Words of Truth

Did some landscaping this weekend. The front of our house had these nasty looking bushes that were classified as “ground cover”. The only time they looked good was in the fall when they had red berries on them, which were poisonous, by the way. Not good for kids. So last week I ripped them out of the ground and gave them to our neighbor (she wanted them…I was just going to pitch them).

We went to Lowe’s to look for bushes….boring. Nothing but boxwoods and evergreen stuff. Then we went to an actual “nursery”. Found a nice looking plant, but they wanted $80 for the one plant. Ouch!

Off to Menards! We struck gold there, buying a couple of “Miss Kim Lilacs”, which renewed the heated debate between my wife and I. I pronounce the bush like it is spelled: “Li-Lack”. She pronounces it “Li-Lock”. Thankfully my son is pronouncing it “li-lack”, so there’s at least one other sane person in the family ;-).

We bought the bushes, along with two apple trees that looked good (on sale!). Took them home, realized that we needed THREE bushes, so I took my son back to Menards. Got another bush that said “Miss Kim Lilac” and bought it. Turns out it wasn’t the same bush, it was mislabeled. Oh well. At least it’s still a lilac (we hope). I got up to the checkout, and told the guy I wanted to buy the bush, as well as 50 pounds of mulch and eighty 6″ Belgian cut stones for landscaping (I had a sample stone to show him). Well, after standing in line for 30 minutes (because they wouldn’t open the other register), he then tells me that I have to go inside to get an invoice for the stones and mulch. Stand in another line? I don’t think so. I told him that I thought that was ridiculous, and I was just going to go to Lowe’s.

Went to Lowe’s. We found eight inch stones that were about the same as the Menards ones, but they were eight inches, so I needed 25% less total, and they were nine cents cheaper per stone. I saved $23 by getting miffed at Menards!

Got home, installed the stone border, planted the bushes (located our water meter at the same time ;-0 ) and put the mulch over top. That’s done.

Then I went to dig a hole for the trees. Evidently we have hardpack clay about an inch below the sod. It took me 15 minutes to dig a six inch hole. Gave up for now. Grrr. I think I may have to rent an auger or something. Does not bode well for us putting in 38 fenceposts for a fence. Hmmm.

Ok, so here’s a post I placed elsewhere regarding the current “illegal immigrant” situation:

I think there is a logical fallacy in the desire of these illegal
immigrants. They want to have the prosperity and relative safety of living
in the United States versus their home country. So they come here. But they
refuse to live up to the responsibilities of being a US Citizen that this
privilege requires. And yes, I said ‘privilege’, not ‘RIGHT’. Nobody has a
right to be an American Citizen, unless you agree to follow the laws of
America (both written and cultural) and BE an American, not a “Mexican
living in America” or a “German living in America”. I am all for
immigration.

Every single person living today in the United States is descended from
immigrants. That’s right, Billy, even the so-called “Native Americans” (a
name that screams the 3rd grade whine, “we were here first!” Why not call
them Comanches, Sioux, etc?). Where did they immigrate from? Russia!
‘Course that was a few thousand years before the rest of us, but that
doesn’t make them “natives” any more than the rest of us who were born here.
I used to tell people that I was a native American. I mean, I was born here,
have never lived anywhere else. The word “native” means, “belonging to a
particular place by birth, or indigenous”. I am indigenous. Ask my father,
he was there 😉

What makes us “Americans” then? I learned in school about how the United
States has historically been a “melting pot.” In other words, if you want to
live here with us, you have to JOIN us and become somewhat like us. That
doesn’t mean that you have to give up every bit of your culture, but that
you need to add our culture to your own, and remove those things in your
culture that disagree with the majority of our culture.

But what about minority rights, you say? I would submit that the minority
forcing the majority to do what the minority wants is just as “bad” as the
obverse. People today tend to think that “majority rule” is a bad thing. Is
minority rule any better? Another word for minority rule is “elitism.”

So yes, if you want to be an American, here is what you do:

1. Learn the language we speak here. That is English (although some in
Britain would disagree, but you know what I mean.)

2. Apply to become a member. Applications for membership can be obtained
from your local US Embassy or the United States Immigration and
Naturalization Service.

3. Once your application is approved (and not until! This is important!),
you may become a citizen here, living among your fellow citizens,
following the laws of our land, sharing in our bounty, our tragedy, our
lives and our losses.

4. If your application is denied, work to get it approved. This last point
is tricky, because so many illegal immigrants justify their act of invasion
by saying, “well, I tried to do it legally, but the Gringo (“White Man”)
wouldn’t let me, so I did it illegally” That is EXACTLY the same as
saying, “well, I tried to borrow the money legally, but the BANK wouldn’t
loan it to me, so I just took it. Guess what that makes you,
Jorge/Pedro/Juanita/Pepe/Maria? That’s right, it makes you a thief. You
have attempted to steal citizenship.

Where do we go from here? I say if we find an illegal (no matter if they
are illegal from Mexico, Zimbabwe, China, or New Jersey….what?…..It
is?……oh. Anyway, SHIP ‘EM HOME! But not before at least 12 months of
forced labor, repairing the infrastructure that they attempted to tear down
by coming here illegally. Should their right to apply for citizenship be
revoked at that point? I’m not sure, but it would seem like a good
idea…..I mean, if they can’t abide by the first law of living here (be
‘legal’), why would we expect them to follow the rest of our laws.

Phew! Rant over for now.

Hey there, My name is Picky, or at least that’s what they call me here in cyberville. So here is my first foray into the world of blogging. To introduce myself, I am a nurse by profession at the present time. I have a wife and kids. I am a conservative Christian (of the Baptist brand). Some would call me a fundie; I call myself a fundamentalist. But don’t worry, I am not a fundamentalist Muslim, therefore I will not be coming to a village near you to convert you by the sword. I believe convincing is God’s job. My job is to just lay it out there.

So, sit back, relax, and prepare to be offended by stuff you heartily disagree with, heartened by stuff you don’t, and all sorts of middle ground that we can play in.