Was it something she heard about from peers or an older sibling? Has she been suffering abuse? Was she simply imitating dancing she saw? Was she following instructions from one of the boys? Were they also 5 or 6? Or a little older?

Now unless things have changed in the last 35 years or so since I was 5, a child who is 5-years-old is just beginning school, usually in pre-school or what is known as day-care now. 5 or 6 used to be the age that you "started" school with pre-school, then it was Kindergarden at 6 and then at 7 you entered Elementary School with First Grade. This has your child graduating high school at age 18. Now depending on your area's school district and school organization the starting age range differs by about a year so some kids start their formal education at anywhere from about ages 3.5 to 5 maybe 6. It also depends on what time of the year your child was born. So graduating high school seniors are usually 17 & 18, sometimes 16 and very occasionally 19.

I was trying to think back to when I was 5, and what I knew about sex at that age. I think I might have heard the word at that age, but I don't think I "Knew" about sex until 7 maybe 8. Then it wasn't until around age 11 or 12 that we had formal Sex Ed in school. I remember to participate we (the children) were given a participation form that described the course and had to have it signed by our parents in order to participate. I think most parents gave the OK, I can't recall any kid in our school not being allowed to take the course. I don't recall how long the course was, but I do recall that they segregated the boys and girls. This I assume was to inform the girls of all the proper feminine hygiene details without any rude or gross boy jokes. Thus keeping the boys in the dark about the specific details of that special time. Yes the boys were taught about the menstration cycle, but we weren't given all the specific details, just the Reader's Digest version. No wonder men don't understand women. We don't learn about these things early enough. It isn't until our girlfriends get moody that we even catch a hint of what is going on.

Teasers - AKA: Misleading Headlines

One of the things about modern reporting that drives me nuts and is one of my pet peeves is the Teaser headline that is misleading. Yeah I know the whole purpose of a teaser is to give you just enough information for an upcoming news item that you just have to read it, or in the case of television news you sit glued to your chair for that upcoming news item. Usually they are some corny or cheesy catch phrase that uses some modern pop-culture reference to make you say "Gee I've got to know what this story is about". The real bummer comes when the bulk of the story gets told and you realize that it wasn't worth the bother. These are the stories that make you wish you had changed the channel to the Gilligan's Island reruns or the M*A*S*H* Marathon, or hadn't left the comics section on the seat next to you on the bus on monday morning.

Another News peave of mine, which I've noticed a lot recently in the entertainment news, is when a headline will only mention part of the entertainer,or sports figures name. Was the Simpson that went nuts in the art museum Jessica or O.J.? Was that Neil or Lance Armstrong that tripped on the stairs while meeting with the Queen?

Then there is the whole Beniffer thing, or making every woman's name sound like JLo, really LindLo for Lindsay Lohan seriously.